95PTS
Wine Review Online

2019 Sparkling Brut Rosé

Sonoma Coast
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About this Wine

In 2016, based on the MacRostie Winery tradition of making stunning Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays, we decided that we should use the varietals we know and love to make a sparkling rose. Winemaker Heidi Bridenhagen chose to create a cuvée with Pinot Noir from our own Thale’s Estate Vineyard and Chardonnay from the famed Sangiacomo Vineyard (the first vineyard we ever worked with). Sample the stunning 2019 vintage now.

Last Call

95 Points

“A very different Brut Rosé — it’s quite apple driven, and shows deep brioche aromatics thanks to thirty months en tirage. Tasting blindfolded, most experts would be hard pressed to call it as a domestic, much less pink, glass of bubbly at first taste. That said, those same tasters would agree that they’ve got a seriously conceived sparkler in their hands. With a little time in the glass, more layers come forward, including a bit of strawberry. Unusual, but isn’t unusual and delightful what we’re all searching for?”
Rich Cook
Wine Review Online, June 2023
Tasting Notes
Tasting Notes
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Accolades
Accolades
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Winemaking
Winemaking
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Vintage
Vintage
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Vineyard
Vineyard
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Tech. Notes
Tech. Notes
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additional notes
Tasting Notes

The 2019 Brut Rosé has a pale pink grapefruit color with aromas of gardenia, rose petal, and strawberry. The palate is soft and rich, with the mousse lightly tickling the tongue. The elegant balance of subtle red fruit and brioche aromas combined with a smooth palate texture create a delicate and alluring Sparkling Rosé.

Accolades
  • 95 Points: Rich Cook Wine Review Online - June 2023
  • “A very different Brut Rosé — it’s quite apple driven, and shows deep brioche aromatics thanks to thirty months en tirage. Tasting blindfolded, most experts would be hard pressed to call it as a domestic, much less pink, glass of bubbly at first taste. That said, those same tasters would agree that they’ve got a seriously conceived sparkler in their hands. With a little time in the glass, more layers come forward, including a bit of strawberry. Unusual, but isn’t unusual and delightful what we’re all searching for?”

Winemaking
MÉTHODE CHAMPENOISE

Creating the Cuvée: Each block was picked on a different day and three press cuts were made from each. One at 130 gal/ton, another at 20 gal/ton, and the heavy press at 30 gal/ton. Keeping the press fractions separate allowed me to choose the ideal amount of tannin and acid for the final blend. Fermentation took place in tank at a cool 65º F to preserve fruit aromatics. When fermentation was complete the wine was barreled down and aged in 3-year-old French barrels to allow it to breath, while not imparting any toast aromas.

Tirage: In April of 2020, the cuvée was put into bottle with yeast, sugar, and riddling aid, which is called the Liqueur de tirage, then sealed with a crown cap. A secondary fermentation occurred where the CO2 produced was trapped in the bottle to produce the bubbles we know and love. The wine was then aged in bottle en tirage for 30 months—almost three years! This is where the wine developed the unique flavors and aromas found in our Sparkling Wine Brut, which are a function of yeast autolysis and aging.

Riddling: In July of 2022, after about 30 months en tirage the bottles were riddled. Riddling moves the yeast from the bottom and sides of the bottle into the bottle’s neck by slowly rotating and increasing the angle of the bottle.

Disgorging: In August of 2022, when our bottles had finished being riddled we disgorged, which is the removal of the sediment in the neck, and the addition of dosage to each bottle. Dosage is where we adjust the sweetness and flavors of the wine slightly, while also bringing the bottles to proper fill level.

Dosage:

8 mLs of Blanc de Blanc Liqueur d’Expedition (LEX @ 55Brix) per bottle

6 mLs of 2018 Rued Clone Chardonnay per bottle

4 mLs of 1989 Brut Entirage per bottle

6.9 g/L residual sugar

How to Serve and Open a Bottle of Sparkling Wine:

  • Serve chilled, 40-45º F, can be in ice bath.
  • Remove foil covering the cork, there is a tear tab to help.
  • Place your thumb over the top of the cork with the wire hood still in place, untwist the tab to loosen the wire hood, do not remove your thumb from the top of the cork.
  • Grasp the cork and neck of the bottle and tilt the bottle away from yourself and others at about a 45-degree angle.
  • Slowly twist the tilted bottle (not the cork), keep firm pressure on the cork to allow it to slowly ease itself out of the bottle, the cork should come out with a whisper, not a pop!

If using a flute, which preserves the bubbles, fill the glass 1/3 full, let the mousse die down, and then fill the flute all the way up.

Vintage

2019 was a remarkable growing season for most of Sonoma county with ample winter rainfall creating wet soils and cool temperatures that delayed bud break in some areas. Spring and summer brought moderate to slightly above average temperatures, while late May rains delayed flowering slightly but helped to produce smaller looser clusters that produce very flavorful and concentrated wines. 56% of the cuvée was from Sangiacomo Kiser B Chardonnay, harvested on August 28, 2019, at 18.8º Brix and 44% was from Thale’s Vineyard Block F1 and F2 Pinot Noir harvested September 1, 2019, at 19.9º Brix.

Vineyard

56% of the cuvée was from Sangiacomo Kiser B Chardonnay, harvested on August 28, 2019, at 18.8º Brix and 44% was from Thale’s Vineyard Block F1 and F2 Pinot Noir harvested September 1, 2019, at 19.9º Brix.

Technical Notes
  • composition:

    56% Chardonnay
    44% Pinot Noir

  • alcohol: 13.5
  • cases made:

    218

  • aging:

    30 mo. in 3-year-old French Oak

  • fermentation:

    Cold fermented at 65 degrees F then barreled down in 3-year-old french barrels. Bottled with sugar, yeast, and riddling aid and aged en tirage for 30 months. Riddled in July 2022, and disgorged in August 2022 after which dosage was added.

additional notes