The Data

Country   USA

Appellation   Applegate Valley

Varietal   White Blend

Retail Price   $35

ABV   13.4%

Score   5 Stars/98 points

In the Glass

Brilliant, medium golden color.

The aromatics are very intense offering scents of tropical fruit and citrus zest with supporting notes of blanched almonds, jasmine, and bees wax.

The palate echoes the nose delivering an orchard fruit-driven core with flavors of pineapple, kiwi, white peach, pear, wet stones, and citrus zest. The finish is long and lingering.

Medium to full-bodied and perfectly balanced with a voluptuous texture.

Cool Factor

When Viognier, Marsanne, and Roussanne are married to produce a wine with a sum greater than its parts it's very cool in our world. Our favorite Troon white to date.

Value Grade

You will be hard-pressed to find a better or more stylish White Rhone-inspired wine for the money so despite the $35 price tag we find it to be a good value.

Analysis

This is the second vintage of Troon’s Côtes du Kubli Blanc but the fourth vintage of a proprietary white based on Viognier and Marsanne. The 2019 Côtes du Kubli Blanc is made with a blend of 42% Viognier, 35% Marsanne, 23% Roussanne — this is a special wine. While Troon replants some of their estate vineyards they were able to source some fantastic grapes from Barbara and Bill Steele at Cowhorn Vineyard — a biodynamically farmed vineyard in the hills surrounding the Kubli Bench. As the Troon wines have been evolving in recent years this wine too will evolve eventually including Grenache Blanc, Clairette Blanche, and Bourboulenc with the current trio of grapes. The 2019 Côtes du Kubli Blanc was barrel fermented with native yeasts in mature French Oak Burgundy barrels. While we have been great fans of Troon’s previous white Rhone-inspired blends this vintage is very lush, complex, and expressive.

How to Enjoy

Sip chilled but not too cold with Thai noodles, roast turkey, or smoked salmon.