Two fun North American sparklers
We opened up a few interesting North American sparklers from less known wineries the other night, and both were quite good.
The 2018 Red Tail Ridge Sparkling Rose from the Finger Lakes region of NY was delightful and interesting (which is how I feel about most of Red Tail's lineup - it all makes me think, and it's all just a little left field of the other wines I'm drinking from that area). This bottle is 100% pinot noir and was aged 4 years on the lees before disgorgement. The color in the glass is deep salmon, and the nose is strawberry, raspberry, cherry pepsi, and a hint of funky grocery store fruit section. The bubbles are plentiful and active, leading to a lively mouthfeel. The attack was fruit forward - raspberry and cherry, but the acid backbone kept it nice and dry. In a lot of ways this drank like a sparkling red wine, with more weight and earthiness than most roses I'm drinking. This is a fun bottle!
The NV Chronos Brut is a Canadian wine from the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. It's 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir. I didn't have much hope for this wine, as I can be a snob about cuvee close method sparklers. But this was a great bottle to open against the Red Tail, very light and zippy. The bubbles were tiny, giving a creamier mouthfeel. The nose was limes and lemon curd, with a little salty sea air. Like the last, a bright acidity balanced the fruit, though this one was all citrus. Lemon danish and margarita salt, with a swift, clean finish. I grabbed this bottle for $27 US dollars while I was in BC a few years ago, which is great QPR.
Neither is in my tops list, but I fully plan to buy both again.
We opened up a few interesting North American sparklers from less known wineries the other night, and both were quite good.
The 2018 Red Tail Ridge Sparkling Rose from the Finger Lakes region of NY was delightful and interesting (which is how I feel about most of Red Tail's lineup - it all makes me think, and it's all just a little left field of the other wines I'm drinking from that area). This bottle is 100% pinot noir and was aged 4 years on the lees before disgorgement. The color in the glass is deep salmon, and the nose is strawberry, raspberry, cherry pepsi, and a hint of funky grocery store fruit section. The bubbles are plentiful and active, leading to a lively mouthfeel. The attack was fruit forward - raspberry and cherry, but the acid backbone kept it nice and dry. In a lot of ways this drank like a sparkling red wine, with more weight and earthiness than most roses I'm drinking. This is a fun bottle!
The NV Chronos Brut is a Canadian wine from the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. It's 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir. I didn't have much hope for this wine, as I can be a snob about cuvee close method sparklers. But this was a great bottle to open against the Red Tail, very light and zippy. The bubbles were tiny, giving a creamier mouthfeel. The nose was limes and lemon curd, with a little salty sea air. Like the last, a bright acidity balanced the fruit, though this one was all citrus. Lemon danish and margarita salt, with a swift, clean finish. I grabbed this bottle for $27 US dollars while I was in BC a few years ago, which is great QPR.
Neither is in my tops list, but I fully plan to buy both again.