Brosseau Wines

The Brosseaus planted their vineyard in the Chalone AVA in 1981. Back then – before neighboring Chalone Vineyard built a pipeline – water had to be trucked in for irrigation in the extremely dry climate. Even with the added water, yields are very low. For years the grapes were sold to neighboring Chalone Vineyard, but more recently, Brosseau Vineyard fruit has been sold to boutique wineries such as Testarossa Vineyards, Loring Wine Company, Tantara Winery, Roessler Cellars, and Harrington Winery. And some of the grapes go into the family’s own label, Brosseau.

Bill Brosseau – whose parents, Jon and Jan, planted the vineyard – is the winemaker for the family label as well as for Testarossa. He aged this wine in 1-year-old French oak barrels for 12 months. The result is a Pinot Noir that’s big and fairly muscular, with a minerality that’s typical for the Chalone AVA and its limestone soils. The wine, which sells for $38, also displays flavors of ripe cherry and raspberry, along with accents of anise and sage. It would benefit from a few more years in the bottle; Bill suggests decanting it if you want to drink the wine now.

Reviewed March 28, 2007 by Laurie Daniel.