A couple of weekends ago, I conducted another Blind Tasting at our humble little abode here in Houston, to which I invited other wine writers from the area. This most recent iteration was the sixth annual tasting of American sparkling wines.

All of the blind tastings (now nineteen in total) have produced some surprises, which is, quite frankly, why tasting blind from time to time is healthy. It is often too easy to be influenced by price, producer, or PR firm when tasting non-blind, and it is also good to “re-center” one’s palate in a way—to focus only on what is in the glass.

This is the last of four installments for my Sixth Annual World’s Largest Blind Tasting of American Sparkling Wines, and the final fourteen rosés from the group of 17 pink wines. There were 50 wines in total, making it the largest of the six sparkling wine tastings that we have had.

I started this tasting six years ago with the aim of shining a bit of light on the sparkling wines being made in this country. It wasn’t (and isn’t) meant to be a competition with Champagne, but rather to highlight wines from both widely available producers and a few that are only available direct from the winery.

At the end of the notes, I have also listed the top wines from this year’s tasters, my top wines (at least as I see them), and those that I consider to be the best values.

Bagged and ready.

2019 Corollary Cuvée One Rosé, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $55. 55% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay, 15% Pinot Gris. Vibrant pink with a hint of orange. Good fruit a bit on the ripe side on the palate. Quite tart on the palate with a bit of blood orange and under-ripe strawberry. Nice. Excellent. 90 Points.

2015 Roederer Estate L’Ermitage Brut Rosé, Anderson Valley, CA: Retail $110. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay. Pale orange with a savory nose coupled with melon and strawberry. A bit chilly initially but as it warmed a bit? Absolutely fantastic with tart fruit and wonderful balance. Whoa. One of the best sparkling rosés I have tried. Outstanding. 95 Points.

2020 Roco RMS Brut Rosé, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $65. 100% Pinot Noir. Pinkish orange with good berry fruit on the nose. The palate is fruity and fun with plenty of heft and enough tartness to keep it balanced. Nice. Excellent. 91 Points.

NV Mumm Napa Brut Rosé, Napa Valley, CA: Retail $26. 80% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay. 40. Flinty and dirty in the glass of a more orange than pink wine. The palate is fruity and fun with a bit of sweetness. Fine but that nose is a bit off-putting. Very Good. 89 Points.

Isn’t it time to do away with all the foil? It serves no purpose…other than to fill up landfills.

2018 Sokol Blosser Pinot Noir Sparkling Rosé Blossom Ridge, Eola – Amity Hills, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $64. 100% Pinot Noir. Pale orange in the glass with a fantastically fruity nose of wild strawberry and a bit of peach. On the palate, there is all of that fruit but a balancing acidity as well. Rather impressive. Outstanding. 93 Points.

NV Gruet Winery Brut Rosé, New Mexico: Retail $17. 100% Pinot Noir. Fairly light in color in the glass with a bit of minerality and savory notes. Subtle fruit on the palate, but this certainly works. Quite a fervent sparkle, nice. Excellent. 91 Points.

NV Roederer Estate Brut Rosé Anderson Valley, CA: Retail $39. 56% Pinot Noir, 44% Chardonnay. A bit of an odd nose here with some creamed corn, oddly. The palate is subtle with hints of red berry fruit and strong in the acidity department. Very Good. 89 Points.

NV Scharffenberger Brut Rosé, Mendocino County, CA: Retail $30. 56% Chardonnay, 44% Pinot Noir. Pale orange with a savory, meaty component on the nose. The palate has fruit, but it is subtle, and there is plenty of tartness, but it struggles a bit to come together. Very Good. 89 Points.

2022 Pellegrini Family Vineyards Sparkling Red Pinot Noir Olivet Lane Estate, Russian River Valley, CA: Retail $55. Carbonic fermentation, Charmat method. 100% Pinot Noir. Dark. This is obviously the sparkling Pinot. Cranberry a go-go on the nose. Fruity and fun, this is a great Turkey wine. Fantastic. Excellent. 91 Points.

2019 Corollary Brut Rosé Momtazi Vineyard, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $67. 100% Pinot Noir. Carbonic fermentation. Rather shy in the glass, but fairly dark for a rosé. This is fine, but it comes off as a bit medicinal. And I rarely say this when it comes to sparkling wine, but it could use a bit of sugar. Very Good. 87 Points.

NV Domaine Carneros Cuvée de la Pompadour Brut Rosé, Carneros, CA: Retail $40. 58% Pinot Noir, 42% Chardonnay. Whoa. Autolytic and fruity on the nose with plenty of red berry fruit. Yum. There is no drop-off on the palate either. Great fruit, acidity, and balance. Yum. Outstanding. 94 Points.

NV Chemistry Pinot Noir Rosé Bubbles, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $25. 100% Pinot Noir. Watermelon Jolly Rancher in color and aroma. On the palate though, it is a touch medicinal and certainly meaty. But it works. Very Good. 87 Points.

2018 Stoller Pinot Noir Legacy LaRue’s Brut Rosé, Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $65. 80% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay. Pale with a hint of orange and a wonderful nose of ripe fruit. The palate is fruity and tasty with a touch of sweetness. Excellent. 90 Points.

2021 Whitehall Lane Blanc de Noir Sparkling, Petaluma Gap, CA: Retail $55. 100% Pinot Noir. Jolly rancher cherry on the nose with lovely fruit and just a bit of sweetness on the palate. This wine seems to have it all: Length, balance, depth, great. Outstanding. 94 Points.

The Group’s Top Wines

My only “assignment” for the group (we were five in total) was to give me a list of their “top wines”. It could be two, it could be twenty and the definition of “top” was up to them. All of the following wines appeared on at least three of the five lists of “top wines”. The scores in parentheses are mine.

1. 2015 Roederer Estate L’Ermitage Brut Rosé ($110, 95 pts.)**
2. 2020 Loubud Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs Sanford & Benedict Vineyard ($62, 94 pts.)*
3. 2016 Domaine Carneros Le Rêve ($125, 93 Pts.)*
4. NV Piper Sonoma Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs ($22, 96 pts.)*
5. NV Scotto Family Cellars Brut ($18, 93 pts.)*
6. 2019 Domaine Carneros Brut ($38, 95 pts.)*
7. NV Piper Sonoma Brut ($22, 94 pts.)*
8. 2013 Gloria Ferrer Carneros Cuvée ($96, 95 pts.)*
9. 2018 Sokol Blosser Pinot Noir Sparkling Rosé Blossom Ridge ($64, 93 pts.)*
10. NV Domaine Carneros Cuvée de la Pompadour Brut Rosé ($38, 94 pts.)*
11. 2017 Roederer Estate L’Ermitage Brut ($75, 92 pts.)
12. NV Scotto Family Cellars Brut Rosé ($20, 93 pts.)

** appeared on all five lists        *  appeared on at least four of the lists of top wines

My Top Wines

1. NV Piper Sonoma Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs ($22, 96 pts.)
2. 2018 Brooks Sparkling Riesling ($60, 96 pts.)
3. 2019 Domaine Carneros Brut ($38, 95 pts.)
4. 2018 King Estate Brut Cuvée ($40, 95 pts.)
5. 2013 Gloria Ferrer Carneros Cuvée ($96, 95 pts.)
6. 2015 Roederer Estate L’Ermitage Brut Rosé ($110, 95 pts.)
7. 2020 Loubud Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs Sanford & Benedict Vineyard ($62, 94 pts.)
8. NV Piper Sonoma Brut Rosé ($22, 94 pts.)
9. NV Gloria Ferrer Brut Sonoma County ($30, 94 pts.)
10. 2021 Whitehall Lane Blanc de Noir Sparkling ($55, 94 pts.)

My Best Values

1. NV Piper Sonoma Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs ($22, 96 pts.)
2. NV Piper Sonoma Brut ($22, 94 pts.)
3. NV Gloria Ferrer Brut Sonoma County ($30, 94 pts.)
4. NV Gruet Winery Brut Blanc de Noirs ($17, 93 pts.)
5. NV Scotto Family Cellars Brut ($18, 93 pts.)
6. NV Scotto Family Cellars Brut Rosé ($20, 93 pts.)
7. NV Piper Sonoma Brut Rosé ($22, 92 pts.)