2018 Brut Rosé

Pale sunset in color, the small, lively bubbles accompany sweet aromas of freshly baked scones, cherry pie with hints of clove. The seamless palate is lush and fruit-forward with pie cherry, underripe strawberry, and a zesty lemon meringue pie finish.

Part of our 2018 Trio of Méthode Traditionelle Single Vineyard Sparkling Wines. Three distinctive expressions of Oregon Sparkling Wine: Brut Rosé, Brut & Blanc de Blancs.

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All Pinot Noir fruit coming from vines that are over 30 years in age, the 2018 La Bohème Brut Rosé boasts a lovely pink-salmon color in the bottle. Expressive aromas of crushed red fruits, dried herbs, brioche, and tangy lemon zest spill from the glass. Medium to full-bodied, it sports a sporty mousse that calms down after a minute in the glass.
– International Wine Report (January 2024)

Bubbles bounce around the glass like tiny tots jacked up on holiday cookies. The wine’s hunger-pang-inducing aromas of warm sourdough bread, raspberries and Meyer lemons lead to bright red cherry and lemon pastille flavors.

– The Oregonian (December 26, 2022)

Our 2018 La Bohème Brut Rosé was awarded BEST SPARKLING WINE. Great Northwest Wine conducts a one-of-a-kind wine competition each October where influential wine professionals nominate and blind taste Pacific Northwest wines.
– Great Northwest Wine (Fall 2022)

Vintage

VINTAGE 2018 growing season started hot and dry through spring and summer, but relief was just around the corner. A hearty rain weeks before harvest and cool temperatures in September and October slowed ripening and gave the fruit additional hang-time. Harvest came late with small, intensely flavored berries with a high skin-to-juice ratio. After a slow start, the second half of harvest saw the simultaneous ripening of multiple blocks and a veritable “crush” in the fermentation hall. Once again, we were thankful for the added capacity of our 2013 cellar expansion and a crew of seasoned pros in the vineyard and the cellar.

These are wines of ample flavors and high maturity levels. The Pinot Noirs are bold and fruit-forward with higher than average tannins. In the white wines, expect more tropical fruit aromas in addition to the classic stone-fruit aromas. This is a great vintage for those who appreciate boldness in cool-climate varietals. 2018 wines are highly intriguing, their intense richness balanced by lifted tones, coming from a warm growing season that thankfully concluded in a cool autumn.

Vineyard

Pat and Joe Campbell named La Bohème vineyard after the family who sold them the property in 1974 – and their favorite Puccini opera. This picturesque vineyard overlooks the winery and the coast range mountains and rises to 800 feet, making it one of the highest elevation vineyard sites in the Willamette Valley. Fruit for this Brut Rosé was sourced from the lower blocks of La Bohème and harvested early at a lower ripeness. The lower initial sugar level of 21 brix helped us keep the final alcohol level at our desired 12-13%.

Winemaking

Our 100% Pinot Noir sparkling wine is a “méthode traditionnelle” Brut Rosé and was cool-fermented in stainless steel tanks to retain freshness of character using a traditional Champagne yeast.

This pink bubbly was initially bottled on site at Elk Cove. After 3 years in tirage (on the lees in bottle) the wine was riddled in an automated “gyropallette” then disgorged. We used a small amount of our ultra-sweet Ultima wine for the final dosage to adjust sweetness to a classic brut level.

Viticultural & Enological Data

Vine Age 31 years
Harvest Sugars 19.7 brix
pH 3.01
Vatting Cool-fermented in stainless steel tanks.
Cases Produced 758

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2018 Brut Rosé

Accolades

91 Points

5 bottles of bodacious bubbles to make the New Year sparkle

Double Gold