Jolie-Laide Trousseau Gris 2023

Alcohol: 12.4%

Grape(s): 100% Trousseau Gris

Localization: Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA

Tasting Notes: The Trousseau Gris is a fresh and elegant wine showing off summer melon, lemon peel, nasturtium, nectarine, and Arbor Baimudan tea.  

Notes: Planted in the late 1970s these rare and gnarly looking, massive trunked, and nearly extinct vines produce unique and intriguing fruit each year. Reflecting on our bottlings back to the first Fanucchi Wood Road Trousseau Gris in 2010, it is fascinating to see how the wines have produced a consistent undertone and structural foundation yet with an ever-changing liveliness and breath. Once harvested, the whole clusters were crushed by foot and left to macerate for three days, then pressed and naturally fermented in stainless steel and neutral puncheons. Once fermentation completed, the wine was racked off its heavy lees and transferred to neutral puncheons for a short élevage.

The Domain: Jolie-Laide is a one-man operation based in a Sebastopol winery where winemaker Scott Schultz makes only 500 cases of wine a year under his own label. The name Jolie-Laide translates loosely to “Pretty-Ugly”, a French term of endearment to describe something that is unconventionally beautiful. Scott makes some of the most unique and highly sought-after wines in California that are true to their name.

Scott’s passion for wine was ignited when moved to Napa from Chicago in 2007. Having had extensive experience in the restaurant business, he switched gears upon his arrival in California to lead the wine program at Thomas Keller’s Bouchon. Working a harvest and as a cellar master are a few of Scott’s many achievements. He now works with Wind Gap, Ryme Cellars, and formerly Arnot-Roberts. They all share both a winemaking space and similar philosophies in discovering unconventional beauty. Scott Schultz does what he loves, and he does it well. It shows!