HelloBootlegSocietyMembers!
Thismonth’sselectionsincludethreewines–2014Touriga,2014LodiNative
Marian’sVineyardOldVineZinfandel,and2012Trousseau.Thisisthefirsttimewe’ve
bottledtheTrousseauasavarietaltablewine,butwehavealongandinterestinghistory
withthisrelativelyobscuregrape.
TrousseauisnativetotheJuraregionofEasternFrance,butshowedupsometimein
thelate1500’sinPortugalwhereitbecameknownasBastardo.Mydadhadonceread(or
madeup)astoryaboutthebastardsonofaFrenchDukegettingmarriedofftoa
Portugueseprincess.UponarrivinginPortugaltheDukewasdismayedwiththequalityof
PortuguesewinesohesentanunderlingbacktoFrancetoretrievesomeFrench
grapevines.Whenthevinesshowedupattheport,thedockhandswereaskedwhatthese
were,andtheyrespondedthatthosearethebastard’svines.
It’salsoquitepossiblethatBastardoearneditsnameforbeingarealbastardto
grow.It’sthin-skinned,rotseasily,thebirdslovetoeatit,anditripensveryunevenly,and
canresultinpoorqualitywinewithoutjudiciouscare.We’vebeengrowingitinour
AmadorCountyvineyardsince1980whenmydadgotbudwoodfromUCDavisfor
potentialportproduction.Sincethen,it’splayedasmallbutkeyroleinourVintagePorts.
Bastardowasalsoapre-phyloxeraMadeiravarietyinthe1800’s,butwasn’t
replantedmuchafterthenotoriousroot-lousedevastatedthevineyardsofMadeira.Forus,
BastardohasplayedacentralroleinourTawnyPortscomprisingupto100%oftheblend
insomelots.I’vealwaysfoundittobeafascinatingwine–atfirst,itispretty
uninteresting,butafterseveralyearsinbarrelitstartstodevelopadistinctivenuttiness
andcomplexitythatmakeitdelicious.What’sevenmoreinterestingisthatthisdone
throughbenignneglect–weessentiallyignorethewine,nevertopping,racking,blending
ormakinganyadjustments.Wehideitandwalkaway.
Suchwasthecasein2012whenwehadanextratonofBastardo,andIdecidedto
makeitasatablewine.Atfirst,Ihatedthewine,putitatthebackoftheroom,andforgot
aboutit.Afterabout20monthsofbarrelaging,Itasteditoneday,andwasblownaway.
Althoughdramaticallylightincolor,thewinehadthisdistinctivecherry,plum,spicearoma
thatwasverycompelling.Idecidedtobottleitasastand-alonewine.Itthentookme
anotheryearandhalftofigureoutalabel,andasmuchasIwantedtocallitBastardo,Iwas
requiredtousethefederallyapprovedFrenchsynonymTrousseau.
Ihopeyouenjoythewine,andtheothertwoofferingsinthismonth’sclub.
Cheers!
StuartSpencer
2012Trousseau–TheLittleBastardo
TrousseauisarelativelyobscurevarietynativetotheJuraregionof
France.ItwouldappearitshowedupinPortugalsometimeinthe
late1500’swhereitbecameknownasBastardo.Thisvarietyhas
beenacomponentofourvintageportssince1981andtheprincipal
componentofourTawnyPort.In2012weproducedtwobarrelsto
seewhatitwoulddoasatablewine.Atfirst,Iwasn’timpressed,but
aftertwoyearsinbarrelitdevelopedthisverydistinctcrushed
berryspicyqualitythatwasverycharming.It’sanextremelylight
coloredwinebuthasturnedouttobequiteinteresting.$21/bottle,
45Cases
2014LodiNativeMarian’sVineyardOldVineZin
NotedwinewriterAlderYarrowcalledourLodiNativeProject, “One
ofthemostexcitingthingstohappentoCaliforniawineinyears."
TheWineEnthusiastgavethe2012Marian’sNative92points
andthe201393points.Andguesswhat?Ithinkthe2014isthe
bestyet!TheLodiNativeZinispartofacollaborativeprojectI
undertookwithfiveotherlocalwinemakerstoshinethe
spotlightonsomeLodi’sheritageZinfandelvineyards.Eachof
usproducedafewbarrelsusingminimalistwinemaking
protocolsthatincludednativeyeastfermentations,nonewoak,
water,acid,oranyotherconventionalwinemakingpractices.
Thewinesweredesignedtobeapureexpressionofthe
vineyardratherthanvarietalcharacterorbrand.Weobviously
choseMarian’sVineyardtoworkwith,andthe2014is
spectacular.Vibrantfruitwithasilkytexturethatjustlingerson
thepalate.$35/bottle,61Cases
2014Touriga–St.AmantVineyard,Amador
Touriga(TourigaNacional)isarguablyPortugal’smostprized
varietyformingthebackboneoftheirgreatportwines.In1980we
plantedTourigainourAmadorCountyVineyardtoproduceportstyledwines.Overtheyears,wehaveoccasionallyproducedadry
versionblendedwithothervarietiescalledTresCachos,butin
2006webottledourfirstvarietalTouriga.Itwasabighitwinning
“BestOtherVariety”attheCAStateFair.Tourigaisanextremely
lateripeningvarietyandtendstobenefitfromwarmvintageswith
lightyieldswhich2014deliveredinspades.Thiswineisabigger
andmorerobustversion,butstillretainsthefreshfloraland
crushedberryqualitiesthatmakeitsuchadistinctwine.
$18/bottle,100cases