Final Saturday, I carried out one other Blind Tasting at our humble little abode right here in Houston, to which I invited different wine writers from the world. As you could recall, I carried out a tasting of American True Rosés within the Spring, and the second was this Fall once I tasted American Pinot Noirs.
All the blind tastings (now nineteen in whole) have produced some surprises, which is, fairly frankly, why tasting blind on occasion is wholesome. It’s typically too simple to be influenced by worth, producer, or PR agency when tasting non-blind, and it’s also good to “re-center” one’s palate in a manner—to focus solely on what’s within the glass.
Why do I restrict my tasting to simply American glowing wine? Good query. As any informal reader of this house is aware of, I’m a little bit of a champagne hound. I dare to say what number of bottles from what I contemplate the world’s best wine area really reside on this home at present. However. There is no such thing as a doubt that American glowing wine has made nice strides and whereas I hesitate to say that Yankee bubbles have “caught up” to their French counterparts, I do keep that the top-end American sparklers give Champagne a run for the cash.
Right here is third set of twelve of the 48 sparklers that we tasted this previous weekend. I’ll publish the remaining notes on Monday in addition to my total prime wines and what I contemplate to be the “finest worth” wines from the tasting.
NV Gran Moraine Pinot Noir Brut Rosé, Yamhill-Carlton, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $60. 52% Pinot Noir, 44% Chardonnay, 4% Pinot Meunier. Rosé with a stunning purple berry nostril and a pink bubblegum coloration. A bit salty on the palate with actually good fruit and loads of sparkle. It is a fairly enjoyable wine with loads of zing. Glorious. 92 Factors.
2018 King Property Brut Cuvée, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $40. Extraordinarily Heavy Bottle (99g; 31.4oz). 60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay. Medium straw with a little bit of a grimy nostril. The palate is quite austere, with each flint and salinity extra distinguished than the fruit. I feel I prefer it, however it’s actually a special method to glowing wine. Very Good. 89 Factors.
NV Domaine Ste. Michelle Brut Rosé, Columbia Valley, WA: Retail $13. Exceedingly Heavy Bottle (876g; 1lb 14.9oz). Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. A little bit of coloration right here. Rosé? Near golden. With one other nostril that may be a bit oxidized and masking the fruit. OK fruit on the palate with what looks as if a little bit of age. That one of the best wine on this flight, however I actually prefer it. Glorious. 90 Factors.
2020 Sanford Brut Cuvée, Sta Rita Hills, CA: Retail $60. Extraordinarily Heavy Bottle (849g; 29.9oz). No data accessible on line about this wine. Yeasty with some fruit on the backend of the nostril of this mild straw wine. Fascinating on the palate, as it’s oxidized and sherried, which I usually love, and I actually prefer it right here. The query is how a lot? Glorious. 91 Factors.
The reveal is all the time enjoyable and sometimes gives some surprises!
2021 Hanna Glowing Sauvignon Blanc, Russian River Valley, CA: Retail $56. 100% Sauvignon Blanc. Fairly fragrant. It’s not Riesling, not Muscat, it needs to be the Hanna Sauvignon Blanc with some minimize grass and cat pee on the nostril. The palate? Wow, fairly completely different with a great deal of tropical fruit and perceptible sweetness. I prefer it. Glorious. 90 Factors.
NV Bryn Mawr Vineyards Glowing Rosé, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $40. 82% Pinot Noir, 10% Pinot Gris, 8% Chardonnay. Rosé. Pale salmon. Candy strawberry on the nostril with a little bit of yeast. The palate is fruity, tart, and comes off initially as a bit candy. However I feel it’s simply very fruity, it is a enjoyable wine, actually a crowd-pleaser. Glorious. 92 Factors.
2021 Acquiesce Grenache Rosé Glowing, Lodi, CA: Retail $55. Ridiculously Heavy Bottle (903g; 32oz). 100% Grenache. Pale bubblegum with some wild strawberry on the nostril. Actually unbelievable on the palate: nice fruit (strawberry and cherry) with unbelievable steadiness and weight. Holy cow, that is good. Excellent. 94 Factors.
2017 Domaine Carneros Le Rêve, Carneros, CA: Retail $125. One of many heaviest bottles I’ve ever weighed (1117g; 39.4oz, not fairly 2.5 kilos). 100% Chardonnay. A little bit of sulfur and salinity on the nostril of this close to yellow wine. The palate continues that theme—very salty with some tart lemon rind and tons of zing. Glorious. 90 Factors.
Domaine Serene Evenstad Reserve Brut Rose M.V. 5, Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $105. 64% Pinot Noir, 24% Chardonnay, 12% Brut Reserve. Rosé. Fairly pale, however clearly a rosé. Ripe strawberry and a contact of yeastiness on the nostril. Very good on the palate, even distinctive with that tangy wild strawberry dominating. Whoa. Yeah, that is Excellent. 95 Factors.
NV JaM Butter Glowing, California: Retail $17. Ridiculously Heavy Bottle (905g; 31.9oz). There’s just about no details about this wine on their overly glitzy web site. Near yellow with a little bit of caramel on the nostril, curiously. Candy and disjointed. Not sufficient acidity right here to carry as much as the sugar. Good. 86 Factors.
Rosés all the time appear festive.
NV Korbel Brut Glowing Wine, California: Retail $12. Extraordinarily Heavy Bottle (891g; 31.4oz). Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, French Colombard, Pinot Noir. Fairly mineral on the nostril of this medium straw coloured wine. Smokiness. A contact of sweetness on the palate, however there’s loads of acidity to carry as much as the sugar. It really works. Very Good. 89 Factors.
2019 Brooks Muscat Terue, Eola – Amity Hills. Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $35. Extraordinarily Heavy Bottle (840g; 29.6oz). 92% Orange Muscat, 8% Early Muscat. Near golden in coloration with clearly a Muscat nostril. Beautiful and fragrant. Nice fruit and acidity right here, with only a trace of sweetness. I actually favored this wine a few years in the past, and I prefer it now, however it might have zoomed previous its peak within the interim. Glorious. 91 Factors.
