2010 Nicholas Allen Carte Blanche Sandstone Seven Alder Springs Vineyard

(40% viognier, 40% marsanne and 20% roussanne): Good bright deep yellow; slightly hazy. Cool, subdued aromas of orange peel, stone fruit, hay, bergamot, herbs and earth. Quite dry, savory and penetrating, with a cyanic peach pit quality giving the middle palate a rather uncompromising character only slightly leavened by a note of honey. Winemaker Morlet vinifies the three varieties separately and uses no new oak for aging. He recommends pairing this intriguing wine with sushi, sashimi or "pure crab." I find this much more precise and stony than the 2009 release.