white grape · regional specialty
Roussanne
northern Rhône Valley (Isère Valley / Hermitage), France
Say it
roo·sahn
French uvular r; the trailing 'ne' is silent; stress falls on the second syllable
On the palate
How you spot it blind: flowery herbal-tea aroma, distinctive across all appellations and climates
The story
First written down · 1781, Hermitage, France
DNA confirms a parent-offspring relationship with Marsanne (direction unresolved); northern Rhône plantings collapsed to ~54 ha in the late 1960s before superior clones drove a recovery.
Where it lives
Hermitage AOC, Rhône, France · Crozes-Hermitage AOC, Rhône, France · Saint-Péray AOC, Rhône, France · Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC, Rhône, France · Chignin-Bergeron AOC, Savoie, France · Tuscany, Italy · Central Coast AVA, California · Victoria, Australia