A BRIEF HISTORY OF PINOT BLANC

Pinot blanc is a light-skinned mutation of Pinot noir that is known for producing refreshing, medium-bodied wines in Alsace and northern Italy.  Pinot noir has been cultivated for around 2000 years, so there have been several opportunities to find these mutations and cultivate them.  One such change leaves just a bit of red pigment in the skins, and is familiar to us as Pinot gris or Pinot grigio.  Another variant ripens from green to yellow with no red pigment at all.  This is what we call Pinot blanc.  Both varieties have been in Alsace and Italy for ages, but are rare in Burgundy.

One modern occurrence of such a mutation happened in 1930 in the estate of Domaine Henri Gouges in Nuits St George.  Henri noticed a shoot on a Pinot noir vine that had green grapes.  By taking cuttings and slowly expanding the planting, he eventually had a few acres of this new version of Pinot blanc.  This clone is often known as Pinot Gouges, especially in its native Burgundy.  I first tasted this version of Pinot blanc at Domaine Henri Gouges in 2003.  I wasn’t keeping tasting notes, but I remember being struck by the intensity of the flavors compared to the Pinot blanc I had worked with elsewhere.

Somehow, through one of these “it came over in the lining of my coat” stories, this Pinot Gouges clone made its way to the Willamette Valley.  The vineyard it was planted in here was pulled out in 2006, but not before John Zelko acquired enough cuttings to plant some in his vineyard.  John sold us that vineyard at the end of 2018, so we are now the proud stewards of this unusual clone and its story in our RPG Vineyard.

I am generally skeptical of these kinds of “suitcase clone” origin stories, preferring to focus on how the fruit does here.  Since I know some of the Gouges family, though, I decided to ask them.  One of them mentioned that she had tasted the fruit in our vineyard and recognized it, and she believes it’s probably the same.  I wouldn’t have told the story here without that acknowledgment, and a promise to share with them a few bottles of our version.

Which brings us to our new release, the 2020 RPG Vineyard Pinot Blanc.  It’s effusive and complex, starting off with floral apple and pear aromas, adding honeydew and cardamom on the palate, and a wet stone salinity as the finish lingers.  As it opens up it adds a tropical streak, like green mangoes or a hint of guava, but the acidity keeps it fresh and lively.  This has both the serious, wine-geek complexity for your nerdy friends and the flat-out yumminess for whoever else drops by.  I probably wouldn’t pull this out with red meat, but it’s been delicious with whatever fish or chicken dishes we’ve thrown at it so far.

As a winemaker, I am thrilled to be learning more and more about this clone as we get to know our new home.  We only made 135 cases of the 2020, but look for more in the future!