Mature Trousseau Gris grapes (also see close-up below)>>>
TROUSSEAU GRIS
(Tr00-so Gree) was originally traced back to the Alsace–
Lorraine in Northern France, near the German border. I the Early 20th Century
it
was planted in throughout California but by the 1980s it began to disappear. It has historically been
misnamed and, particularly confused with Riesling. It is neither in the Riesling
nor the Pinot Gris families (No longer legal on wine; some did use the names Chace’
Gris
& Grey / Gray Riesling). Its lineage is from another rare Alsatian grape:
TROUS-
SEAU
(red), from northern France – so, it makes sense that this grape thrives
in
the cool coastal “appellation” of Russian
River Valley! Historically this grape
has
also been used for port, & blended into method champenoise, and even
strengthening the nose for many white & red wines! While, you can often find a few vines mixed into Some of California’s oldest Zinfandel blocks, The Fanucchi Wood Road Vineyard has the Only productive Vineyard Block In the Sonoma-Napa, the North Coast Region, The entire California Coastal Region,... in-fact as of 2005, the only other reported Trousseau Gris remaining in California is in the hot central valley & not even processed for wine! So this is truly is the last Vineyard of Trousseau Gris in the USA.
I helped my father plant this,
now Rare Trousseau Gris vineyard block, in 1981, and raised it to maturity
after he passed away just before the ’84 harvest. Since, with fine
wine, the best possible flavors are determined before the grapes are removed from
the vine, and since those flavors are a product of the whole environment in
which they were grown; I am still the hands-on -winegrower for my wines. …This means my job is to
encourage the environment our vines grow in to be as healthy & balanced as
possible!
The result of carefully growing Trousseau Gris in our cool Russian River Valley is a mature fully flavored grape balanced by its crisp natural acids! To capture the essence of this delicate fruit that I labored for decades to preserve, after harvest gentle handling continues with one last hand sorting over a slow conveyer on it’s way to the press. Then our 2 most critical “process” are: 1) A gentle, carefully monitored whole cluster pressing, including tasting press fractions till the first sign of astringency (Trousseau Gris tends to have vary meaty berries & by limiting the press to only the best juice, the yields are low (as in the low 50 cases compared to Chardonnay with upwards 80+ cases/ ton!) The second, & Equally critical “process” is a long (~30 day), COLD FERMENTATION (low 40sF-), & clean fermentation with --No Oak & No ML! By protecting everything from the volatile heat, not only do we preserve the fruit & it’s bouquet, but retain some of it’s natural effervescence-CO2-which also keeps the wine a little fresher & can show more bubbles then most still wines.
Typical Tasting Notes: Crisp, Clean, Flowery bouquet, FRESH PEACHES, honeysuckle, pear, melon & delicate spice and tropical fruit flavors make it a delightful compliment to a wide array of foods! Compare its “Nose” to Viognier or Marsanne, with a gentler spice than a dry Gewürztraminer and far, far, more fruit than the best Pinot Gris could hope for! After bottling it can take a few months for this wine to open up, some times not opening up near it’s best till the following fall. In the event you forget a hidden bottle in the back of your cool dark, secret storage place, we've recently discovered that it's natural effervescence can also allow a few years of safe aging!
| A
sad note about the "Expert" periodicals originally researched a decade or so
ago, in the time
when California's white wine "Gold Rush" began. (A time when nearly all
white grapes were converted to Chardxxxx.) Wine makers probably didn't want to bother truly
giving this grape the attention it needed. Several things happened:
When press operators noticed they were not getting lots of juice from this
grape, they naturally pressed harder. The result was the extraction of
bitter flavors from the seeds as you would get from any grape pressed too
hard. Not aware of what press operators were doing Wine Makers wrongly
assumed, even though this doesn't factor in for any other colored "white"
wine grape like Pinot Gris / Pinot Grigio, or
Gewürztraminer,
the bitterness came from the colored skins ,
so they started ordering Trousseau Gris to be harvested @ 18 to 19 brix
before it had it's color! (Ever taste totally un-ripe fruit? mmm!) Also this
grape is more sensitive to heat & must be grown only in the coolest of the
cooler growing wine regions but most of it was planted in very hot
conditions... ....If any of the finest Vinefera wine grapes (Yes ANY Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Cabernet...) are grown in the wrong conditions, harvested before they are mature, and miss-handled, you will have extremely poor quality, low or no character... & justifiably define them saying they: "have muted aromas and flavors, and light acidity". With no powerhouse marketing behind me the big reference books now originally written years ago repeatedly continue to reprint the errors of the past (even in the "up-dated versions"!) & license their use to many websites who tell me they must quote those sources as is by legal contract! My stacks of Blind Judging medals & pages of reviews directly contradict these so called experts! |
When we first started & for over 10 Years, with the Trousseau Gris, we entered all the "big" Competitions & in exchange for the costs to such a small volume wine we have boxes stuffed with Gold medals, Best of Class Ribbons, 4Star Gold Trophies, that are pointless to collect (If we ever did open a tasting room could completely cover a wall with the awards we already have!) -If you must know about some of the Medal history I haven't I left it below -undeleted.- The wine is still often written about with high praise & sells quickly. In 2007 Distribution is changing & you can now buy it directly! Click Here to Shop Online!
Every Fanucchi Vineyards
Trousseau Gris vintage has garnered acclaim & when it opened up early enough
for the “competition season” it has ranked at or near the top of the “Other
White category”in all the "big "competitions. In 1999 competitions the 1998 earned enough medal points to be listed
as one of the TOP 2 wines in the “other whites” category! (WINE WINNERS
2000) AMONG
it’s GOLDS are:
94 POINTS &
BEST OF CLASS OF REGION*
–California State
Fair.(In the California
State Fair, 5 Fanucchi Vineyards Trousseau Gris Vintages won
Best
Of Class Of Region for Sonoma County!
(Click here see The 4 Star Gold Award & Presentation)
PeterFanucchi@FanucchiVineyards.com
PO. BOX 290, FULTON, CA 95439 PH (707) 545-6806 FAX (707) 544-6106
“Peter Fanucchi began his career in wine in 1972… Today his Old-Vine Zinfandel as well as his Trousseau Gris, an aromatic white, are highly sought after by those in the know.” Master Sommelier
Catherine Fallis In:
Great Wines You Can Buy Online
Of the Trousseau Gris:
“A unique grape originally grown in the Alsace and this is one of the only examples in the U.S.”
Of the Old Vine Zinfandel:
“Excellent varietal Character. Old-vine intensity.”
Published 11-2006
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