Rootdown Wine Cellars "Rosé of Trousseau," St. Amant Vineyard

Rootdown is the project of winemaker Mike Lucia (with experience at deLoach, Goldeneye, and Copain), focused on organically farmed, single-vineyard, single-varietal wines built around relatively obscure grapes in California, Trousseau, Sangiovese, Mourvèdre, Chenin Blanc, Grenache Blanc, Savagnin, and more, made with low alcohol, high acidity, minimal intervention, native fermentation, little to no new oak, and very limited sulfur. This rosé comes from the historic St. Amant Vineyard in the Sierra Foothills of Amador County, originally planted to ungrafted Zinfandel in 1972. A section was grafted over to five Portuguese varieties later that decade after the owners developed an interest in Port-style wine, with Trousseau (known there as Bastardo) becoming the vineyard's first Portuguese planting in 1981. Following a bout of phylloxera, the Port varieties were eventually replanted on resistant rootstock, and Rootdown's 1.8-acre organic parcel dates to 2004, grown on deep, well-drained Honcut soil formed from granitic alluvium atop the region's gently sloping floodplains. In the cellar, the grapes are foot-trodden and soaked on skins for 24 hours before pressing, then fermented and aged in neutral oak barrels. Once dry, the wine is racked to tank as early as possible to lock in freshness and guard against oxidation. Expect a pale, delicate rosé with a nose of alpine strawberry, dusty rose, sage, and subtle spice, sometimes joined by watermelon and cherry blossom. The palate is dry, pure, and energetic, carrying white nectarine, tangerine, and a hint of star anise, or in other vintages juicy raspberry and pomegranate, framed by natural green apple acidity, a delicate, tea-like tannin texture, and a clean, stony, earthy finish. It's a genuinely unique expression of Trousseau, a grape more commonly associated with France's Jura, reimagined through California's Sierra Foothills terroir and Rootdown's low-intervention, texture-first philosophy.