Red Tail Ridge Brut Nature Reserve Perpetual Change NV 750ml

Although it is produced in tiny quantities, this unique wine is worth seeking out. It has a very light pink colour and aromas of pomegranate, cranberry, nasturtiums, lavender and spice. The mousse is lively and the acidity is crisp, but the underlying texture is delightfully silky. The base wine (38%) is from the estate’s perpetual reserve, augmented with the yearly production of Zweigelt, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir, fermented in a combination of stainless and neutral casks. It ages nine months on the lees in bottle and is disgorged without dosage.

• Country: United States
• Region: New York
• Appellation: Finger Lakes
• Sub Appellation: Seneca Lake
• Size: 750ml
• Alcohol by Vol: 12.0%

Varietal

Champagne Blend

The sparkling wines of Champagne have been revered by wine drinkers for hundreds of years, and even today they maintain their reputation for excellence of flavor and character, and are consistently associated with quality, decadence, and a cause for celebration. Their unique characteristics are partly due to the careful blending of a small number of selected grape varietals, most commonly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. These grapes, blended in fairly equal quantities, give the wines of Champagne their wonderful flavors and aromas, with the Pinot Noir offering length and backbone, and the Chardonnay varietal giving its acidity and dry, biscuity nature. It isn’t unusual to sometimes see Champagne labeled as ‘blanc de blanc’, meaning it is made using only Chardonnay varietal grapes, or ‘blanc de noir’, which is made solely with Pinot Noir.