Single vineyard designated wines from the region’s most elevated vineyard...
The REVEAL Sparkling Rose' Series
THE BLEND and Method
The fruit that has gone into the 2020 and 2021 REVEAL are Estate Grown. Bear Barton Vineyards has facilitated the Méthode Champenoise standards for its REVEAL series of Rose' Sparkling Wines. Each bottle will age for 24+ months prior to release to the public.
TASTING NOTES
The color is a delicate pomegranate pink with very slightly orange reflections with sparkling, light effervescence.
The nose is subtle and fresh, first offering an original palette of tropical fruits (guava and lychee) and small berries (raspberries, cherries and wild strawberries) in the first instance. These are followed by rose and pomegranate notes which complete the complex, intense aromatic profile, dominated by somewhat undeveloped primary aromas.
On the palate the effect is distinct and full, cradled by a gentle effervescence. The aromas of freshly picked berries are fully expressed. The balance brings together a delightful freshness and voluptuous body, expressed by an elegant bracing touch of mint and pink grapefruit
Méthode champenoise
The best sparkling wines are made by méthode champenoise which requires a secondary fermentation in the bottle.
This secondary fermentation is accomplished by adding a mixture of sugar and yeast, called the liqueur de tirage, to still wine. This wine is then bottled and capped, with a bottle cap similar to ones found on beer bottles – not a cork. The yeast acts on the sugar and the resulting carbon dioxide remains trapped in the bottle.
Quality sparkling wines are usually left on their yeast for several months, even up to six years. At the end of this process the cap is removed and replaced with the traditional cork with wire cage.
The important thing to remember is that the secondary fermentation happens in the bottle in quality sparkling wines.
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Northwest Wine Report (8/23)
Bear Barton Reveal
Méthode Champenoise Sparkling Rosé
Columbia Valley 2020 $60
90 points
This is a blend of Zweigelt (34%), Mourvèdre (32%), Grüner Veltliner (26%), and Agria (8%), coming from a vineyard at 3,000-feet in elevation and aged in bottle 30+ months. The aromas bring notes of brioche, raspberry, alpine flower, and citrus. The palate is bone-dry with racy, austere acidity. The acid drives it, but there’s plenty of flavor and textural richness to the strawberry, lemon, and pink grapefruit flavors too. Acid hounds, or people looking to taste a leading edge of Washington wines, this one is for you.
12.5% alcohol - 80 cases produced