2015 Schwarze Vineyard Blanc de Blancs Napa Carneros (1x750 ml)
From the Schwarze Vineyard Chardonnay block bordering the east side of Carneros Creek just north of Las Amigas Road, this bottling celebrates our long-standing partnership with the David Schwarze family. The dark loamy soils along the Carneros Creek provide the vines with a surplus of nutrients and water with which to grow, producing grapes with intense flavors and gripping acidic structure. Consistently producing some of our very best Chardonnay grapes, we are pleased to have worked with the Schwarze family for 25 years.
We harvested our first fruit from Carneros back in 1985 and starting in 1998 consistently produced a bottling focused solely from the fruit grown in this viticultural appellation. The 2015 year delivered California vintners a stellar vintage. A mild winter led to an early bud break, followed by bloom during an unseasonable cooler spring, which contributed to smaller grape clusters and variable crop size. A steady and moderate weather pattern during ripening allowed for gradual maturity within the grapes and exceptional quality upon harvest.
With almost four years of aging en tirage, this vibrant and complex wine combines a rich texture with excellent drive on the palate. This bright, crisp sparkler will age beautifully, evolving for 20+ years to come with attractive caramelized, nutty and toasted flavor attributes.
Tasting notes
The 2015 Schwarze Vineyard Napa Valley Carneros Blanc de Blancs has generous aromas of lemon curd, green apple and pear. The nose is complemented by notes of cinnamon, ginger, and citrus zest. On the palate, there are flavors of lemon-lime rounded out by white peach and baked pineapple. The quenching finish lingers on the palate with grapefruit and a racy acidity.- Winemakers Sean Thompson and Hugh Davies
Reviews
92 PointsTouching all of the right Blanc de Blancs bases and doing so with a great sense of grace, this very bright, crisply finished edition combines a keen, but slightly restrained element of yeast and vivid, lemon-tinged fruit in a very vital, long-lasting mix. Just a tad sharp on the attack, as good Blanc de Blancs is wont yet still conveying a good deal of richness, the wine shows an especially fine winemaking hand, and, while wonderfully expressive and inarguably delicious right now, it has the structure and energy to age effortlessly and is sure to remain vibrant for many more years.- Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wines
-
-
