Donkey & Goat, Stone Crusher Skin Contact Roussanne 2020 750ml

Personality: “Stone fruit shines in this rendition of Stone Crusher both on the aromatics and palette. Our noses are also greeted with rose petals, navel oranges, cloves and cinnamon. Beyond its bright notes of fresh nectarine, dried apricots and white peaches, we also see some medium tannins showing through in notes of black tea and cement. The wine is satisfyingly dry and elegant without compromising its fruit-forward aromatics. We recommend it with watermelon + feta + mint salad and hot sausages off the grill. With chewy tannins and the structure of red wine, this wine goes in many directions. With pork, Vietnamese cuisine, winter vegetables and raw and cooked seafood to name a few. If you have the patience to wait, this wine will age slowly and beautifully. Tannins will integrate, revealing depth and concentration with endless freshness,” Tracey Brandt says.

Vineyard: Elen Ridge, El Dorado. Planted 1998, 2400 ft. elevation. Fine-grained loam, acidic residuum weathered from granite

Making of: The grapes are naturally fermented with wild yeasts & bacteria, for 9 days in open-top wooden vat. Aged 10 months in neutral French oak barrels. Bottled unfined and unfiltered with a small addition of sulfur.

Winemaker's Note: “We started making skin ferment Roussanne back in 2007 before the term orange wine was even coined. It was initially made this way in hopes of driving the natural fermentation to complete, but by 2009 we decided the potential for such a wine — especially with food pairings —was extraordinary and they never looked back.”