Brut Vintage Cuvée 2020
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.
93 Points
Wine Spectator
2020 vintage
Harvest Note
The 2020 vintage is defined by low yields and concentrated, complex fruit. Early spring frosts and rain during May fruit set limited the number of berries per cluster, which allowed the vine to concentrate more of its resources towards each berry during development. Limited winter rainfall kept berries small while optimal temperatures throughout July and August ripened them beautifully.
Tasting Note
The wine displays lovely notes of pear, green apple, and citrus zest on the nose with a hint of light toastiness. On the palate this wine reveals nuances of baked apple, brioche, and a touch of key lime pie that complement the notes from the nose.
Technical Data
GRAPES: 62% Pinot Noir, 38% Chardonnay
APPELLATION: Carneros
PH: 3.2
ACIDITY: 0.8g/100ml
ABV: 12%
DOSAGE: 0.90%
AGING: Aged a over three years in our cellar to enhance complexity
Unique Selling Points
- Made primarily from estate-grown, green-certified Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes
- Bottle aged for more than 3 years, yielding a toasty aroma and fine, pinpoint bubbles
- With proper cellaring, this wine will develop further for decades
- The small percentage of Pinot Gris in the blend raises the aromatics, and enhances the citrus and apple notes
“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.
