Winemaker Notes
The nose opens with bright, crisp green apple, with a touch of honey. The mouth adds stone fruit, citrus and black cherry. The acid is bright and the mouthfeel is crisp leading into a long finish with a touch of Meyer lemon zest.
The vivid acidity showcases the crisp green apple and honey notes of this special cuvée graciously. Cherry and stone fruit flavors create a lively match for spicy curries or Thai influenced dishes. The citrus components are an impeccable match for buttery Belgian waffles with orange marmalade mascarpone to berry scones served with lemon curd.
Blend: 67% Pinot Noir, 33% Chardonnay
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Deftly combines a steely crispness with rich luxuriousness, offering notes of fresh ginger, cinnamon brioche, Meyer lemon and Asian pear that unfold on the long finish. Drink now through 2018.
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.