Gros Ventre 2016 Campbell Ranch Pinot Noir + The Beatles' 1969 Abbey Road
By Zach Turner, Spring 2021
Long before I was in the wine business, I was a struggling musician. 3 touring bands and 3 full-length albums later, music is in my DNA. It began at age 13 when my Dad taught me some chords on his old Ovation guitar. But it really started 3 months after, when my parents pulled out their original copy of Abbey Road from 1969, dusted it off and said, “Listen.” (I still have their copy!)
Most people of a certain age have a story of their first “a-ha moment” with the Fab Four. As soon as I heard Abbey Road, I knew I had to consume every morsel of their creation. The record was made when the Beatles were all but broken up, and so it was written not as a band but more like solo artists. They hadn’t toured in years, but were under contract to put out more music. So they wrote songs alone, and left weaving things together for the studio. The resulting masterpiece truly showcases the unique voices of the members.
McCartney was the melody guy, famous for bringing instantly memorable, Bach-like themes to the simplicity of a pop song. “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” is basically impossible to get out of your head once you hear it. “Golden Slumbers” could easily be the outro to any Scorsese film. The yin to Paul’s yang was John, the artiste of group. He challenged convention at nearly every turn, and in so doing gave us abstract gold, like, “Come Together.” Originally written as a campaign song for Timothy Leary’s run for CA governor, Lennon later called this song “gobbledygook” in his own, Monty Pythonian version of praise. This also became the first song I ever brought to a band to learn and cover. “Come Together” stayed in our live set for 7 years – a testament to any song’s greatness.
Abbey Road shows George Harrison at the height of his songwriting poise. “Something” has been covered by everyone from Frank Sinatra to Willie Nelson to Elvis Presley. And “Here Comes the Sun” is so perfect and universally loved it will be likely be part of popular music as long as humans exist. Ringo Starr used his spotlight on Abbey Road to remind our imaginations to be playful with “Octopus’s Garden.” And though often overlooked by stuffy music critics, Ringo was as crucial to the band’s success as anyone. He brought rock-solid meter, understated percussive genius, and perhaps most importantly in a group of hyper-cerebral artists, levity.
Like the songs on Abbey Road, our wines begin as separate journeys, then are blended together for the best expression of what each can be. We isolate wines in the cellar by vineyard, block or clone while they ferment and age. Over time and plenty of tasting, we get to know the individual voices of each wine in barrel. Chris becomes the producer, like George Martin was with the Beatles in the studio. He listens to the individual voices to determine a vision for the final wine.
The 2016 Campbell Ranch Pinot Noir, a true classic from our catalog, was created this way. All components evolved on their own, then Chris blended them into one piece of beauty. As we’d say in music, he made the final mix and mastered it. This wine was built to last, just like a classic album. It is also as rare as original vinyl in that only a very few cases remain. Enjoy it now paired with Abbey Road, good company and a comfy chair. Like Paul says in the 2nd to last line on the album, “You gotta get a belly full of wine.”
Need more wine? Order yours today at www.grosventrecellars.com. Enjoy!