Troon Vineyard Makes a New Wine: Côtes du Kubli

This is a delicious wine made in a unique quasi-collaboration between Southern Oregon's Troon Vineyard and Cowhorn Vineyard, in which Cowhorn sold Troon grapes while Troon's vineyards are being replanted. It is the only wine from Troon not made with its own, estate-grown grapes. Not surprisingly, the spirit of farming is the same at Cowhorn and Troon: all of the fruit is biodynamically farmed. 

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Troon Vineyard 2018 Côtes du Kubli Cowhorn Vineyard Applegate Valley 13.5% $35
Pale gold in color, this über-youthful white is wildly freshing and opens beautifully as it warms up. The 51% Viognier, 28% Marsanne and 21% Roussanne were tread by foot then fermented with native yeasts before aging six months in neutral French oak barrels. The blend of the grape varieties and the expressiveness of the native yeasts give the wine aromatic verve. I chilled it as a white (around 40°F), but I preferred it closer to cellar temperature, around 50°F. Juicy at the rounded core (thanks in part to the neutral barrel aging) with flavors of persimmon, tangelo and pear nectar, this wine's vibrantly lifting acidity melds smartly with its lightly orange-pithy finish. There is excellent complexity here in flavors and palate dynamism, even though the finish is rather modest. This has an excellent, pristine clean profile. 

Standing slightly in contrast to many of the more intellectually challenging and palate gripping Troon white and orange wines that I have recently tried, this one is more universally crowd pleasing, particularly when enjoyed at the table.