By Jerry Mueller, Röbller winemaker 

We are celebrating our 30th birthday April 17 and 18. The year 2021 is also the bicentennial of the original deed to our property as well as Missouri’s Statehood Bicentennial. Commemorating this amazing point in history, we are releasing three very special wines for this momentous occasion.  

In conjunction with these wines, we have been working with our good friends at Cool Cow Cheese in Owensville, Missouri, to create an equally special cheese offering to pair with our Anniversary wines. We have put together a flight of our Anniversary wines with a selection of Cool Cow cheeses so we can safely offer a great experience to everyone who comes out to help us celebrate.

Here is a little something about each of the wines and the special edition Cool Cow Cheese.  

2018 marked our 30th year of growing grapes. Over the years we have come to realize the real quality of fruit we are able to produce at Röbller Vineyard. We have maintained a commitment to dry-farming since the beginning. Since the great drought of 2012, our vineyard has been delivering fruit that demands excellence in the cellar. Although Mom and Dad began this as a hobby gone wild, what we have been able to accomplish is truly humbling. Our 2018 Estate Reserve Vignoles started in the vineyard with amazing harvest conditions. The fruit began to raisin when it was picked, creating incredible concentration of flavors. The Old World techniques in the cellar lasted for almost two years before bottling. We have allowed the wine to rest in the bottle for more than a year while waiting for this special release. 

In 1993 our first vintage Le Trompier Noir was produced with the idea of creating a Pinot Noir-styled red. In 2017 we harvested the field blend of Chambourcin, St. Vincent and Villard Noir just as we have since the wine’s inception. Our field blend approach to winegrowing creates a distinctive vintage-driven outcome that is accentuated by yeast selection, method and time. Once we made it through harvest and fermentation, the wine exuded incredible structure, fruit and balance before going to barrel. More than 30 months later, the wine finally said it was ready for bottling. It is our pleasure to offer this limited-edition Estate Reserve Le Trompier Noir. The wine truly articulates our commitment to European winegrowing. 

In 2018, knowing the Bicentennial was approaching, the creation of a new wine combining all that we have learned, to fully express the vineyard and the vintage, was in order. The wine started with pushing the limits of our field blend concept to include all five reds growing in the vineyard. Challenged by the spread of harvest dates, extending our cold-soaking regime and slowing the fermentation allowed all of the fruit to get in the tank together. From the first crush to completion of fermentation and gentle pressing took 54 days. The extended maceration time created soft complex tannins ready for barrel aging. The settled wine rested for 26 months in new Chinkapin Oak barrels, integrating the fruit and creating additional structure. What began as an idea in 2018 is now ready for release. We are proud to introduce Land Grant Red in honor of those who came before us. Cheers to 200 years! 

Scroll down to read more about the history and inspiration behind Land Grant Red.

Topping off this celebration is a collaborative effort with our good friends at Cool Cow Cheese. We are excited to pair these wines with a very special Window Pane Cheddar created with some of our Land Grant Red. The base cheese was made as a full-cream cheddar exuding the full character of Cool Cow’s Jersey cow milk. In the pressing phase of creating the cheese rounds, Tom at Cool Cow artfully incorporated our Land Grant Red, creating the window pane structure. While visually stunning, the palate experience is not to be missed. Typical cheddars are made with milk that has had the cream removed. As a full-cream cheddar, the texture and flavor profile are rich, perfectly balanced and lengthy on the palate. Each of these wines complements the cheese, creating a complex palate experience. 

Special Reserve Wine Flight, available April 17 and 18

To showcase the pairing, we will be offering on April 17 and 18 a Special Reserve Wine Flight ($20) with a selection of cheeses (including the Window Pane Cheddar) featuring each of the Anniversary wines and the 2017 Chambourcin Reserve (this was last year’s Anniversary wine not properly released due to the beginning of the pandemic). The wine will be served with a special crystal wine glass made for our 1818 Norton Reserve. 

Because the pandemic is still with us, our approach to celebration is muted, so we won’t be wowing with party and fanfare. What we are going to deliver is a palate experience of a lifetime. Come enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of Röbller Vineyard, and raise a glass high to the many great achievements, the history and, more importantly, to better times to come.