Fellow Berserker Les Huisman and I decided it would be a good idea to have a CA Trousseau tasting. We ended up with 7 examples, including a vertical of Arnot-Roberts and a few old world outliers. All wines were tasted non-blind at AP in Milwaukee on 12/3/15, my brief notes from the evening:
A sparkly starter:
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2014 Stolpman Trousseau Combe Pet’Nat - USA, California, Central Coast, Ballard Canyon (12/3/2015)
CA Trousseau Fest (AP Milwaukee): Pale hue with yeasty, saline mineral aromas which expand into florals and light fruits with air (like mineral-laden Prosecco?). Light body with a frothy mousse, flavors of subtle citrus, apples and more minerals. Fun stuff.
My first pét-nat, under crown cap. Although pretty much unidentifiable as Trousseau, this was super fun, great with food and a perfect palate-awakener.
Next up was a vertical of Arnot-Roberts:
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2011 Arnot-Roberts Trousseau Luchsinger Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Clear Lake
Light hue, like a rosé. Refrained nose of dried flowers, spice, and plummy fruits. Light body, with flavors of root vegetables and cranberry fruits tinged with herbaceous green notes. Although this became more lively with food, overall it lacked expression and seemed to be a bit closed (or perhaps just reflective of the vintage). -
2012 Arnot-Roberts Trousseau Luchsinger Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Clear Lake
Popped and poured, deeper hue than the 2011. Spicy red raspberry fruits, bouillon and herbaceous funk on the nose (touch of brett?). Medium-light body, decent acidity. Red fruits on the palate with chalky tannins on the close, keeps getting better with continued aeration, delicious. -
2014 Arnot-Roberts Trousseau Luchsinger Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Clear Lake
Popped and poured, vibrant ruby hue. Aromas of raspberries, under-ripened strawberries…a bowl of red fruits, like a young Morgon from a riper vintage. Medium body, plush and seamless in mouth. Much like the nose, mainly showing youthful, red-fruited flavors at this early stage. Tasty stuff.
The 2011 was definitely a bit muted. While I still found it enjoyable, it just wasn’t really expressive in any way (one taster noted a bit of VA on it). The 2012 and 2014 were both awesome, my preference was for the slightly more “edgy” former while the group preferred the latter’s more youthful exuberance. The 2014 ended up being one of the group’s overall favorites.
Although we started off with the best of intentions, round 2 eventually turned into a haphazard Trousseau free-for-all (which is a wonderful thing):
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2014 Harrington Trousseau Siletto Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Cienega Valley
Expressive aromas of white pepper, earth, red fruits, green and a touch of heat. With air, autumnal notes emerge. Medium-light body. Red fruits, ground pepper, Asian spices, lively acidity. Really enjoyable. -
2013 Sandlands Trousseau - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Medium-light ruby, nose of funky raspberry, strawberry, herbaceous earth and an impression of earthy minerals. Medium body. Spicy raspberry fruit tinged with minerals, finished with smooth, sweet tannins. Absolutely yummy. -
2013 Copain Trousseau Estate - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
Medium-light hue. Bright cherry fruits, florals, autumn leaves, stems and an impression of chalky minerals. Medium-light body. Crunchy red fruits framed in minerals, subtle spice and unobtrusive oak on the lingering close. Like an overachieving Côte de Nuits Villages, delicious. -
2014 Stolpman Trousseau Combe - USA, California, Central Coast, Ballard Canyon
Inviting nose of red fruits, ruby red grapefruit and an impression of saline minerals. Medium-light body. Uncomplicated flavors of funky red fruits, root vegetables and more minerals. Easygoing and quite tasty, this is a really fun wine. -
2011 Michel Gahier Trousseau Arbois Le Clousot - France, Jura, Arbois
Popped and poured, pronounced brett…or wait, is that reduction? Both?? Quite the funky nose, with bouillon, decaying leaves, cherry fruits and a touch of reduction. Although the palate quickly confirms brett, it’s overpowering for those who can handle it and (for some at least) even quite tasty, with rural flavors of barnyard and hay nicely interspersed with spicy cherry fruits and minerals. Very nice.
After the A-R flight, the Harrington was the first Trousseau which seemed to show more of an old world aromatic profile, the Sandlands even more so. Both were well-received, the Sandlands ending up as a consensus group favorite on the evening.
The Copain was a huge shift towards more of Pinot profile, it was also the only wine to really show any oak influence (or at least I thought it seemed to). Although quite enjoyable and among my personal favorites, it was an outlier in terms of flavor profile and might have been the most structured wine of the evening (blinded I would have immediately guessed Pinot, if not a Burg). Although not necessarily a consensus pick, a couple other people from the group really liked this one too.
The Stolpman Combe was such a fun wine, I quite loved it and would happily quaff a bottle (or ten) on any evening. Pretty much my idea of the perfect bistro wine.
The Gahier was easily the most controversial wine of the evening, with most immediately calling it flawed due to the overt brett and/or reductive aromas. I too would agree it was immediately off and even more so after hearing from Les, who has much experience with the label and considers Gahier to be a personal fave of his from the Jura. That said, I found it to be super enjoyable and it showed such a nice core of fruit underneath all the funk.
(then again, I also love the 2008 Pegau…)
Tons of fun, but there was still one more treat to be had:
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1989 Camille Loye Trousseau Arbois Cuvée Saint Paul - France, Jura, Arbois
Beautiful garnet hue, amazingly youthful. Complex, mostly tertiary nose of cedar, eucalyptus, autumnal vegetation and dried flowers (and subtle brett?). Vibrant in glass, almost surprisingly so, with notes of exceedingly faint red fruits accented by lively, saline minerals and a lovely earthiness. Unique, contemplative and somewhat fascinating, this seems as though it could easily go for another 5-8+ years.
Very awesome (and generous) of Les to open this, such an awesome experience to try a Trousseau from 80s…and although well in the tertiary stage, as with all great older wines it possessed a freshness and liveliness that was captivating. I spent quite a bit of time with this one and to me, it really seemed to peak for me after it had been in my glass for about 30-40 minutes or so, glimpses of fruit becoming focused and coalescing with the sum. As would probably be expected, this was also one of the group’s consensus faves.
Wonderful evening of friends, great wine and delicious food from AP, huge thx to co-collaborators Les and Justin for helping to make this such an epic tasting. And if anyone’s ever stranded in Milwaukee, be sure to check out AP; in addition to a great menu, Justin’s also put together one of the coolest wine lists in the city!
*edit to update the vintage on the Gahier
