Troon’s rosé is a mélange of grapes: Tinta Roriz (Iberian), Primitivo (Adriatic), and Grenache noir (French), biodynamically grown. The winery has plans to remove the Tinta Roriz and Primitivo vines and to use Cinsault and Counoise instead, so we can expect its future rosé to speak with a Rhône accent.
Their estate Kubli Bench vineyard sits at about 1,400′ elevation, but its southwestern exposure renders it a warm site in the Applegate Valley. The grapes were hand-picked, whole-cluster pressed into stainless tank, settled, and co-fermented in neutral French oak barrels using ambient cultures. The wine aged on lees six months prior to bottling.
The result is salmon pink and glints like a new penny. It’s fragrant of strawberry, orange blossom, and red apple skin, and these notes carry forward to the palate, which adds a shimmery lift of lime peel. It reads as a delicate Provence rosé at first, but then the flavors go sideways into something sharper and shinier.
It’s a lovely wine for sandwiches, salads, sushi, young cheeses — it’ll match the intensity of foods that feel bright and fresh. And because it clocks in under 12% abv, it’s also a clear-eyed aperitif.
2019 Troon Vineyard Rosé Kubli Bench Applegate Valley
11.7% abv | $25 (sample)
