I first met the Laynes shortly after I started at Troon in 2004. I remember the day I first visited the vineyard, which sat at the end of a long driveway, following the Caris Creek draw back into the hills above the Valley. Like many sites in the Applegate, you would never know that the vineyard existed, and yet, there it was, 35 acres of old vines, some of the very first planted in Southern Oregon.
Roger and Barrie Layne moved to the Applegate from California in the early 1970’s. Barrie hailed from Napa, but her family owned a dairy there, not grapevines. However, on their first visit to the Applegate, they met Dick Troon, who, in 1972, had already planted 10 acres of grapevines. They decided to follow suit, and planted some of their own the following year, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Southern Oregon’s first Merlot vines.
As a winemaker at Troon, we made some of our very best and most popular wines from the Layne Vineyard, including the “Old Vine Meritage”, a Bordeaux blend from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. In working with these lots, I found that Applegate Cabernet Sauvignon had a very unique profile. The wine is highly structured, not as fruit driven as California versions. Instead, it has classic notes of cola nut, mint, and dark black currant.
Layne Cabernet Sauvigon is highly ageable. The extremely low vineyard yields create a concentrated wine with ample tannin. We used tight grain French Oak to better integrate with these tannins to create a wine made to be enjoyed over time.
