Troon Vineyard is a fixture in the Southern Oregon wine industry. It’s one of two vineyards that were established in the Applegate Valley in 1972, the first there post-Prohibition.

In recent years, Troon Vineyard has been actively updating their viticulture, winemaking, and varietal mix, as well as the customer experience. Lately, the’ve converted to biodynamic wine-growing. Their 2018 vintage was produced entirely using organic and biodynamic viticulture. Troon hopes to receive biodynamic certification from Demeter this year.

From a winemaking perspective, Troon is focusing on a lean, fresh style. The white wines are light and crisp, the reds, flavorful but medium-bodied with moderate alcohol. All the wines ferment with ambient yeast and without any adjustments or additives.

Some of the white wines are made with extended lees aging and/or skin contact. Call it old-school traditional or call it hipster trendy. The results are good.

Troon Vineyard continues to grow and make Riesling and Zinfandel, some of the latter vines dating back to the original 1972 planting. However, the overall focus now is on white and red Rhone varieties and red varieties from the southwest of France, particularly Malbec and Tannat. 

Reviews of Seven Troon Vineyard Current Releases

2017 Troon Vineyard Roussanne Applegate Valley AVA, Oregon 92 11.0% 750ml $30

This lively, light-bodied Roussanne attracts immediately with aromas of apricot, chamomile and ginger. Those notes appear on the palate too, but there’s much more—flavors of honeysuckle, dry grass, lemon, pear, and white pepper. A nice, waxy mouthfeel gives the wine presence and its acidity dances on the tongue. Very refined and balanced with a long finish. It will be good with or without food. Classic fondue would be a great pairing.

2017 Troon Vineyard Kubli Bench Blanc, Applegate Valley AVA, Oregon 91+ 11.8% 750ml $30

You’d expect a Marsanne-Viognier blend to be rounder and riper than a Roussanne varietal. This one is, coming in at 11.8% alcohol, compared to 11.0% for the Roussanne above. The nose offers honeysuckle, peach and black pepper. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine texture that gets pleasingly slippery with repeated sips. Gently mouthwatering flavors of waxy, underripe peach and apricot, jasmine, and subtle baking spice finish with a touch of Viognier-appropriate bitterness on the finish. 

2017 Troon Vineyard Vermentino Applegate Valley AVA, Oregon 90 12.0% 750ml $18

“Hello. My name is Troon Vermentino. I will be your wine tonight. You should order the mollusks. Which mollusks you ask? Troon Vermentino doesn’t care. Clams, octopus, mussels… Mollusks. But not snails.”

This Vermentino is well-suited to summer days on the Ligurian coast—delicate on the nose with aromas of stone fruit, briny seaside breezes, and a tease of white flowers. It’s mineral and mouthwatering on the palate with underripe stone fruit pear, herb, and salty mineral.

2017 Troon Vineyard Vermentino Whole Grape Ferment Applegate Valley AVA, Oregon 91+ 12.0% 750ml  $25

The Whole Grape Vermentino is rounder than its counterpart above. Romantic and playful, but with backbone, its perfume is honeysuckle, apricot, saffron, exotic spice, and a drop of rose water. Medium-bodied and gently mouthwatering with a touch of fine-grained texture to keep things interesting. Try it with white fish in saffron broth.

2016 Troon Vineyard Cuvée Cot Malbec Applegate Valley AVA, Oregon 89 13.4% 750ml $35

Troon named this wine Cuvée Cot to let customers know the wine isn’t made in the ripe, often thoroughly oaked, style of Argentinian Malbec. I find it falls in between Mendoza and Cahors. It has medium-body, vibrant acidity, moderate alcohol and suggests a light touch by the winemaker. The tannins are fine and initially firm, then softening with air. The nose is vanilla, carob, and dark fruit, the flavors briary black fruit, spice, and a bit of green. Enjoy it with duck or braised lamb.

Tannat

Troon Vineyards is high on Tannat and intend to plant more in the coming years. In its native southwest France, Tannat is dark, and chewy. The Applegate Valley has more, and longer, sunny days. Troon’s particular location also has granitic soils, which General Manager Craig Camp says leads to softer tannins in the red wines. These two factors lead to structured, but ripe and approachable Tannat. To focus attention on the fruit and reduce the risk of wood tannin being introduced, Troon doesn’t use any new oak in their Tannat-based wines.

2016 Troon Vineyard Cuvée Pyrenees Tannat-Malbec Applegate Valley AVA, Oregon 91+ 13.5% 750ml $60

This co-fermented blend is about tangy black and blue berries. There are accents of lemon and garrigue on the nose, orange peel and cocoa on the palate.  The energetic palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins that move back and forth on the continuum between firm and soft, depending on service temperature. My preference is around 65-68°F.

Troon Vineyard Tannat Applegate Valley AVA, Oregon 91+ 14.0% 750ml $40

This is another red betwixt old world and new, largely fruit-driven, but with persistent, racy acidity and few oak-derived flavors. It smells of sweet black fruit, musk, milk chocolate and spice. The blackberry and blueberry flavors are just-ripe and complemented by milk chocolate and texture that’s persistently chalky, but has some velvet too. Bring on the braised beef cheeks.

Copyright Fred Swan 2019. Photos courtesy of Troon Vineyard. All rights reserved.