2016 Grüner Veltliner "Scintillation" Brut Sparkling Wine - Syncline Winery

Dried lime, fennel, white grapefruit. Underripe apricot, ginger root, peach skin. Juniper and mixed tea leaves, cool sourdough and kombucha. Young yellow cherry and Asian pear provide a lean zingy backbone as dry grass and anise add a touch of pleasant astringency. Extremely focused with high acid and intense mousse over soft sandy minerality. This 2016 Grüner Veltliner "Scintillation" Brut Sparkling Wine by Syncline Winery is by far the most unique, interesting, and delicious bubbly we've tried in quite some time.

Syncline Winery is a small 6,000 case production operation based out of Lyle Washington. The estate sits just north of the Columbia River along the Oregon border. Founded and run by the husband and wife team of James and Poppie Mantone, Syncline works primarily with Rhone varietals sourced from select vineyards across the state. This wine, crafted from 100% Grüner Veltliner brought in from the high elevation Underwood Mountain Vineyard, is simply brilliant. How these guys got the idea & the guts to try something this adventurous is beyond us, but wow are we glad they did it. This wine is highly energetic and simply fun while also radiating heady layered complexity. Low in alcohol at 12.0% but not lacking in personality, this stuff is a bubbly nerd's dream.