Combe Pet'Nat Trousseau 2022

Background
Pete Stolpman and Rajat Parr’s Esoteric Partnership “Combe” translates to a small sheltered valley within a Burgundian vineyard.

When Rajat Parr began making Chardonnay alongside Stolpman in the Lompoc Wine Ghetto back in 2010, he immediately campaigned to plant Trousseau on Stolpman’s Ballard Canyon Limestone soils.  Vignerons in Jura seek out Limestone for their Trousseau plantings, and Rajat theorized that Trousseau, a varietal that often has difficulty achieving ripeness, would flourish in the sunny, arid Ballard Canyon wind tunnel.  

Vintage
Cold and windy conditions in the spring, combined with a second consecutive year of drought, led to a small crop with bursting flavor concentration.  We forecasted a late harvest until a Labor Day heat wave sped ripening up across the board.  We harvested all of our Trousseau blocks prior to the heatwave to ensure acid retention, which is always a concern for the Trousseau varietal.  We chose the highest acid, latest ripening sub-blocks for the Pet’Nat in 2022 and like the 2 previous vintages, pressed the Trousseau with the Mondeuse for co-fermentation. 

Sensory
Pale pink in color with a plentiful mousse and a petite bead of bubbles.  Insanely floral, notes of jasmine, and a ton of bright peach and plum. Racing acidity is already integrated into the wine’s tactile richness.  An amazing elevation of intensity in 2022!

2014 marked the first vintage of Combe Trousseau and Combe Troussea Pet’Nat.  In 2017 we made our first Vin Gris of Trousseau from pink clusters that never achieved full verasion.  Trousseau now accounts for 3.5 acres at Stolpman, and the Combe line has also expanded to include Chenin Blanc.  In 2020, one small half acre block of Mondeuse came online to naturally acidify both the Pet’Nat and Vin Gris of Trousseau.   

The latest varietal to be planted for Combe, Savagnin, will make its debut in 2023.