2022 Blanc de Noir WV Sparkling Wine

“We’ll all float on, okay” 

      — Modest Mouse

The Cliff Notes: Crystalline pale peach, the wine offers up a super-fine micro-bead of bubbles. The nose presents as a creamsicle of orange zest, Marie Lou biscuit, floral jasmine and dust. The attack is a strobe of crazy energy, a three-year-old plugging and unplugging the Christmas tree lights. It’s a clean shiver, an energizing lime floating you to forever, eventually depositing you on a fine sand beach.

Fermentation: The base wine is 100% Pinot noir, whole cluster pressed and barrel fermented to dry using a long, slow, low-temperature, wild-yeast regimen. Then we did it once again for 28 months in bottle, using the highest Méthode Champenoise tradition. It’s right on the edge of too much, but we liked it so much we went with zero dosage (no sugar added), none needed to tame its snarly balance. It’s high pressure, clean carbon dioxide, delivering massive high-tone fruit esters that make it seem all sweet fruit and pure energy.

Vineyards: In 2022 this wine came from two certified organic, high-elevation, acid-preserving vineyards: Our ownSt. Dolores Estate on Parrett Mtn (14 yrs) in the Chehalem Mountains AVA and the oldest block at Temperance Hill Vineyard (41 yrs) at the top of the Eola-Amity Hills AVA.

— Jim Prosser, owner/winemaker