A traditional method sparkling wine, 91 percent Pinot Noir and 9 percent Chardonnay, hand harvested from Gloria Ferrer’s 340-acre estate in Carneros. The fruit was whole-cluster pressed, and the must consisted of 20–25 percent first cut. Twenty base wines go into the cuvée, and the wine spent a year and a half en tirage.
Prior releases have felt gassy, a little too exuberant, but this wine is quieter, a pale yellow gold with an active but not vigorous bead. Aromatically it reads as Anjou pear, green apple, and fresh sourdough bread. The texture is prickly, but toasty notes play through in faint suggestions of hazelnut and brioche, plus more sourdough, especially at the finish.
Pair with fresh cheeses, light fish, fried snacks.
12.5% abv | $22 (sample)
