Harrington Siletto Vineyard Trousseau 2017
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Wilfred
Wong
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: When someone tells me, "Hey, you have got to try my Trousseau wine!" I am confused about whether we are talking white or red. While both white and red exist, I am more familiar with the white—once called Grey Riesling and made by Wente Bros. up until the early 1990s, when BATF said the wine was mislabeled and should have been called Trousseau Gris. The 2017 Harrington Trousseau, however, is a pretty cool wine. TASTING NOTES: This wine is zingy and pleasing. Its aromas and flavors of bright red raspberries should pair it well with a toss of grilled chicken breast, arugula, and dried cranberries. (Tasted: September 25, 2018, San Francisco, CA)
Harrington Wines is a small producer hell bent on bringing to light the obscure, forgotten grapes of California as well as producing clean, stable wines made without sulfites.
The winery was started in 2002 to produce California Pinot Noir. Over the years, a great deal of energy has been spent researching, locating and working with some of California's long-forgotten Pinot Noir vineyards. Ultimately, the vineyard sites chosen are challenging viticulturally, either because of age, climate or terrain. Of these three criteria, older vineyards have become most valued as they have adapted to and been changed by their environs and produce subtle wines more deeply imbued with Pinot's characteristic flavors and aromatics.
Over the past decade, this search for older Pinot Noir vineyards has brought a keen awareness of the forgotten viticultural treasures of California. There are vineyards full of history and potential scattered throughout California and wonderful wines can be made from the rare grape varieties coming from locations other than Napa and Sonoma. So in 2008, the Pinot-only regimen was stretched to include a Nebbiolo from two vineyards located on the limestone ridges of westside Paso Robles.
Indigenous to the Jura region of France, Trousseau is an intensely hued red wine grape that can make powerful wines with aging potential. Parentage analysis shows that it is related to Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and Savagnin. Though no one is certain how or why, Trousseau made a long journey west across France and the Iberian Peninsula well over 200 years ago to take a second home under the alias, Bastardo, in Portugal. It is also permitted in the production of Port. Somm Secret—Trousseau also goes by the names, Maturana Tinta, Merenzao and Verdejo Negro.
Part of the larger Central Coast AVA, the valley was historically an important source of grapes for Almaden Vineyards before it was acquired by Constellation Brands in the 1980s. At 1,100 feet, the San Andreas Fault divides the valley so that one side is granite and sandstone, and the other is granite and limestone. Its position along the San Andreas fault makes the region well suited for excellent Central Coast wine production. Top varietals include Zinfandel, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Riesling, and rose.