Merlot/Albarino 2022 Carboniste 'Rouge Brute'
Napa, CA.
From the winery: "If you are looking for a wine that will surprise you and make your taste buds do a happy dance, you will love this beast of a sparkling wine. The Rouge Brute is a 50% Merlot and 50% Albarino blend and a 'mullet wine,' as we like to say. The plumy richness of the Merlot greets you upfront while the playful lighter Albarino waves to you from the back. Enjoy big soft tannin and some herbal character for a bottle of sparkling wine with guts. Merlot and Albariño were fermented separately and blended before bottling. The Merlot, from the Santa Crus Mountains, was partially destemmed for one ferment and left on the stem to ferment in a second ferment. This created two separate styles of Merlot giving depth and layers to the finished red portion of the wine. The wine was bottled with fresh yeast and a small amount of sugar, which yielded lower pressure than our other wines. This low pressure is in compliment to the red wine tannins."