Matthew G Pickett

9.5

Close second to Ultramarine as the best domestic sparkler. Absolutely delicious, strawberries, ripping acid, tannin…so good. — 3 months ago

Chris Harvey

9.3

15th anniversary bubbles 🥂 — 7 months ago

J Choi

9.5

With age. Coming along beautifully. Sun valley — a year ago

Shay A

9.2

@Delectable Wine : This is the Brick & Mortar Blanc de Blancs Manchester Ridge Vineyard. I didn’t see it in the database.

It has probably been 4-5yrs since I last had a sparkler from Brick & Mortar, so when some buddies visited their winery recently and raved about them, I ended up with a BdB and a Rosé to try. I chose this as one of my 2018 Cali BdB sparklers I opened to see how the sparkling wine scene is evolving (also opened was a 2018 Haliotide BdB, 2018 Ultramarine Heintz BdB, and a 2018 Ultramarine Michael Mara BdB).

48 months on lees

With hardly any experience, I had zero expectations of style. After the comparison, I’m a bit surprised to say this showed fairly similar to the 2018 Ultramarine Heintz BdB. Both have a bit richer fruit profiles with some funk and oxidation. Aromatically, there is more of a honeyed profile than the others, with floral and orange citrus accents. The leesy profile is evident on the palate with rich layers of herb-crusted yellow fruits and a hint of lemon pastry. I’d like to re-visit this on its own to see how it shows away from comparisons. — 2 years ago

Shay A

9.2

@Delectable Wine : This is the Late Disgorged Blanc de Blancs. I didn’t see it in the database.

I compared this 2017 Haliotide Late Disgorged BdB to the 2016 Ultramarine Heintz BdB to get a feel for styles. Followed over two days with no change.

I’ve had the Haliotide rosé and thought it was really expressive. Lots of bright red fruit. I love late disgorged offerings so I picked this up to try.

This Haliotide spent 68 months en tirage! However, I expected a more leesy profile as this wine is razor sharp. Nice, clean and pure. It’s like drinking Chablis with bubbles. Lemon, underripe pear, and honeysuckle aromatically. On the palate, it is mineral heavy with sea salt, lemon to the max, and a bright and crystalline acidic profile. The zero dosage nature comes across naturally without being too austere. Screams for food…sushi or oysters would be a killer pairing. I enjoyed drinking this, but I think I expected a bit more mid-palate richness. If you love Chablis or leaner style grower champagnes, this is your jam. — 2 years ago

Ellen Clifford

9.1

Watermelon and wet stone nose it just SMELLS thirst-quenching. All that on the palate plus raspberries and a hint of finder lime and pink peppercorn—which is to say floral without being floral. And something sappy and makes me think of the color ultramarine. It is also salmon pink taffeta in texture and feel.
Trinquevedel has historically a favorite of mine—I feel Iike this vintage is a bit more coy than others. A little less generous but give the glass time and it gives up pithy gems. Whether open upfront or mysterious but complex it always keeps me coming back. — 4 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

NV. Sooo…introduced to me today during the FLB (Friday Lunch Bunch) bar sesh. A “connected” industry guy brought it. Open for approximately 20 minutes before I sampled. A BDB-styled bubbly without the broad, mid-palate, flatty Chardonnay swaths of BDB Champagne. More acidity and drinking closer to a grower Champagne Brut. Holeee cow. Put this in ANY blind NV Champagne flight and see where it rolls in. Too cheap chicken for me to throw on the list but will likely pick up two cases to keep off the list and keep exclusively for staff purchases. Better than any domestic bubbly I’ve had domestically-including Ultramarine. The price for me? $14.10 a bottle. Shut. The. Front. Door. Where is it from? Don’t laff. New Mexico. Yeah. The Land Of Enchantment. I. Was. Gobsmacked. Completely (and happily) shocked. 3.13.26. — 3 months ago

Shay A

9.3

Another tasty JSchram. While the prices keep climbing, these are very consistent US sparklers with a big house feel (vs the grower profile sparkling wines like Westborn, Haliotide, older Ultramarine, etc).

81% Pinot noir, 19% Chardonnay; 8g/l dosage

I’ve been enjoying the JSchram wines for a long time and a character I always get from them is a distinct cheesy/leesy aromatic. Roasted honey nut cashews, spiced apple, pear, and toasty vanilla. Richly balanced on the palate with honeyed tropical fruit, sea salt, and finishes slightly yeasty with a truffle note. The dosage, while on the high side for what I enjoy, brings out nice texture and length. Well made and ready to go.

I enjoy the JSchram Noir (formerly Schramsberg Reserve) on the younger side and the JSchram Blanc with a little age. — a year ago

Lance E. Farman

9.5

W. V. Bubbles from a famed vineyard and phenomenal human, Tom Sivili. Rising star no doubt. Get your hands on this before it goes the way of Ultramarine. And if you have more of the 2019 DM me now. — 2 years ago

Ron R

9.2

We really enjoy the relatively high dosage used by this producer, but a tartness is present which acts as a counter-balance.
Nose presents roasted nuts and toast. Palate is mineral-driven and energetic. Notes of meyer lemon and biscotti compete with the urgency of the profile of the wine - and this is day 2. — 3 years ago

with Anne-marie

Ted Corvey

9.5

Late release with extra lees aging. What a showing. #summitIV — 4 years ago

with Carson, Tyler and 2 others

Ron R

9.4

Happy Christmas Delectable peeps.
Much love to one and all from NJ.
So glad I’m on the Ultramarine list. This stuff is plush and very inviting. — 4 years ago

with Benny, James and 1 other

Brad Jensen

9.2

Sooo complex and surprisingly natural and funky on this one. Really special juice to celebrate Mom’s birthday! — 5 months ago

Anna Sangiacomo

9.3

Happy New Year 🎊🎈 🥂🍾 — 6 months ago

Shay A

9.3

After having the 2018 Manchester Ridge Blanc de Blancs from them a couple weeks ago, I opted to open the rosé to have the styles fresh on my mind.

Disgorged Jan 2023; 100% Pinot noir; 4% still Pinot noir added; 40 months on lees; 2.5g/l dosage

If I’m looking for a champagne comparison, on the rosé spectrum of fresh to older, this reminds me of Henriot’s rosé minus the yeast/brioche. Already channeling an aged character, this shows notes of orange marmalade, strawberry shortbread cookie, and a kiss of ginger aromatically. Crisp on the palate, more of the rich orange citrus fruit carries over with sea salt and red berry fruit. Tangy and persistent finish (in a good way).

In the comparison of Cali domestic sparklers, this isn’t too dissimilar from Ultramarine but isn’t as fresh in style, not as tropical as Haliotide or as yeasty as Schramsberg. I enjoyed this a touch more than the Blancs de Blanc, but I don’t see much reason to hold based on the character of the wine as is. Pop and enjoy! — 2 years ago

Josh Morgenthau

9.2

Plum pudding. Ultramarine fruits. — 2 years ago

Taylar Hart

9.5

Incredible. Gives my favorite Ultramarine Blanc de Noir a run for its money. Refined bubble size, pleasant yeastyness. Very impressive! — 2 years ago

with Kelvin

Sarah Milsow-Guenther

9.5

Absolute stunner of a blend. Intense creamy, caramely nose. Nice bite to it on the front and a smooth lingering finish. Can taste the Sherry cask and a nice touch of smoke. Love it. Keeps getting better and better the longer I sip it. — 3 years ago

Taylar Hart

9.2

Very Anderson Valley. Sweeter than Ultramarine; reminded me of Lichen sparkling. — 4 years ago

Lee Lightfoot

9.4

Acid for days. delicious lemon for our dungeness crab. Easily could have been base wine for ultramarine. — 5 years ago