Ultramarine Wines
Charles Heintz Vineyard Blanc de Blancs Chardonnay
Sonoma Coast, Sonoma County, California, USA
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.
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.
Energetic and rich, grated ginger, apricot, bruised apples, dried flowers. Finishes extremely long and persistent with amazing texture and excellent complexity. A fantastic and very hard to find sparkling ✨
Energetic and rich, grated ginger, apricot, bruised apples, dried flowers. Finishes extremely long and persistent with amazing texture and excellent complexity. A fantastic and very hard to find sparkling ✨
Nov 20th, 2019
Yeah. It’s good. Thinking we need to do some side by side with our friends from 🇫🇷
Yeah. It’s good. Thinking we need to do some side by side with our friends from 🇫🇷
Sep 15th, 2019In the name of science, a few champagnes/sparkling wines were sampled today in an effort to help a friend for comparative research reasons. Hard way to spend a Monday...
It hurt me to open this as I knew it would be painfully young...and it was 😔. But, in the name of science, it was analyzed! Most distinctive out of the lineup. Straight up cream soda mousse. Definitely oxidative in style but not channeling any of those sherry like notes. This carried ripe tropical fruits and a touch of honeycomb, versus the ‘13 I opened a few months back that was completely open for business with marzipan & roasted cashews. Hold this.
In the name of science, a few champagnes/sparkling wines were sampled today in an effort to help a friend for comparative research reasons. Hard way to spend a Monday...
It hurt me to open this as I knew it would be painfully young...and it was 😔. But, in the name of science, it was analyzed! Most distinctive out of the lineup. Straight up cream soda mousse. Definitely oxidative in style but not channeling any of those sherry like notes. This carried ripe tropical fruits and a touch of honeycomb, versus the ‘13 I opened a few months back that was completely open for business with marzipan & roasted cashews. Hold this.
Monthly WTF wine group meet up.
My contribution. After getting the ‘14s in last week, I wanted to take a ‘13 for a test drive. Toasted, little oxidative on the nose (in a good way), sea salt, & marzipan; minuscule bubbles. Not chalky or limestone driven, but a great creamy mousse up front. Almond and brioche on the palate, roasted lemon and grapefruit. Not as tart or tight as the ‘12 from my experience. Gained more pear as it opened.
Monthly WTF wine group meet up.
My contribution. After getting the ‘14s in last week, I wanted to take a ‘13 for a test drive. Toasted, little oxidative on the nose (in a good way), sea salt, & marzipan; minuscule bubbles. Not chalky or limestone driven, but a great creamy mousse up front. Almond and brioche on the palate, roasted lemon and grapefruit. Not as tart or tight as the ‘12 from my experience. Gained more pear as it opened.
Perfect start to 2018.
Perfect start to 2018.
Jan 2nd, 2018
Like biting into a green apple. Great acidity and better with food.
Like biting into a green apple. Great acidity and better with food.
Dec 31st, 2017