2019 Ultramarine Keefer Ranch Blanc de Blancs

Ultramarine is a new sparkling wine label from Petaluma, California. It was founded and is operated by Michael Cruse, who is also the proprietor of Cruse Wine Co., which bills itself as “a small winery in Petaluma thoughtfully crafting table wines vineyards in California.” Cruse was trained as a biologist but shifted his interest to winemaking. He was working in California wineries when he became interested in Champagne making, which resulted in Ultramarine’s release of a Blanc de Blanc and a Rose of Pinot Noir, both from Charles Heintz Vineyards. Vinous awarded the 2011 Blanc de Blanc 95 pts and called it “a wine of such beauty (that) I have a hard time describing it. There are simply no parallels in California.”

Russian River Valley AVA is named for the river that meanders from Mendocino County in the north until it finally runs into the Pacific Ocean north of San Francisco. The AVA is cool thanks to its proximity to the northern California coast and the river, and grape growers must learn to deal with regular fog. Nevertheless in recent decades the AVA has become one of the best in the state, meaning that its wines often earn excellent reviews and have considerable cachet. The AVA status was awarded in 1983 and today the appellation has 15,000 vineyard acres. Chardonnay is the most widely planted grape though Pinot Noir has also been very successful in recent decades. Russian River Valley Pinot Noir are known for being rich, lush and filled with concentrated fruit and berry flavors. Russian River Pinot Noirs are today considered some of the best domestic Pinot Noirs.