2018 Méthode Champenoíse Estate Brut Cuvée - Cuvaison

Freshly-squeezed lemon, bread crumbs, tart nectarine. Yellow cherry, wildflowers, crisp Fuji apple. Arrestingly intense and energetic flickers of white grapefruit, Asian pear, and peach pit lead an impressively lively and electric attack brimming with peppy and persistent evervescence. Notes of saline minerality and crushed rocks immediately emerge to impart pleasant stony and earthy undercurrents while hints of baby's-breath and carnations provide wafts of delicate floral charm. Intriguing impressions of dried herbs and baled hay contribute subtle natural tones before salted brioche and mild yeastiness playfully expose pretty autolytic development. Notably tart, dry, and tightly-wound on the palate with excellent crispness that is mellowed only slightly by soft mousse; exhibiting a tense and laser-focused presentation that is well balanced and concludes in a beautifully lingering finish. Medium bodied and bursting with pronounced acidity. This 2018 Méthode Champenoíse Estate Brut Cuvée by Cuvaison is a classically-styled and delicious sparkling wine from Napa Valley's Los Carneros.

Although the French region of Champagne is the undisputed king of high-end sparkling wine production, competition from quality-oriented sparkling wine producers all over the world continues to get stronger and stronger every year. This bottling, crafted by Cuvaison using a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay sourced from their estate vineyards in Los Carneros and crafted in the traditional Champagne method, is an excellent example of the heights of tension and complexity that well made California sparkling wine can reach. This delicately yet powerfully radiates waves of tart citrusy fruit backed by stoney minerals, soft floral tones, light herbal notes, and pretty bready qualities. This spent 30 months en tirage before disgorgement and yet is still quite youthful and fruit-driven, and will likely benefit from 1-3 years of cellaring to bring out additional tertiary notes. Excellent.