The 2010 Roussanne Estate is strikingly beautiful. It shows more minerality and a touch more focus than the Estate Viognier. This understated wine impresses for its fabulous balance and pedigree. The Roussanne is much less obvious than the Viognier, but it boasts phenomenal class and pedigree. This is a flat-out beautiful bottle. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2015. This is a fabulous set of wines from John and Lorraine Alban. Quite simply, I was blown away by what I tasted. As I noted last year, the whites are increasingly made in a more energetic style, not a bad thing as the fruit is already so expressive from the start. Over the years, a similar evolution has taken place with the reds. The inky, black color of the Syrahs is now gone. Today, Alban favors lengthy barrel aging for his top reds, a technique he compares to “braising” in cooking, which requires softer and gentler fermentations at the outset. Beginning around 2006, Alban started doing fewer pump overs and in general encourages longer, slower fermentations. The wines used to go into barrel with some sugar still left to ferment, while today they go in drier than in the past. Over the years, new oak levels have also come down. Most of the current releases are 2008s, a vintage Alban describes as characterized by a spring frost, drought and cloudy days with less heat and sunlight than is typically the case. Readers may want to check out my video interview with John Alban for more on current and upcoming vintages.Tel. (805) 546-0305; www.albanvineyards.com

The 2009 Roussanne comes across as quite rich and textured, with plenty of overt fruit, but less aromatic complexity and overall minerality. The vintage was the third in a series of drought years and the low - perhaps excessively low - yields are felt in the weight of the wine. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2017. (Not yet released)My visit with John and Lorraine Alban and winemaker Glenn Skrabanik was a highlight of the ten days I spent in the Central Coast. I tasted all of the 2008s and 2009 reds from barrel, plus the 2007s from bottle. Those lucky enough to visit the winery won-t see barrels ordered by conventional numbers, rather each series of barrels carries the names of thematic categories such as Kentucky Derby winners, Academy Award winners, etc. It is fair to say no one has done more for the Rhone Ranger movement in this country than John Alban. First and foremost, the Alban wines have led the way in terms of quality for many years. A founder of the hugely successful Hospice du Rhone, Alban has also planted and developed a number of clones that bear his name and that are used widely throughout California. For most of his early years Alban was forced to sell fruit from his property and rent out portions of his winery as a custom crush facility to make ends meet. Amazingly, after all these years 2011 is the first vintage in which Alban is not selling fruit and is vinifying only his own wines. Readers will find no shortage of compelling wines in vintages 2007-2009. The 2007s are big, powerful wines that show the opulence and weight of the year. Vintage 2007 was the first of three drought years that followed the generous 2005 and 2006 harvests. Alban gave his three top Syrahs a whopping 44 months in 100% new oak barrels. The 2008s are the product of a season marked by a spring frost. A blast of heat followed over Memorial Day, but the rest of the summer was relatively cool, with little sunlight because of the forest fires that year. As great as the 2007s are, I found myself equally drawn to the 2008s for their greater delineation and complex, multi-dimensional personalities. The 2009s are warm, radiant wines with silky, forward fruit and highly expressive aromatics. The 2008s and 2009s are still in barrel, though, so there is plenty of time to follow their evolution.Tel. (805) 546- 0305; www.albanvineyards.com

The 2006 Roussanne Estate, which includes 25% Viognier in the blend, is a heavier, more waxy style of white wine that appears to possess some tannin. As this varietal often does, this full-bodied effort comes across as a “l(fā)ove it or leave it” wine. I happen to adore this style, but their aging curve is almost impossible to predict. I recommend drinking these Roussannes on the earlier rather than later side. This offering would drink beautifully with fatty fish or grilled chicken dishes as it almost has the weight, richness, and structure of a dry red wine. Alban’s decision to add 25% Viognier to the blend has given the wine more complexity as well as a slightly uplifting character.The wines of John and Lorraine Alban are about as spectacular as one can find anywhere in the world. Alban is committed to aging his big Syrahs longer in barrel, believing it will concentrate the wines and add additional complexityTel. (805) 546-0305; Fax (805) 546-9879