Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The Chandon Blanc de Pinot Noir is refined and delicious. TASTING NOTES: This wine does a great job in balancing the richness of its dried strawberry aromas with flavors of dried earth, chalk, and more fruit. Enjoy it with a lighter version of pork adobo. (Tasted: July 18, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine Enthusiast
Made from 93% Pinot Noir and 7% Pinot Meunier, this is a lovely sparkling wine, rounded and layered with moderate acidity. The flavors dance around aspects of wild strawberry, raspberry and melon, with a lasting tease of hazelnut.
A term typically reserved for Champagne and Sparkling Wines, non-vintage or simply “NV” on a label indicates a blend of finished wines from different vintages (years of harvest). To make non-vintage Champagne, typically the current year’s harvest (in other words, the current vintage) forms the base of the blend. Finished wines from previous years, called “vins de reserve” are blended in at approximately 10-50% of the total volume in order to achieve the flavor, complexity, body and acidity for the desired house style. A tiny proportion of Champagnes are made from a single vintage.
There are also some very large production still wines that may not claim one particular vintage. This would be at the discretion of the winemaker’s goals for character of the final wine.
Known for elegant wines that combine power and finesse, Carneros is set in the rolling hills that straddle the southernmost parts of both Sonoma and Napa counties. The cooling winds from the abutting San Pablo Bay, combined with lots of midday California sunshine, create an ideal environment for producing wines with a perfect balance of crisp acidity and well-ripened fruit.
This cooler pocket of California lends itself to growing Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah. Carneros is an important source of sparkling wines made in the style of Champagne as well.