Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
One of my favorite cuvees, and it's their largest and most successful commercial cuvee, is their 2012 Blanc de Blancs. This is 100% Chardonnay, dry with about 15% barrel-fermented. This is a killer effort and it's my go-to sparkling wine when I'm at restaurants since it's always available at a fair price. The 2012 shows loads of orange blossom notes, crisp green apple notes, a touch of caramelized grapefruit in a gorgeously fresh, medium-bodied, concentrated and delicious sparkling wine with tiny, pinpoint bubbles and a long, zesty finish. The Davies family thinks this can last 20 years, but for most readers, they might prefer to drink it upon release and over the following 4-5 years. This was first made when the winery debuted its early sparkling wines in 1965.
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.
Reaching up California's coastline and into its valleys north of San Francisco, the North Coast AVA includes six counties: Marin, Solano, Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake. While Napa and Sonoma enjoy most of the glory, the rest produce no shortage of quality wines in an intriguing and diverse range of styles.
Climbing up the state's rugged coastline, the chilly Marin County, just above the City and most of Sonoma County, as well as Mendocino County on the far north end of the North Coast successfully grow cool-climate varieties like Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and in some spots, Riesling. Inland Lake County, on the other hand, is considerably warmer, and Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Sauvignon Blanc produce some impressive wines with affordable price tags.