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Look for Applegate Valley in the SW corner of the map. Oregon AVA wine map courtesy of oregonwinepress.com

Where the Heck is the Applegate Valley?
There is so much to explore in Oregon wine. I love Willamette Valley, it’s the home to a variety of world class wines. I’m a fan of under-the-radar regions as well such as the Columbia Gorge AVA. There’s more! Southwest Oregon is another less known area. It has a warmer, drier climate than Willamette Valley, so you’ll rarely see the same grapes as its’ northern neighbors, think Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Vermentino and others.

Troon Vineyard
Troon Vineyard is located in the Applegate Valley, a sub-region within the larger Rogue Valley. The vineyard was planted by Dick Troon in the earliest days of Oregon wine, back in 1972. Today, Troon is owned by Denise and Bryan White and run by general manager Craig Camp. Over the last several years, they have been moving the vineyard and winemaking to biodynamic standards, believing the approach to be best for both the land and the wine.

The viticulture and winemaking approach at Troon stresses restraint and minimal intervention. The wines are food-friendly and will be familiar to wine drinkers with an old world palate. They definitely show new world fruit, but they aren’t afraid to show non-fruit notes. Clean winemaking with no faults disguised as personality, I wouldn’t call them lush or plush like many of their neighbors to the south. The red wines are aged in oak, but there’s no new oak in the cellar.  My kind of place! If you’re interested in learning more about their approach (and why) take a look at Craig’s Wine Camp blog here.

Troon Vineyard Old Vine Meritage Applegate Valley Southern Oregon 2013 (not currently available, but similar wines direct from Troon here, or currently $25 online here)

13.5% abv Closest I could find: 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26 Merlot 14 Cab Franc, 5 Malbec, 1 Petit Verdot

Eye: Clear, medium ruby with a barely warm ruby edge, legs are not stained
Nose: Clean, medium+ intensity, ripe dark blue fruit with notes of cocoa, tobacco and a bare hint of cedar and rosemary. The fruit is there, but the nose is not dominated by it. Nice balance with the non-fruit notes.
Mouth: Dry, medium body, medium intensity, medium+ acidity, medium+ tannins smooth but assertive. This wine will benefit from more aging. Very nice with food now, but a bit tannic for “by the fire”.  Closer kin to Bordeaux than to typical Washington State, certainly unlike plush Napa Valley. Still, the cocoa elements whisper Washington to me.

Paleo friendly dinner from the grill paired beautifully with Troon Vineyard Meritage

Paleo-Friendly Dinner
I love carbs too much to go to a paleo diet (baguettes, I’m talking to you!), but we had fun tonight with a paleo-friendly dinner.  We grilled some flat-iron steak, spaghetti squash and brussels sprouts. We had some leftover spicy mustard sauce in the fridge which was a great addtion to the steak. You never know what you’ll find, digging around in the fridge!  Troon Vineyards Meritage paired beautifully with the grilled steak, and the lightly charred veggies felt right at home with the wine as well.

Troon Vineyards wines are perfect for the dinner table. Worth searching out!