"A distinctly vinous, layered
sparkling wine of real pedigree"
2012 Under The Wire
Chardonnay Brosseau Vineyard Sparkling Wine
Under the Wire seeks to prove a simple, but revolutionary point: California terroir can be vividly expressed in sparkling wine.
They share this ambition with paradigm-shifting growers in Champagne, like Cedric Bouchard and Jérôme Prévost, along with a new generation of California winemakers who are unyielding in their attempts to express California vineyards.
This is an important and fascinating undertaking.
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Now on their second vintage, it's clear that Under The Wire's Chris Cottrell and Morgan Twain-Peterson are enjoying a very swift learning curve with something unprecedented and inherently difficult.
We're happy to offer Under The Wire's 2012 Chardonnay Brosseau Vineyard at $55.95 per bottle.
The heart and soul of Under the Wire is a thoughtful selection of vineyards that are not only suitable to sparkling wine production, but also represent some of California's best sites - Alder Springs, Hirsch and Brosseau.
Brosseau was the first vineyard that Under The Wire used for sparkling wine. The vineyard is famous for being one of the best sites in California for Chardonnay. It's a high altitude site with a singular mix of limestone and granite with volcanic elements. Brosseau has a miraculous ability to maintain modest ripeness, high acidity and an impactful complexity.
Under The Wire focused on the cool section of Brosseau optimizing the vineyard's ability to deliver a sense of completeness with a zingy, stony core. This is a brash, intense and individual sparkler. It's boldly slatey with a complex layers of herbs, citrus, floral notes and gentle spice notes. It manages to be broad shouldered while maintaining poise and precision. After 22 months on the lees, the 2012 was bottled with three grams of dosage and that feels well judged.
This is an ambitious project. Making sparkling wine requires an enormous amount of technical knowledge and cash investment. As Morgan Twain-Peterson points out in a recent San Francisco Chronical article: "There’s literally no English-language textbook for how to make (Champagne method) sparkling wine."
Under The Wire is the brainchild of Morgan Twain-Peterson, whose Bedrock Co. has uncovered some of California's great historical vineyards, and Chris Cottrell, a former Crush employee, Champagne fanatic and partner in Bedrock. It's been really exciting to watch Under The Wire develop. Happy to offer this today.
To order, reply to this email or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Joe Salamone
Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits
2012 Under The Wire Chardonnay Brosseau Vineyard Sparkling Wine
Special Email Bottle Price: $55.95
Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media: "The 2012 Sparkling Wine Chardonnay Brosseau Vineyard is a big step up from the 2011. Surprisingly, the 2012 is quite a bit more lifted and precise. White flowers, mint, ginger and lime meld together in a distinctly vinous, layered sparkling wine of real pedigree. I tasted the 2012 before disgorgement, with no dosage, hence the score in parentheses, which indicates an unfinished wine. The 2012 offers tons of potential."