Jolie-Laide "Trousseau Gris" California 2024

FROM JOLIE-LAIDE:

THE WINE: Planted in the late 1970s, these rare, near extinct vines with massive, gnarly trunks produce unique and fascinating fruit. In return, the wine made from them is always beguilingly complex and nuanced. Since our first Fanucchi Wood Road Trousseau Gris bottling in 2010, the wines have shown a strong structural foundation with vintage driven character. However, vine yields vary, and in 2024, Mother Nature graced us with half the fruit yielded in 2023 making this Trousseau Gris as rare as the old vines that produced it.

To preserve natural acidity, we harvested the grapes early and foot stomped them for a three day whole cluster cold soak. This gentle maceration adds subtle phenolic texture and mouthfeel, lifted aromatics, and a gorgeous rose gold hue. The now roseate juice was gently moved to a combination of neutral puncheon and stainless steel for a slow and cold native yeast fermentation. Once primary fermentation was complete, the wines were moved to neutral puncheons and barrique for a 6-month élevage to preserve freshness and aromatics. The 2024 Trousseau Gris is a fresh and elegant wine showing off summer melon, nectarine, white tea, and pine.

THE PRODUCER: Jolie-Laide is a two-person operation based in a Sebastopol winery where winemaker Scott Schultz and his partner Jenny Schultz make only 500 cases of wine a year under their own label. The name Jolie-Laide translates loosely to “Pretty-Ugly,” a French term of endearment to describe something that is unconventionally beautiful. Scott & Jenny make some of the most unique and highly sought-after natural wines in California, using simple winemaking methods--whole cluster, foot crushed, indigenous yeasts, aged in neutral oak and little to no sulfur added.