This past week, I conducted another Blind Tasting at our humble little abode here in Houston, to which I invited other wine writers from the area. This month was the Sixth Annual World’s Largest Blind Tasting of American Sparkling Wine, which featured 50 sparkling wines from California and Oregon, 33 of which were classified as Brut, 16 rosé, and there was one sparkling red.

As with years past, we first chilled the wines, then removed all the corks and foil from the bottles and then inserted them into bags. Then, those who didn’t bag the wines then randomly numbered the hidden bottles. This way, while we knew what wines were in the tasting, there was no way to identify the order in which we tasted the wines.

We tasted four wines at a time, taking notes on each wine, and focusing on general impressions and preferences and then briefly discussed each flight before moving on to the next set of four wines.

Here, in the order that they were tasted, are the first 12 wines. I will publish the remaining tasting notes for the Brut wines, then the 17 rosés, along with my list of top wines from the tasting, over the next couple of days.

2020 Loubud Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs Sanford & Benedict Vineyard, Sta Rita Hills, CA: Retail $62. 100% Chardonnay (Wente clone). Light to straw with a lovely nose of citrus and brioche. Yum. Tart with green apple and tons of that autolytic component. Yowza. Outstanding. 94 Points.

2013 Roco RMS Brut Delayed Disgorgement (10 YR), Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $110. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay. Medium color with more of a tree fruit nose: ripe peach and Bosc pear. Lively with fruit (green apple), zingy acidity, and a bit of funk, which really works here. Excellent. 91 Points.

NV Scharffenberger Brut Excellence, Mendocino County, CA: Retail $24. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir. Straw to golden with a shy nose of cashew and maybe some tree fruit. The palate is a bit flabby, lacking some sparkle and comes off as a bit sweet. Very Good. 88 Points.

NV Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Noirs, Carneros, CA: Retail $30. 90% Pinot Noir, 10% Chardonnay. On the lighter side, with barely a light straw perceptible and a shy nose of slight hints of caramel. Lacking sparkle but with good fruit and a lovely acidity on the palate, which more than makes up for the rather nondescript nose. Still, I feel this needs a bit more fizz. Excellent. 90 Points.

2016 Domaine Carneros Le Rêve, Carneros, CA: Retail $125. 100% Chardonnay. Light in color, but quite nutty on the nose. Great on the palate with the fruit looking to express itself behind all that tartness. Nice yeasty component as well. Outstanding. 93 Points.

2015 Gloria Ferrer Royal Cuvée, Carneros, CA: Retail $75. 67% Pinot Noir, 33% Chardonnay. On the lighter side in color with a nutty, green apple thing going on in the glass. Good fruit and tartness on the palate, with more than a bit of depth, an excellent sparkler. Excellent. 91 Points.

Roco RMS Brut, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $65. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay. On the verge of golden here with a rather shy nose—not really getting any fruit here in the glass. Baked apple on the palate with a touch of sweetness, needing perhaps a bit more tartness. Still, a solid sparkler. Very Good. 89 Points.

2021 Hanna Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc, Russian River Valley, CA: Retail $56. 100% Sauvignon Blanc. A very different nose of dried apricot and a bit go ginger. Clearly a different variety but it most certainly works. Good fruit (more apple than citrus), quite vibrant, lovely. Excellent. 91 Points.

NV Domaine Chandon Brut, California: Retail $26. 73% Chardonnay, 26% Pinot Noir, 1% Pinot Meunier. A little bit of golden color here with the autolytic (yeasty) component on the nose. The palate starts out fantastic: yeasty, baked apple, wonderful. It finishes a bit short, which is the only real strike against it. Excellent. 91 Points.

2020 Stephen Ross Pinot Noir Blanc de Noir, San Luis Obispo County, CA: Retail $55. I am pretty sure this is 100% Pinot Noir, but I have to check. Light in color with a bit of funk, maybe even more than a bit. The palate is quite vibrant and tart with plenty of fruit and zing. Excellent. 90 Points.

2020 Loubud Brut Cuvée, Santa Ynes Valley, CA: Retail $60. 60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay. Medium color with a bit of an odd nose: a touch of petrol perhaps? The palate comes off as both a bit sweet and a bit sour, which makes it seem like it is struggling for an identity. Very Good. 87 Points. 

2022 Covenant Blanc de Blancs, California: Retail $38. Infused CO2, 100% Chardonnay. A bit of an odd nose on this one, particularly when compared to the others thus far. Perhaps marzipan? The palate is quite active and vibrant with baked fruit and a bit of tartness. Very Good. 89 Points.

Isn’t it time to do away with all the foil? It serves no purpose….