Winemaker Notes
Russian Cuvee has multiple layers of meaning. Originally named for the historic Reagan-Gorbachev Summit Meetings in 1985, it also refers to the vineyard’s unique location in the Russian River area, and it is a nod to the Russian taste for slightly richer bubbly. The Russian is the “sweetest” in the Iron Horse line up, though it is still technically brut-level dry. It boasts aromas of caramel apple, nutmeg and orange zest, flavors of ripe red apple, lime, brioche and brown sugar on the palate. It is equally comfortable at the end of the meal with dessert as at the start of the meal for a toast.
Blend: 73% Pinot Noir, 27% Chardonnay
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
One of the producer's more luscious and richly layered wines, this is made from 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay and given three-plus years in bottle before release. Lengthy and complex, it offers concentrated flavors of apple, peach, stone and almond biscuit.
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Wine Spectator
Supple and rich, with polished apple, orange blossom and toasty brioche accents that sail on a long, lush finish. Drink now.
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Wine & Spirits
This rich wine’s sweet peach flavors are tamed by airy bubbles and a lit-tle fruit-skin savor. Buttery at first, it turns cleaner, eventually finishing dry. This may benefit from six to 12 months in the cellar.
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.
Situated on the foggier and colder western edge of the Russian River Valley, almost abutting the Sonoma Coast appellation, Green Valley is one of California’s most reputable Chardonnay and Pinot noir producing regions. It is also a wonderful source of sparkling wines made from these varieties.
Goldridge soils abound throughout the Green Valley appellation. This fine, dark, sandy loam and fractured sandstone is derived from the remains of ancient inland seabeds dating back three to five million years. It is valuable for high quality grape growing because of its excellent drainage and low fertility.