Firesteed Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2004, Oregon
7th March 2008
Until recently Howard Rossbach grew no wine. He bought grapes from other people, then had someone else vinify these grapes to his own specifications. In other words, Mr Rossbach was what the French call a négociant. In France this is considered a perfectly honourable calling, requiring business acumen and fine oenological judgment. The better négociant wines (such as this one) are often very good value for money.
But in the United States négociants are not well regarded. They are seen as fast-buck types who buy up unsold wines at rock-bottom prices, adorn them with pretty labels, then sell them on to the undiscriminating. This is probably why none of my reference books mentions Mr Rossbach’s Firesteed house, even though it is Oregon’s biggest, and it has been winning praise and awards since the early 1990s.
For the same reason, Mr Rossbach shuns the title of négociant. He calls Firesteed a “virtual winery”, stressing that its wines are created not through opportunism but from long-term contracts with carefully picked growers and wineries. Besides, in 2003 Mr Rossbach bought himself a non-virtual winery containing 15 hectares of vineyard, so strictly speaking he is now a négociant-éleveur. But I don’t suppose he would care for that title either.
Anyway, what matters is the wine. Mr Rossbach’s original idea was to create a good Oregon Pinot Noir that would consistently retail at around the ten dollar mark. Most Oregon Pinots fetch at least twice that sum, so even in the 1990s this was quite an ambition. Mr Rossbach fulfilled it. His Firesteed Oregon Pinot Noir is light, fresh and fruity. It remains an excellent buy, although it now costs nearer twelve dollars than ten.
Since his initial success Mr Rossbach has added to the Firesteed range. There is now an Oregon Pinot Gris and, bewilderingly, a Barbera d’Asti. There is also a reserve Pinot Noir called Citation, which costs around $45 a bottle. And there is this week’s wine, the mid-priced Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. Like the Oregon Pinot it is a blend, but its grapes are superior and it is aged in French oak.
What strikes you most forcefully about this wine is its complexity. One moment it suggests coffee, the next violets; one mouthful is velvety, the next is pepper and spice. Now and then I was reminded of a Burgundy, then the fruit reasserted itself and I was back in Oregon. The finish was long and dreamy.
The Firesteed Willamette Valley Pinot Noir costs around $24 in the US, £18 in the UK. It completely vindicates Mr Rossbach’s approach to winemaking. An Oregon estate Pinot Noir of this calibre will cost you twice as much while offering no more richness or sophistication. Right now, more and more winemakers are adopting the terroir philosophy, identifying their wines with particular plots of land. Over time, they hope, this will lend the wines greater cachet, so they can charge us more for them. I wish them every success, but at the same time I am very grateful for Mr Rossbach’s expertly blended, keenly priced alternatives.
