ROCO is the new project by Rollin Soles, who pioneered traditional method sparkling winemaking in the Willamette Valley thirty years ago, under his Argyle brand. The Brut blend here is two-thirds Pinot Noir and one-third Chardonnay, grown in the Eola-Amity Hills, Dundee, and Yamhill Carlton AVAs.
The sparkler is a pale amber color with a jubilant perlage that subsides to a quiet but persistent bead. The bubbles spirit an essence of pear, brioche, and candied grapefruit peels, and once across the tongue, the abundant, prickly mousse offers flavors of creamy hazelnut, almond, sun-drenched tree fruits, yellow citrus, and mandarin orange.
It’s a wine both juicy and toasty, beautifully balanced and ready to drink now, but the winery has also held some of the vintage’s 700 case production to be disgorged ten years hence. I want a taste of that, too.
12.5% abv | $65 (sample) Disgorged spring 2016
