The name is derived from the French word grolle, meaning "crow", and is said to reflect the deep black berries of the Grolleau vine.

[4] The decline has been attributed, in part, to Grolleau's reputation for poor quality as noted by wine experts such as Jancis Robinson[5] and Tom Stevenson.

[3] Grolleau is a high yielding grapevine that ripens reliably and relatively early for the cool climate Loire Valley-often right after Gamay.

The grapes are thin skinned with few phenolic compounds, but after veraison they produce color ranging from gray to bluish/black depending on the clone.

[3] Grolleau produces light bodied, fairly neutral wines with noticeably high acidity.