Brut Vintage Cuvée 2017
Trade Tools
America / Carneros
The Vintage Brut Cuvée is the signature wine of Domaine Carneros. It encompasses the widest range of estate clones and vineyard blocks of the winery’s collection. The tapestry of flavors that result, married with the inherent finesse of the cool Carneros fruit, create wines of depth and complexity that are enhanced by a minimum of three years of bottle age sur lie in the cellar before release.
92 Points
Wine Spectator
2017 vintage
91 Points
Ken's Wine Guide.com
2017 vintage
Harvest Note
2017 growing season saw tremendous drought-ending rainfall the extended from October through April. While December was quite cold, January and February were mild leading to an early bud break (starting on March 15th). Flowering was early as well, getting under way the first week in May, pointing us to an early harvest. The summer brought several heat spikes in June and July. August, however, was glorious with a beautiful cycle of cool marine air in the mornings to help modulate the temperature. The overall quality of the vintage is superb.
Tasting Note
Aromas of green apple, honey dew melon, pear, and lemon zest with a hint of toasted bread. On the palate, this wine displays notes of macadamia nut, baked apple, and shortbread that complements the notes from the nose.
Technical Data
GRAPES: 53% Pinot Noir, 44% Chardonnay, and 3% Pinot Gris
APPELLATION: Carneros
PH: 3.1
ACIDITY: 0.75g/100ml
ABV: 12%
DOSAGE: 0.9%
AGING: Our 2017 Brut Cuvée has been aged nearly four years in our cellar to enhance complexity and development.
Unique Selling Points
- Made primarily from estate-grown, green certified Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes
- Aged in the bottle for 3 years, yielding a toasty aroma and fine, pinpoint bubbles.
- With proper cellaring, this wine will develop further for decades
“The first obligation of any wine is to be delicious.”
Eileen Crane, Founding Winemaker
About the Grape
Chardonnay
Though it has a distinctive profile, Chardonnay reflects other factors such as soil composition and vinification technique. Chardonnay is a reliable, hardy and prolific vine whose only real vulnerabilities are frost and uneven development of fruit.
Pinot Noir
In France, makes a silky, deceptively powerful wine of elegant, complex aromas and subtle, red fruit flavors, with earthy, floral, mushroom and mineral notes. In California, shows ripe, sweet characters.
