Winemaker Notes
This cuvée has aromas of meadow flowers, pears and citrus peel enhanced with notes of toast, vanilla and spice. The wine is elegantly structured, rich, round and flavorful with the long creamy finish that is the hallmark of Domaine Carneros wines.
Lovely served with double or triple cream cheeses, it also matches especially well with oysters, shellfish, fish, poultry, Asian and California cuisine.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
A beautiful sparkling wine, one of the best on the market at this price. It's marked by a very fine mousse, giving it a refined, elegant feeling on the palate. The flavors of citrus, vanilla and yeast are savory.
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Wine Spectator
Festive and vibrant, but rich and complex, with bright aromas of fresh cherry and lemon that lead to luscious flavors of raspberry, yeasty pear and crisp mineral. Drink now. 33,000 cases made. –TF
Representing the topmost expression of a Champagne house, a vintage Champagne is one made from the produce of a single, superior harvest year. Vintage Champagnes account for a mere 5% of total Champagne production and are produced about three times in a decade. Champagne is typically made as a blend of multiple years in order to preserve the house style; these will have non-vintage, or simply, NV on the label. The term, "vintage," as it applies to all wine, simply means a single harvest year.
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.