Three R.G. Wines: 2004 Sparkling Wine 2007 Pinot Noir Cuvèe Rosé Brut
News & Wine Reviews March 09 News Wow! New Mutation
Every vine in the Richard Grant vineyard was propagated from cuttings taken from the original old wild vine found in the village of Wrotham in the 1950s
Now: Three Richard Grant Wines
Wrotham Pinot Sparkling Wine and Wrotham Pinot Noir table wine must now share the spotlight with a third wine. The newcomer is as unique in its way as are the two originals. It's called Cuvèe Rosé Brut and it's a careful blend of three different vintages (it's actually multi-vintage, but has to be called "non-vintage" by current TTB rules). The complete story is told on the Cuvèe Rosé Brut page -- just click on that name in the green panel to the left.
All the vines in my Yountville vineyard were propagated from bud wood taken from a single wild grapevine that was discovered in the village of Wrotham in Kent, England in the 1950s. (See The Wrotham Pinot Story by clicking that name, above)
These vines are Pinot Noir by DNA test, but they have their own peculiar ‘look,’ having mutated over the centuries since Romans first brought their Pinot vines into England some two thousand years ago. The original find was called Wrotham Pinot when first discovered but, now that we know its DNA proves it to be 100% Pinot Noir, we accurately name it the Wrotham Clone of Pinot Noir.
Because I have so few vines and small wine volumes, I've alternated between producing two wine types from year to year. The early vintages (2000 through 2005) produced only Blanc de Noir Sparkling wines while we made only Pinot Noir red table wines in vintages 2006 through 2009. 2010 was again Sparkling wine, and I blended it with some well yeasted 2002 vintage and a little 2009 to make the new Sparkling Cuvèe Rosé Brut Sparkling wine. Future vintages will be used for one of the three, depending on demand in the market. Keep in mind that nearly every year so far has been an experiment, since we had so little information on which to base winemaking decisions for the best use of these grapes grown in Napa Valley.
Today's English winemakers haven’'t been able to ripen this variety sufficiently to make red table wines since their climate is much cooler than ours. None of us has known what to expect from the same variety grown in Napa's warmer region. Now that I’'ve experienced several vintages, I like what I see and now feel comfortable in making either red Pinot Noir or Blanc de Noir Sparkling Wine from our Wrotham clone of Pinot Noir grapes.
When the Napa Valley grapes are harvested early (as is done in Champagne, France) this clone of Pinot Noir produces a delicate and superb sparkling wine. Holding the grape skins in contact with their juice for a few hours after crushing gives the eventual wine a delicate, beautiful peach-pink color. When harvested at full maturity and fermented as if they were grown in Burgundy, grapes from the very same vines produce a classic red table wine that is, indeed, very Burgundy-like, yet with a distinctive spice-like flavor that is reminiscent of fresh Cardamom.
That shows the virtue of Napa Valley: it has climate and soil to produce an exceptional Sparkling Wine that can rival the finest Champagnes. At the same time, it has climate and soil types to produce superb varietal red wines that rival the finest red Burgundies of Cote de Beaune. Both Richard Grant wines have proven that they will age well in your cellar for at least a decade and probably more. The Pinot Noir should hold well for more than twenty years judging from my experience with other coastal Pinot Noirs. It will not surprise me if it remains quite good for thirty or more. Certainly those old Beaulieu Vineyard Pinots that I made in the late 1960s and early 1970s did so. Let me hear your comments about this unique Pinot Noir clone after you've had a chance to try all three of the wines it produces.
