Winemaker Notes
An exquisite accompaniment to a wide variety of appetizers from sashimi to roasted nuts, grilled prawns to fresh crab to caviar, this wine also matches splendidly with a host of cheeses, like triple cream Brie and Fontina, and has the structure, complexity and acidity to pair with an entire menu.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
The vintage was a very good one for Gloria Ferrer and especially for their Chardonnay, which forms the basis of this bottling. It’s a rich sparkler, dryish and elegant, with flavors of lime, pear, dough, honey and vanilla.
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.