Brendan Baker

9.4

High toned, with white flowers and citrus, almond skin, stone fruit, fine bead ⚡️😍 — a month ago

Shay A

9.2

My last of a 3-pack the last few years. 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 Ultramarine Heintz BdB, 2018 Ultramarine Michael Mara BdB and 2018 Brick & Mortar Manchester Ridge BdB).

45 months en tirage, 4 g/l dosage

Clean and pure style. If you love Chablis or leaner champagnes, this is your jam. Grilled lemon, sea spray, hint of and honeysuckle aromatically. On the palate, it is mineral heavy (slate/limestone-esque) with sea salt, lemon scone, oyster shell, all wrapped in a crystalline profile. This is undeniably BdB and presents as a grower champagne type profile. Bright and elegant (showed a bit more classical compared to the other three). — 3 months ago

Ron R

9.4

See my prior notes. Very consistent, regardless of vintage quality. — 7 months ago

with Anne-marie

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! — 3 months ago

Taylar Hart

9.0

2018 vintage, disgorged 11/21/22. — 3 months ago

Ron R

9.4

Another excellent presentation.., — 7 months ago

with Anne-marie

Shay A

9.3

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

One of the better Ultramarine wines I’ve had, and definitely pre-funk. I feel like the last few vintages have shown a lot of bottle variation and sometimes a green/herbal profile, mostly in the BdN and BdB (never in the rosé, that’s my favorite wine in the portfolio).

The older vintages always had a distinct cream-soda aromatic to them that I loved, and this has it in spades alongside truffle Honeycomb and spiced apple. Oxidative flair but not an overly oxidative sparkler. Great depth and richness here…almonds, lemon cream, caramel-green apple. Wears the low dosage so well. Broad on the palate (in a good way). I’d be fine drinking this without food. Tasty. — 9 months 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. — 3 months 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. — 6 months ago

Josh Morgenthau

9.2

Plum pudding. Ultramarine fruits. — 8 months ago