Translucent orange tinged ruby. Everything I’ve come to expect here with red flowers and bright red fruits with something akin to faint smokiness on the nose. Palate reflects the nose with a thread of mineral structure ever present. Fresh strawberry and florals abound, and the finish is quite persistent. Why not drink these now??
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Amazing. What a gorgeous Trousseau, and at a great point in its evolution. We had it right after a 2019 Domaine Baud Génération 9 Côtes du Jura Cousu Main (which I scored 91 earlier in the year), both paired with light cheeses, no decant for either. The spiciness was very similar on both, but I'd give the slight nod to this wine as it's just a little fuller. Sourced from the Bohan Vineyard in Fort Ross/Seaview.
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Transcending nose. Spice, eucalyptus, bright berries-just beautiful. Bright cherry pops and the palate explodes with wonderful fruit that has what seems like a million different ends. I pulled this honestly because I had a long day and didn't want to think about a $100 bottle of wine, but at the end of the day gave me far more mental stimulation than that expensive cab would have...and maybe that's what I really needed. This is open for business (day 2 honestly no diff than day 1), pop and enjoy!
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Lovely transparent ruby color with a bit of auburn to it. The nose is loaded with mineral, chalk, herbal and strawberry notes. The finish is a bit clipped, but the acidity gives it a pleasant, nervous energy. Very similar to a Jura trousseau, and the most "old world" in style of any new world renditions I've tried of this varietal. I'd love to see how these develop but alas, my allocation was but a single bottle.
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Pours faint in color, hazy in body. Decanted, tried after 30 minutes and questioned if the bottle was off. Hours on it’s still herbaceous - green funk pervades. Some juicy red berries too. One dimensional, maybe an off bottle but this just doesn’t stack up with the rest of the Sandlands portfolio. Hopefully the 17s and 19 I have are better.
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Brilliant light red, quaffable light to mid weight summertime bottle. Had enough balance to handle the fruit, but a touch of fruit leads the finish. I would drink up just because it is in such a nice place today.
light with strawberry and floral notes. Felt like there was residual CO2 but I don't think that was the case. The wine danced on the tongue. Fantastic.
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Lighter red color, not pale but translucent. I get more of a strawberry feel than the cherry noted in by others. Did need some extended air, give it 1-2 hours to open. Kind of mismatched against lamb kabob, but not mismatched against the weather - 86 degrees but with a cooling breeze. Served at cellar temp, 50. Probably best suited for kicking back with a cheese plate and enjoying over a summer evening.
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Decanted. Now 1.5h later. Beautiful aromas of flowers, bark, ripe cherries, and a hint of earth. Red cherries, green stems, earth, bark and herbs. Mild tannins on back end. The fruit is a bit leaner on the palate than what the nose might suggest. Still, an elegant texture. More air definitely helps to bring the wine together. Seems to be an in between phase. This is definitely trousseau, shaped by CA with a strong nod to Jura. Will open next bottle in 3-5 yrs to see if there's further evolution. 90+
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High acid, high toned but a bit thin. It has all of the beautiful red fruit characteristics mentioned by others, but needs to fill in. Hold at least a year, I think.
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Light red in color. 12.7% ABV. Pretty nose of red fruits, soil and flowers. Light body with perfect acidity. Bright, crisp and refreshing. Cherries, strawberries, cranberries and minerals on the palate. Medium length on the finish. Perfect bottle for a picnic or a sunny afternoon on the deck. Absolutely delightful. Best over the next several years.
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Translucent reddish purple. A: really pretty burst of a variety of red fruit and flowers... like a mountain meadow full of wildflowers and wild strawberry. Gorgeous. F: pretty red fruited, some mineral cut, palate cleansing citrus.
Wonderful stuff. Seems pretty open and not a whole lot different from a year ago. Drink or hold.
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Wildly floral on the nose. This is like sticking your face into a bunch of roses. Brambly red fruit, more in the light raspberry vein than cherry, grounded with earthy notes. Medium- to light body and medium+ acid keep this very lively and refreshing. There's a deceptive level of tannin that, while still in the medium- range, still add a touch of grip and structure. The fruit seems to have faded a bit from previous bottles, so I would drink these sooner than later.
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A little of bottle variation here. Charming and pleasant, but only moderate acidity and lacking some zip. Fruit upfront, but i would not consider this too fruity or jammy by any stretch. Ideal red for hot soup on a cooler fall evening in the Midwest.
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Decanted off of a lot of fine sediment. Light plum color with orange-brown flashes. Fine nose of cherries, rhubarb, violets. Light bodied and lithe on the palate, with crisp focus. Quick finish with light grip.
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Tegan Passalacqua deftly crafts the fruit-forward and even extracted wines for Turley Wine Cellars. But this consummate winemaker also creates more graceful and even ethereal red and white offerings for his own label Sandlands. My Sandlands favorite is his Trousseau. For those of you unfamiliar (like me, until a few months ago) with that varietal, it originated in France, where it is made into single-varietal wines, but is perhaps better known as Bastardo (i.e., "Bastard") in Portugal, where it is blended with a hodgepodge of other grapes to become Port. In both France and Sonoma County, where Tegan, sources his New World Trousseau fruit, the wines are a lighter almost a transparent shade of red, but not (I emphasize) pink. His 2016 effort shares a nose and palate of cherry, strawberry, muted baking spices and forest floor. Indeed, in a blind tasting, I fooled a wine snob into incorrectly identifying the wine as a Monterey County Pinot. But the similarity or confusion with Pinot Noir does not do this varietal, and Mr. Passalacqua's remarkable creation from the same, justice. Indeed, if given the choice between the Sandlands Trousseau and any Pinot from California to taste, I would invariably, always and happily choose the Trousseau. Addendum, while I suspect this lighter-bodied wine is meant to be consumed immediately after release, it's noticeably better after an extended decant, which suggests that it will age gracefully for a few more years. Second addendum, I tried the 2017 vintage of this wine, which is an even lighter-bodied version of the stellar 2016. As much as I liked the 2017, it pales (literally and figuratively) in comparison with the 2016.
2017 Method Savage Rorick Heritage is super light in color, very cloudy. on the palate super funky (think lambic beer with spider webs and brett), cranberry, herbal, no oak or malo. on the palate dry, high acids, more flesh on the mid palate than i would have guessed, minimal tannins low alcohol. balanced wine with good length, great intensity, average complexity. clearly if you are drinking this you need to be want that nat’y lambic style… i like this style and enjoyed this wine but 7/10 people will think this is weird and spoiled. Pour appropriately. 2016 Sandilands Trousseau has moderate depth of color and is clear. aromatically quite clean with simple cherry fruit, no oak, no real minerality in there. on the palate high acids, light on the palate, low tannins, low alcohol. balanced wine, short length, good intensity, very low complexity. very simple, pleasant fruit driven clean wine with little sense of varietal or place (i’d have guessed tank NW $15 pinot) but way more friendly to serve to a large group of people. Fun comparison for an esoteric category. Post script 90+ point notes on the Sandlands Troussea for me are really surprising.... for me lacks several key quality elements to be "excellent."
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Trousseau is pretty much the Thanksgiving go-to at this point. This almost functions like the cranberry sauce that has gotten smeared across the entire plate. This is great with vegetables, has the acidity to cut through richer dishes but won't steamroller over the turkey.
Sandlands is probably the best domestic Trousseau I've had, with a bit more richness (relative to Trousseau) than Arnot-Roberts... which is still quite good.
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Sweet red fruit and red jolly rancher on the nose. The palate is a bit more tart red fruit with strawberry, watermelon and grapefruit peel. Sharp acidity. Finish shows a blood orange note. Really enjoyed this, and hope to have the opportunity to buy next year.
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The nose and palate of this wine is primarily watermelon. Sweeter side of things. Perhaps a hint of black pepper on the finish. Based on what I was told, these are good to drink young. I think that this wine is probably going to be better after a year. Not doing badly now. I think the drinking window of this wine is probably a bit on the short side. I think this wine will be on the downward slide by 2020.
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Popped and poured. Super light in color, almost pinkish in hue. Very translucent. Nose of bright high toned red fruits with wild strawberry and red cherry and fresh cranberry along with some perfumed floral notes. Very pretty. Similar flavors on the palate with mostly sweet and tart red fruit driven flavors. Delicate mouthfeel. Medium+ acid, light to medium tannin. Easy drinking and delicious. Loved this wine.
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on a trousseau kick. Pnp, lovely and fresh, bright strawberries, ultra floral roses, elegant nose. Tastes of blood orange zest and slight pithy bitterness, fresh acidity. Will keep remaining bottle for tomorrow to see where it’s at.
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4th of July in NH with friends & wine; 7/4/2018-7/6/2018 (New London, NH): A total baby of a wine, hold this for another 3 -5 years to let some complexity build. Ruby red fruit, with underlying earthy and herbal elements. For me I always pick up black tea notes in trousseau and this was no exception. I think right now the fruit still needs to meld with the other elements, a bit disjointed - but should come together nicely with some time in bottle.
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From memory. Flowers, juicy red and black fruits, spices, a hint of earth and mild-moderate tannins on back end. More spice and tannins than I remember from previous vintages. Still with an elegant mouthfeel.
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2/16/2024 - Bakerbd Likes this wine: 93 Points
Floral nose, cherries, cranberries, wet leaves, med - body, med + acidity
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12/31/2023 - CPSchoeff Likes this wine: 92 Points
Translucent orange tinged ruby. Everything I’ve come to expect here with red flowers and bright red fruits with something akin to faint smokiness on the nose. Palate reflects the nose with a thread of mineral structure ever present. Fresh strawberry and florals abound, and the finish is quite persistent. Why not drink these now??
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12/1/2023 - winespine Likes this wine: 92 Points
Amazing. What a gorgeous Trousseau, and at a great point in its evolution. We had it right after a 2019 Domaine Baud Génération 9 Côtes du Jura Cousu Main (which I scored 91 earlier in the year), both paired with light cheeses, no decant for either. The spiciness was very similar on both, but I'd give the slight nod to this wine as it's just a little fuller. Sourced from the Bohan Vineyard in Fort Ross/Seaview.
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7/15/2022 - DrewWyman Likes this wine: 95 Points
Transcending nose. Spice, eucalyptus, bright berries-just beautiful. Bright cherry pops and the palate explodes with wonderful fruit that has what seems like a million different ends. I pulled this honestly because I had a long day and didn't want to think about a $100 bottle of wine, but at the end of the day gave me far more mental stimulation than that expensive cab would have...and maybe that's what I really needed. This is open for business (day 2 honestly no diff than day 1), pop and enjoy!
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2/7/2022 - GrapeScott wrote: 89 Points
Lovely transparent ruby color with a bit of auburn to it. The nose is loaded with mineral, chalk, herbal and strawberry notes. The finish is a bit clipped, but the acidity gives it a pleasant, nervous energy. Very similar to a Jura trousseau, and the most "old world" in style of any new world renditions I've tried of this varietal. I'd love to see how these develop but alas, my allocation was but a single bottle.
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11/16/2021 - khmark7 wrote: 90 Points
Very Burgundian. Excellent with food.
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11/7/2021 - MartyL wrote: 91 Points
Tart-sweet (as distinguished from sweet-tart) cranberry sauce. Savory herbal thing going on too. Cries out for food. A white wine lover’s red wine.
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7/3/2021 - Ewhite30 Does not like this wine:
Pours faint in color, hazy in body. Decanted, tried after 30 minutes and questioned if the bottle was off. Hours on it’s still herbaceous - green funk pervades. Some juicy red berries too. One dimensional, maybe an off bottle but this just doesn’t stack up with the rest of the Sandlands portfolio. Hopefully the 17s and 19 I have are better.
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6/24/2021 - lockestep Likes this wine: 90 Points
Brilliant light red, quaffable light to mid weight summertime bottle. Had enough balance to handle the fruit, but a touch of fruit leads the finish. I would drink up just because it is in such a nice place today.
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10/30/2020 - R.H. Likes this wine:
chugged this. so good.
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7/28/2020 - rtewh Likes this wine: 92 Points
light with strawberry and floral notes. Felt like there was residual CO2 but I don't think that was the case. The wine danced on the tongue. Fantastic.
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5/15/2020 - lockestep Likes this wine: 90 Points
Lighter red color, not pale but translucent. I get more of a strawberry feel than the cherry noted in by others. Did need some extended air, give it 1-2 hours to open. Kind of mismatched against lamb kabob, but not mismatched against the weather - 86 degrees but with a cooling breeze. Served at cellar temp, 50. Probably best suited for kicking back with a cheese plate and enjoying over a summer evening.
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4/17/2020 - James Kim wrote: 90 Points
Decanted. Now 1.5h later. Beautiful aromas of flowers, bark, ripe cherries, and a hint of earth. Red cherries, green stems, earth, bark and herbs. Mild tannins on back end. The fruit is a bit leaner on the palate than what the nose might suggest. Still, an elegant texture. More air definitely helps to bring the wine together. Seems to be an in between phase. This is definitely trousseau, shaped by CA with a strong nod to Jura. Will open next bottle in 3-5 yrs to see if there's further evolution. 90+
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3/31/2020 - jdcarucci wrote:
High acid, high toned but a bit thin. It has all of the beautiful red fruit characteristics mentioned by others, but needs to fill in. Hold at least a year, I think.
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3/28/2020 - jcha24 wrote:
Another winner from sandlands.
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3/20/2020 - tomlee wrote: 91 Points
Light red in color. 12.7% ABV. Pretty nose of red fruits, soil and flowers. Light body with perfect acidity. Bright, crisp and refreshing. Cherries, strawberries, cranberries and minerals on the palate. Medium length on the finish. Perfect bottle for a picnic or a sunny afternoon on the deck. Absolutely delightful. Best over the next several years.
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2/28/2020 - CPSchoeff Likes this wine: 92 Points
Translucent reddish purple. A: really pretty burst of a variety of red fruit and flowers... like a mountain meadow full of wildflowers and wild strawberry. Gorgeous. F: pretty red fruited, some mineral cut, palate cleansing citrus.
Wonderful stuff. Seems pretty open and not a whole lot different from a year ago. Drink or hold.
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1/12/2020 - Rich S Likes this wine: 91 Points
Consistent with previous bottle. Lovely wine.
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12/5/2019 - Seafoam Manor wrote: 91 Points
Wildly floral on the nose. This is like sticking your face into a bunch of roses. Brambly red fruit, more in the light raspberry vein than cherry, grounded with earthy notes. Medium- to light body and medium+ acid keep this very lively and refreshing. There's a deceptive level of tannin that, while still in the medium- range, still add a touch of grip and structure. The fruit seems to have faded a bit from previous bottles, so I would drink these sooner than later.
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10/5/2019 - khmark7 wrote: 87 Points
A little of bottle variation here. Charming and pleasant, but only moderate acidity and lacking some zip. Fruit upfront, but i would not consider this too fruity or jammy by any stretch. Ideal red for hot soup on a cooler fall evening in the Midwest.
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7/19/2019 - adnorthup Likes this wine: 92 Points
Super fruit Forward. Berries, berries and berries. Some lingering acidity and light tannins. This is delicious and open for business.
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6/17/2019 - Bakerbd Likes this wine: 92 Points
Wild red berries, spice, light bodies and fresh, so charming
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5/14/2019 - VeniceCalif wrote: 89 Points
Decanted off of a lot of fine sediment. Light plum color with orange-brown flashes. Fine nose of cherries, rhubarb, violets. Light bodied and lithe on the palate, with crisp focus. Quick finish with light grip.
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4/29/2019 - Dagalaifus Likes this wine: 94 Points
Tegan Passalacqua deftly crafts the fruit-forward and even extracted wines for Turley Wine Cellars. But this consummate winemaker also creates more graceful and even ethereal red and white offerings for his own label Sandlands. My Sandlands favorite is his Trousseau. For those of you unfamiliar (like me, until a few months ago) with that varietal, it originated in France, where it is made into single-varietal wines, but is perhaps better known as Bastardo (i.e., "Bastard") in Portugal, where it is blended with a hodgepodge of other grapes to become Port. In both France and Sonoma County, where Tegan, sources his New World Trousseau fruit, the wines are a lighter almost a transparent shade of red, but not (I emphasize) pink. His 2016 effort shares a nose and palate of cherry, strawberry, muted baking spices and forest floor. Indeed, in a blind tasting, I fooled a wine snob into incorrectly identifying the wine as a Monterey County Pinot. But the similarity or confusion with Pinot Noir does not do this varietal, and Mr. Passalacqua's remarkable creation from the same, justice. Indeed, if given the choice between the Sandlands Trousseau and any Pinot from California to taste, I would invariably, always and happily choose the Trousseau. Addendum, while I suspect this lighter-bodied wine is meant to be consumed immediately after release, it's noticeably better after an extended decant, which suggests that it will age gracefully for a few more years. Second addendum, I tried the 2017 vintage of this wine, which is an even lighter-bodied version of the stellar 2016. As much as I liked the 2017, it pales (literally and figuratively) in comparison with the 2016.
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3/31/2019 - markjanes wrote: 84 Points
California trousseau night…
2017 Method Savage Rorick Heritage is super light in color, very cloudy. on the palate super funky (think lambic beer with spider webs and brett), cranberry, herbal, no oak or malo. on the palate dry, high acids, more flesh on the mid palate than i would have guessed, minimal tannins low alcohol. balanced wine with good length, great intensity, average complexity. clearly if you are drinking this you need to be want that nat’y lambic style… i like this style and enjoyed this wine but 7/10 people will think this is weird and spoiled. Pour appropriately. 2016 Sandilands Trousseau has moderate depth of color and is clear. aromatically quite clean with simple cherry fruit, no oak, no real minerality in there. on the palate high acids, light on the palate, low tannins, low alcohol. balanced wine, short length, good intensity, very low complexity. very simple, pleasant fruit driven clean wine with little sense of varietal or place (i’d have guessed tank NW $15 pinot) but way more friendly to serve to a large group of people. Fun comparison for an esoteric category. Post script 90+ point notes on the Sandlands Troussea for me are really surprising.... for me lacks several key quality elements to be "excellent."
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11/23/2018 - Seafoam Manor wrote: 91 Points
Trousseau is pretty much the Thanksgiving go-to at this point. This almost functions like the cranberry sauce that has gotten smeared across the entire plate. This is great with vegetables, has the acidity to cut through richer dishes but won't steamroller over the turkey.
Sandlands is probably the best domestic Trousseau I've had, with a bit more richness (relative to Trousseau) than Arnot-Roberts... which is still quite good.
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10/27/2018 - Shay.Aldriedge Likes this wine: 92 Points
Sweet red fruit and red jolly rancher on the nose. The palate is a bit more tart red fruit with strawberry, watermelon and grapefruit peel. Sharp acidity. Finish shows a blood orange note. Really enjoyed this, and hope to have the opportunity to buy next year.
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10/26/2018 - mflesh wrote: 92 Points
The nose and palate of this wine is primarily watermelon. Sweeter side of things. Perhaps a hint of black pepper on the finish. Based on what I was told, these are good to drink young. I think that this wine is probably going to be better after a year. Not doing badly now. I think the drinking window of this wine is probably a bit on the short side. I think this wine will be on the downward slide by 2020.
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10/15/2018 - Rich S Likes this wine: 91 Points
Popped and poured. Super light in color, almost pinkish in hue. Very translucent. Nose of bright high toned red fruits with wild strawberry and red cherry and fresh cranberry along with some perfumed floral notes. Very pretty. Similar flavors on the palate with mostly sweet and tart red fruit driven flavors. Delicate mouthfeel. Medium+ acid, light to medium tannin. Easy drinking and delicious. Loved this wine.
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9/30/2018 - Jinandy Likes this wine:
on a trousseau kick. Pnp, lovely and fresh, bright strawberries, ultra floral roses, elegant nose. Tastes of blood orange zest and slight pithy bitterness, fresh acidity. Will keep remaining bottle for tomorrow to see where it’s at.
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7/10/2018 - Mike Dildine Likes this wine: 90 Points
Focused and refreshing!
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7/4/2018 - retired_and_roving Likes this wine:
4th of July in NH with friends & wine; 7/4/2018-7/6/2018 (New London, NH): A total baby of a wine, hold this for another 3 -5 years to let some complexity build. Ruby red fruit, with underlying earthy and herbal elements. For me I always pick up black tea notes in trousseau and this was no exception. I think right now the fruit still needs to meld with the other elements, a bit disjointed - but should come together nicely with some time in bottle.
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6/25/2018 - mjf@ulkner wrote: 91 Points
Ruby red. Bright pomegranate, cranberry tinged fruit. High toned, with plenty of nervy acidity. A nice summer quaff with a bit of a pre drink chill.
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6/16/2018 - BadOyster wrote: 90 Points
bright, mouhthwatering red fruits and cranberry. worked well with food. excellent acidity.
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6/8/2018 - James Kim Likes this wine: 90 Points
From memory. Flowers, juicy red and black fruits, spices, a hint of earth and mild-moderate tannins on back end. More spice and tannins than I remember from previous vintages. Still with an elegant mouthfeel.
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2/13/2018 - rc@ughey wrote: 89 Points
Light, fresh, and juicy. Strawberry nectar with minerals and herbs. Simple but joyous. Much better with a couple hours of air.
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