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 Seventh Annual World’s Largest Blind Tasting of American Sparkling Wine, which featured 48 sparkling wines from California and Oregon.

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 along with my list of top wines from the tasting, over the next couple of days.

NV Piper Sonoma Brut Rosé, Sonoma County, CA: Retail $22. 53% Chardonnay, 39% Pinot Noir, 6% Pinot Blanc, 2% Aged Reserve Blend. Fairly golden in the glass (this is a rosé?) with nice baked apple and brioche. Nice bright fruit (tons of apple) on the palate as well with a brilliant sparekle and fantastic tartness. The yeasty finish tops it off. Fantastic. Outstanding. 93 Points.

2020 Saffron Fields Vineyard Pinot Noir Symbolism Blanc de Noirs, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $75(?). 100% Pinot Noir. Pale straw with a rather muted nose, really not much in the way of aromas. The palate is quite tart with predominantly underripe green apple. A pleasant enough quaff. Very Good. 89 Points.

2021 Whitehall Lane Blanc de Noirs Sparkling, Petaluma Gap, CA: Retail $55. 100% Pinot Noir. Rather pale in the glass with more of a stone fruit profile (peach?). Tart and a bit yeasty on the palate with wonderful tast apple and a hint of brioche. Very nice. Excellent. 91 Points.

2018 Bryn Mawr Vineyards Pinot Noir Blanc de Noirs, Eola – Amity Hills, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $85. 100% Pinot Noir. Another rather muted nose with some red delicious apple eventually coming through. Medium straw color. Great fruit on the palate—the red delicious (slightly under ripe) comes through along with an intense tartness and a hint of yeast. Excellent. 92 Points.

2019 Stoller Pinot Noir Legacy LaRue’s Brut Rose, Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $65. 60% Pinot Noir, 27% Chardonnay and 13% Pinot
Meunier. Tons of Fuji apple on the nose of this pale straw (rosé?) wine with a nice fervent sparkle. The palate has an aggressive sparkle with an interesting fruit predominant that I just can’t place. It finishes with some nice tartness and length. I like it. Excellent. 90 Points.

2020 Stephen Ross Pinot Noir Blanc de Noir, San Luis Obispo County, CA: Retail $60. 100%(?) Pinot Noir. Medium color, a brilliant straw with a shy nose of lime and honey blossom. Subtle fruit on the palate with a nice zingy acidity, this is well-balanced and lovely. Excellent. 91 Points.

NV Piper Sonoma Brut Réserve, Sonoma County, CA: Retail $22. Exceedingly Heavy Bottle (898g; 1lb 15.7oz). 92% Chardonnay, 8% Pinot Noir. Quite pale in color with a gorgeous nose of ripe apple and croissant-y goodness. The palate is tart, even quite tart with under ripe green apple. This is pretty darned fantastic. Excellent. 92 Points.

NV Stoller Brut Sparkling Wine – Estate, Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $40. 75% Chardonnay, 22% Pinot Noir, 3% Pinot Meunier. Estate Disgorged 2023. Golden, almost a rosé in appearance with a rich nose of red berry fruit and croissant. Even a little sherried perhaps. Age? The palate has some nice biscuity aspects to it as well as that slightly oxidized fruit, and it is lovely. Outstanding. 93 Points.

2019 Benza Sparkling Brut Crémant of Oregon, Chehalem Hills, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $60. Varietal Composition not clear, but I assume there is a ton of Pinot here. Quite pale with what seems like a touch of petrol on the nose with tart Granny Smith apple. Quite tart and vibrant on the palate with good balance and weight. Outstanding. 93 Points.

NV Piper Sonoma Brut, Sonoma County, CA: Retail $22. Exceedingly Heavy Bottle (887g; 1lb 15.3 oz). 70% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Noir, 3% Pinot Blanc, 7% Aged Reserve Blend. Ripe red apple on a slightly pale straw wine. Subtle fruit on the nose and palate with good balance and oodles of bruised apple and a hint of brioche on the finish. Excellent. 91 Points.

2018 Sokol Blosser Pinot Noir Sparkling Rosé Blossom Ridge, Eola – Amity Hills, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $64. 100% Pinot Noir. Slightly golden in the glass (rosé) with tons of tree fruit, both red apple and Bosc pear. Also a tounch of oxidation. That lends to the palate as I am pretty sure there is some age here, too. Wonderful fruit and mouthfeel with the right amounts of oxidation and yeastiness. Outstanding. 94 Points.

Domaine Serene Evenstad Reserve Brut M.V. 6, Dundee Hills , Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $85. 60% Chardonnay, 34% Pinot Noir, 6% Reserve wines. 12. Fairly shy on the nose of this rather pale but brilliant straw. Nice fruit and balance on the palate, this is wonderful. Excellent. 92 Points.

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