Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesFruity but trim, this nicely balanced wine combines fresh apple and a hint of ginger on a crisp texture of tight bubbles. This bracing quality adds to its elegance.
The Schramsberg Blanc de Noirs was the first of its style to be produced commercially in the US, originally released in 1967. The 2016 Blanc de Noirs, made up of 81% Pinot Noir and 19% Chardonnay, opens with broody bruised apples, bread dough, baked quince and floral perfume. The medium-bodied palate is rounded with pure tree fruits mingling with nutty nuance, lifted by gently creamy mousse and finishing long.
81% Pinot Noir; 19% Chardonnay. Incisively yeasty and charged with plenty of spry, mildly citrusy fruit, this comparatively elegant and refined bottling displays the brightness reminiscent of a Blanc de Blancs while quietly possessing a bit of the expected richness of a Blanc de Noirs. Balanced to crispness and buoyed by very wellintegrated acidity with wonderfully persistent, pin-point bubbles to spare, it fully reflects the Schramsberg Blanc de Noirs norm of being far more concerned with grace and finesse than with fullvolume, toasty extravagance.
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.
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.
