2016 Brut Rosé Coast Grade Vineyard

The 2016 Sparkling Rosé of Pinot Noir is made exclusively from the Coast Grade Vineyard just a few hundred yards west of the tasting room on Bonny Doon Road. The color is an incredibly light pink gold core with light salmon pink highlights on the rim. The winemaking is identical to the approach used in Champagne, France, and is considered “Brut Nature” (no dosage) just like the 2016 Blanc de Blancs. The Pinot Noir fruit used was sourced entirely from the 2016 vintage, lightly pressed with minimal skin contact. The lightly colored juice was fermented dry, spent a brief time in neutral oak, then was bottled. The wine then went through a second fermentation in bottle, then the wine spent just over 5 years aging on its lees before being disgorged in September 2021 with zero grams of sugar added, lending the nomenclature “Brut Nature” to the label. Aromas are subtle and slightly creamy with aromatics of white peach skin, orange pith, cantaloupe peel, watered down cream, lees and wet stone. The palate has a rich mouthfeel and is medium plus in body with flavors of melon skin, dried orange peel, pomegranate seeds, a touch of white pepper, white tea leaf and stirred lees. Ideally serve this Champagne at just below cellar temp at roughly 50 degrees in an all purpose white wine stem, unless you have large Champagne stems (not tall and thin please!) which leave room for the champagne to breathe. Over the years I have found that rich and yeasty Rosé Champagne pairs incredibly well with red meats, particularly Lamb. So feel free to get creative with pairings.