Savory and Textured Wines: Grochau Cellars

John Grochau – Grochau Cellars

A couple months ago, I met John Grochau of Grochau Cellars at his tasting room located in McMinnville, Oregon’s, historic Granary District. Before visitng the Grochau Cellars tasting room and winery, I had heard from several other wine enthusiasts that John’s wines were outstanding – I was excited to taste the wine I had heard so much about. Perhaps my excitement to try the Grochau Cellars wines also came from John’s winemaking philosophy:

“It’s simple really: Don’t screw it up. Resist the urge to do too much. Modern winemakers have such an array of options available to them it’s staggering. Micro-oxygenation. Wine concentrators. Enzyme addition. Not to mention the temptation so many indulge to beat an otherwise fine wine over the head with a battery of new oak.  We eschew all this. Minimal handling, subtle coaxing, oak as a seasoning not as main dish: These are the hallmarks of our wines. Honest, accurate, true to their roots and to the wonderful subtleties of vintage variation.”

John grew up in the Portland area, and then he wanted to attend University of California, Davis, so he made a plan: work a harvest in Sonoma, work in San Francisco to gain residency, and then attend UC Davis. He did his first harvest in Sonoma at a place called Deerfield Ranch, where he learned the basic mechanics of harvest. He moved to San Francisco, but soon rekindled a relationship, with his now wife, that changed his decision about California, and had him heading back to Oregon. He went back into the restaurant business, and then he worked the 2000 harvest at Erath Winery, where he was able to gain a little knowledge on winemaking. After harvest at Erath, he started working for the highly-acclaimed Brickhouse Vineyards in February of 2001, where he gained a lot of knowledge about both the vineyard and the winery. John stayed with Brickhouse until 2002, which is when he established his own label, Grochau Cellars.

For John, the most important aspect of making wine is selecting the perfect vineyard sites.

“The vineyard is everything, I mean knowing a vineyard is everything, it’s 90 percent. And, 10 percent is winemaking, which is not screwing it up and stylizing it by making the choices of creating what you want to do, to a point. Your picking decisions, how much you want extracted, and oak regime and all these things are a small part of it to me – it’s more about the vineyard. Yes, I have a style, but it’s choosing the right vineyards to play to my style.”

After tasting the line-up of incredible Grochau Cellars wines, John has certainly done an excellent job of choosing vineyards that fit his winemaking style. Of all the wines we sampled, each had a distinctive savoriness; in addition to, loads of texture and structure.

2011 Pinot Blanc ~ Wow, this wine had some incredible acidity, and I loved it! Pear, melon and citrus aromas flowed onto the palate in wonderful complex layers while finishing bright and crisp with a slight smoky undertone. 70% stainless steel, 30% neutral oak, aged 7 months. 200 cases.

2010 Dundee Hills ~ Raspberries, cherries and a floral note on the nose transform into bright berries, cranberries and earth on the palate. Great acidity and supporting tannins pull the fruit together to round it all out. Luscious and juicy mid-palate, with loads of gorgeous tannins on the finish. 60 cases

Vertical of Eola-Amity Pinot Noir – there was definitely a pattern seen in all three vintages: intense red to black fruit, high acid, great complexity and solid tannins on the finish.  The blends in 2010 and 2009 were sourced from two vineyards: Zenith and Bjornson – located in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA. The 2008 just had 17% Zenith, with the majority of the fruit from Willakia, a vineyard John no longer works with.

• 2010 Eola-Amity ~ all of the above, with added floral and toffee nuances and a super bright and tannic finish. I’m guessing this will round out beautifully with some more time in the bottle. I’d love to revisit this one in the Fall. 100 cases
• 2009 Eola Amity ~ all of the above, with added cola, earth and fresh tobacco. A lively, vibrant mouthfeel made it sort of seem like the wine was dancing on my palate. 125 cases
• 2008 Eola-Amity ~ all of the above, with intensely gorgeous raspberry and blackberry aromas and flavors,  and a zippy hint of white pepper on the finish. 

2010 Zenith Vineyard ~ This one was my favorite of all the Pinots we tried. Cherries, strawberries, earth and fall spices dominated both aromas and flavors, while rolling like waves from front to back. A totally elegant mouthfeel, yet super juicy and down-right luscious. This is my kind of Pinot. 100% Pommard, all sourced from a single block at Zenith Vineyard. I didn’t catch the case production on this wine because I was in Pinot lala land – sorry about that.

John mostly makes Pinot Noir, but he also does a little Tempranillo, Syrah and Grenache. Matador is one barrel of each of those varietals, so it’s just a 75 case production. The goal in mind with this wine is intensity and complexity.

2009 Matador Rogue Valley Red Wine ~ with fruit sourced from the Rogue Valley, where Spanish varietals like Tempranillo and Grenache tend to thrive, this wine is big, bold and perfectly delicious. Alluring blackberries, blueberries, leather and bacon on the nose, turn to loads of currants, coffee and chocolate in the mouth. Lengthy, savory finish, and indeed, intense and complex.

John’s winemaking philosophy, one that is after my own heart as I’ve always preferred wines that showcase the dynamics of their varietal, has allowed him to create wines that capture the terroir where their fruit was sourced from. His selection in vineyards shines through with the distinctive savory, rich and intense characteristics of his wines – I was impressed with each of the wines I tried.

“I like tannin. I like structure in wine, I like it textural,” John explained, “I like richness and intensity, but texture is very important. Because I came from restaurants, as a waiter and bartender for a long time, it’s always about food. I want them to be at least pleasant up front, so you can drink them without food, but I also want them to have the structure to be enhanced by, and hopefully enhance food.” 

Grochau Cellars tasting room is open by appointment only, call 503-522-2455. Visit GrochauCellars.com

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Thanks to Carl Giavanti, of Carl Giavanti Consulting, for setting up this tasting with John Grochau. Thanks to John Grochau for taking the time out to share some fabulously complex, textured and savory wines, cheers!