Reviews & Ratings

2012 Donelan Roussanne "Venus"

Winery: Donelan

Vintage: 2012

Wine Name/Vineyard: "Venus"

Wine Category: Roussanne

Grape blend: 97% Roussanne and 3% Viognier

Bottle size: 750 ml

Region: Sonoma County

State or country: CA

Price: $45

Cases produced: 300

KWG Score: 91.5 (based on 2 reviews)

Ken's Wine Rating: Very Good+ (90)

Review date: August 3, 2014

Wine Review: This yellow colored Roussanne from Donelan opens with an inviting pear bouquet with faint hints of honey and green apple. On the palate, this wine is full bodied, balanced and smooth. The flavor profile is a tasty Anjou pear with notes of integrated minerality. I also detected hints of vanilla oak and tangerine. The finish is dry and its flavors fade away nicely. This wine is food friendly and would pair well with grilled trout. Enjoy - Ken

Winemaker Notes: This vintage gave us the chance to highlight the full flavors that Roussanne is capable of, even after a mere 10 months in barrel. Since working with the Roussanne from Drystrack Vineyard, we have never seen the wine so expressive so early on. Due to the favorable growing conditions in Bennett Valley, the Venus jumps out of the glass with notes of lemon zest, meringue pie, and some classic savory components of white pepper and fennel. As with the past few vintages, the 2012 has just a small splash of Viognier, rounding out the nose and mouth with hints of orange blossom, ripe summer melon, and kiwi fruit. This wine delivers beauty and elegance on the palate with intriguing structure.

Buy it: Use 1000 Corks to find stores that sell Donelan 2012 Venus.