Since starting this blog nearly thirteen years ago now, I have been invited to countless events, many of which were memorable but this past month, I attended what was likely the single greatest tasting of American sparkling wines.

Every sparkling wine made anywhere in the world is inevitably compared to the wines made in Champagne, France. Perhaps that it is not fair and many winemakers probably would not their wines to be compared with the world’s greatest sparkling wines. After all, sparkling wine was “invented” in Champagne and the region has had a good couple of century head start on most other sparkling wine producers elsewhere in the world.

There have been a few other regions that have shown promise, however, in their collective ability to produce sparkling wines worthy of comparison to the wines of Champagne. At the top of that list is Northern California, where, convinced of that promise, many Champagne producers have opened New World outposts, of sorts, producing some of the best sparkling wines in the state.

There have also been several domestic producers of bubbles that have cropped up over the last handful of decades, challenging their French counterparts as the top domestic producers of sparkling wine. And while California still trails Champagne in total production (Champagne produces roughly 300 million bottles a year while California coming in at half of that), over the last decade, the Golden State has doubled its number of sparkling wines on the shelves.

Still, the perception is, in the minds of some, that despite incredible advancements in quality in a relatively short period of time, American sparklers remain a step behind their French cousins in quality. While there might be an argument to be made at the entry level (around $30 and under), I have long contended that the top American sparkling wines are every bit as good, if not better, than champagnes of relatively equal value.

Thus, when I was invited to attend a tasting in New York of three decades of prestige American sparkling wines, I had to go. At the event would be the heads of, arguably, the three top producers of American sparkling wine: Hugh Davies of Schramsberg Vineyards, Arnaud Weyrich of Roederer Estate, and Remi Cohen of Domaine Carneros.

Arriving at the venue, Corkbuzz in Manhattan, I was immediately a bit intimidated by the rather distinguished group of journalists, master sommeliers, and masters of wine assembled for what was billed as a “California Classic Sparkling Wines Master Class”.

And as I stated above, it turned out to be the best tasting of American Sparkling Wines perhaps ever given.

The tasting was divided into three flights, each representing one of the past three decades. Each wine was presented by its producer and we gradually made our way through nine truly spectacular wines.

Flight One: Current Releases

2016 Domaine Carneros Le Rêve, Blanc de Blancs, Carneros, CA: Retail $125. 100% Chardonnay. Great lemon and pear with a lovely yeasty component on the nose. Quite young and tart with tons of green apple on the palate and a lovely yeastiness comes in eventually on the lengthy finish. Like I said this is still quite young but fabulous. Outstanding. 94 Points. 

2015 Schramsberg Vineyards J. Schram Blancs, North Coast, CA: Retail $150. 84% Chardonnay, 16% Pinot Noir. Lovely red apple and yeast on the nose with just a slight hint of color. Again, quite tart and young with both red and golden delicious apple paired with a freshly baked croissant. Very long finish that lingers and lingers. Outstanding. 95 Points. 

2017 Roederer Estate l’Ermitage, Anderson Valley, CA: Retail $75. 52% Chardonnay, 46% Pinot Noir, 2% Pinot Meunier. There is more of a peach and pear aspect here on the nose with a more mineral aspect than the others. Tasty on the palate with bruised tree fruit and plenty of the autolytic component. Another lengthy finish but this seems the most advanced and ready to drink of the three in the first flight. Outstanding. 94 Points. 

Flight Two: The Aughts

2007 Roederer Estate l’Ermitage, Anderson Valley, CA: Retail $125 (?). 52% Chardonnay, 48% Pinot Noir – 4% aged reserve wine, vintage 2004 and 2005. Really yeasty and lovely on the nose with red apple again and some slight oxidation happening. Lovely. Really fantastic, rich and lively on the palate with layered baked red apple, crumbly croissant and a mineral, oxidative note that is just fantastic. Whoa. Extraordinary. 97 Points. 

2006 Domaine Carneros Le Rêve, Blanc de Blancs, Carneros, CA: Retail $175? 100% Chardonnay. Yellow in color with a touch of green on the rim. Quite shy on the nose with just hints of tree fruit (pear, apple) and a smoky, toast aspect that really works. The palate is fruity yet refined with plenty of tartness and depth with a lingering finish. Lovely. This wine is close to two decades old but might need even more time. Outstanding. 96 Points. 

2004 Schramsberg Vineyards J Schram Late Disgorged, North Coast, CA: Retail $200? Disgorged in 2022. 85% Chardonnay, 15% Pinot Noir. Whoa. Pretty amazing on the nose of this near golden wine as it is quite yeasty, with baked bread, toast, just tons of baked goods, along with bits of orange and dried apricot. Yowza. That continues onto the palate, but this wine comes off as really oxidative, perhaps even too much so as that oxidative note dominates. Still, Outstanding. 93 Points. 

Flight Three: The Nineties

1997 Schramsberg Vineyards J Schram Late Disgorged, North Coast, CA: Retail $300? 70% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir. Very nutty with some slight oxidation the nose with predominantly baked apple; quite Burgundian in fact. The palate? Whoa. This is a layered and complex wine, with considerable depth. Surprisingly, there is still plenty of fruit on the palate, albeit dried and baked. But whoa is it it fantastic. Wholly cow. Extraordinary. 98 Points. 

1997 Roederer Estate l’Ermitage, Anderson Valley, CA: Retail $150? 55% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir. Another fabulous nose with plenty of toast. Whoa. Golden in color and tons of baked golden delicious apple. The palate is again just off the charts with fantastic flavors of apple compote and baked bread with a finish that seems to last for days. Extraordinary. 97 Points. 

1995 Domaine Carneros Le Rêve, Blanc de Blancs, Carneros, CA: Retail $250? 99% Chardonnay, 1% Pinot Blanc. The last wine of the tasting and as with many of the others, this was initially quite shy on the nose but with persistence it showed loads of toast and a touch of oxidation. Whoa. I could just smell this for days. The palate is both full and layered with a harmony that is a hallmark of Le Rêve, in my opinion. And this has it in spades. One of the most complete wines I have ever tasted. Extraordinary. 99 Points.