Troon 'Druid's' Red 2023
The vibe: We discovered Troon at a tasting earlier this year and have been looking forward to sharing their wines with y’all for a hot minute! First of all, any winery that begins a tasting by unfurling a geological map of Oregon’s soil history is a going to have our full, undivided attention. The Troon winery (and farm) is in Applegate Valley, which for the uninitiated is in southern Oregon, close to the border with California. Little known fact, Oregon actually has the shortest geologic history of any state in the contiguous US. While it’s the shortest history, it’s one of the most eventful. That history is why there are so many mountain ranges and volcanoes dotting the landscape. The Applegate Valley lies at the base of the Klamath Mountains, the oldest known geological region of Oregon, dating back 400 million years. A good terroir wine is basically just rock juice, and Troon wines are definitely terroir wines! The Druid’s wines are a first generation release from new plantings on the Troon estate, focused on freshness and moderate alcohol, and reflect the diversity of the biodynamic plantings of Southern French varietals. These wines are indeed inspired by wines from the Rhône valley, blended to overlap textures and flavor profiles to reflect each year’s unique vintage. Rock juice!
The winemaker: Troon Vineyard is Oregon’s only Demeter Biodynamic and Regenerative Organic Certified winery and farm, and it is one of four farms in the world to be Regenerative Organic Gold Certified. And it’s exactly as you pictured. Cider apples, veggie gardens, hay fields, honeybees, sheep, chickens and of course grapevines call the Troon farm home.
The geeky details: 30% syrah, 27% grenache, 20% cinsault, 19% mourvèdre, and 4% carignan. Several of the lots were fermented with a percentage of their stems intact (whole cluster), and for the first time in 2023, we were able to use some new concrete fermenters, such that 25% of this blend was fermented and aged in concrete.
As with all wines from Troon, no additives, acid or sugar adjustments, enzymes, or sulfur additions are used at crush. Primary fermentation occurs spontaneously with indigenous/native yeasts and bacteria in open-top bins or vats outside (and now in concrete tanks as well!). The wine is handled gently during fermentation with just one punch-down or foot-treading per day for roughly three to four weeks. The wine is then pressed off to age in neutral French oak barrels or concrete for approximately ten months before being bottled unfined and unfiltered, with a small dose of sulfur added at bottling.
Serve: With a light chill.
Food pairing: This red is a chill guy, and should be served as such. Chill it down and wash down some pizza, burgers, or BBQ with it. You could also pair it up with some less-spicy more-savory Asian dishes.
Album pairing: The Alan Parsons Project - Ammonia Avenue