2008 BLANC DE NOIRS - LATE DISGORGED
Blanc de Noirs (white from black) is the counterpart to Blanc de Blancs (white from white). Made primarily from the red grape Pinot Noir, this is a complex, medium-bodied, brut sparkling wine. Schramsberg pioneered the Blanc de Noirs style in the United States, producing the first such American sparkler in 1967. The key to producing this complex Blanc de Noirs is our vast and varied focus on diverse cool-climate vineyards. Pinot Noir from Carneros and Anderson Valley combine with fruit from low-yielding Sonoma and Marin coastal vineyards to develop a sparkling wine with a breadth of fruitful aroma and flavor. Select Chardonnay lots give zest and backbone to the blend.
Making a white wine from a red grape requires great care hand-picked fruit, early morning harvest, optimal fruit maturity and delicate pressing. A balance of bright flavors, crisp acidity and minimal tannins is achieved. Barrel and malolactic fermentation of particular wine lots add richness and body. Yeast contact in the bottle harmonizes all the elements together in a mature, toasty style. The youthful fruit character of the wine will develop and soften with additional age in the bottle.
In 2012, when we originally released this bottling, we held back a small number of these bottles for extended aging in our historic Diamond Mountain Caves. After ten years of contact with the yeast, this sparkling wine has gracefully developed exquisite richness, depth and complexity. It displays savory, nutty and seasoned attributes, along with a caramelized, dense fruitfulness and creaminess associated with the ultra-fine bubbles.
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Tasting notes
The 2008 Blanc de Noirs LD has matured into a complex wine. The nose is concentrated with tangerine, mandarin orange, apricot and baked peach. These fruitful aromas are enhanced by layers of maple candy, vanilla cake, orange creamsicle and ginger. This sparkling wine exhibits a creamy entry and offers flavors of stone fruit, graham cracker and roasted pineapple, with a compelling finish of dried orange peel, baking spice and butterscotch.- Winemakers Sean Thompson and Hugh Davies
Reviews
94 PointsBold and aromatic, this relatively full-bodied wine shows the benefits of long aging on the yeast. It offers robust aromas of toasted nuts, earth and apple skin followed by palate-coating flavors of baked apple and toast. Its well suited for a special occasion.- Wine Enthusiast (Advanced Buying Guide August 2020)
92 Points
The 2008 Blanc de Noirs Late Disgorged was made with 90% Pinot Noir and 10% Chardonnay and was disgorged in September 2019. It has a core of baked tree fruit and creamy lemon notions with mature accents of iodine, coffee, pastry and mushroom. The palate is pure and fresh with creamy mousse and a long, nuanced finish.- Wine Advocate (August 2020)
92 Points
This very rich wine's extra time on the yeast is fully manifest from the very first sniff, and, with air, its aromas unfold to reveal a compelling and far-reaching combination of roasted lemons and toast. On the palate, it confirms all that its nose promises with perfectly mature, champenized flavors that last and last, and, while we confess to wishing that its creamy mousse was a bit better sustained than it is, this is still a very deep and involving look at the ways in which serious, well-crafted sparkling wine can age.- Connoisseurs' Guide (December 2020)
