The 2020 vintage marks the very first time Roederer Estate has ventured into producing single vineyard bottlings from its vineyard holdings in Anderson Valley. The Apple Alley Vineyard takes its name from it having been a former apple orchard, as Roederer Estate chose to keep all of the apple trees that line flank the road into the vineyard. The wine is crafted from a cépages of seventy-four percent chardonnay and twenty-six percent pinot noir, with eight percent of the vins clairs having been barrel-fermented. The wine was disgorged in February of 2024 and finished with a dosage of six grams per liter. The wine delivers a refined bouquet of apple, quince, a lovely base of soil tones, bread dough and a topnote of dried flowers. On the palate the wine is crisp, focused and full-bodied, with a lovely core of fruit, excellent soil signature, frothy mousse, a firm spine of acidity and a very long, complex and impeccably balanced finish. To my palate this is still a young wine and truly deserves at least a few years in the cellar to properly blossom. It is an important new wine from Roederer Estate and certainly looks likely to soon be one of the benchmark sparkling wines produced in the US! 2027-2050+.

A sweet, floral, slightly tangy nose presents notes of cherry blossom, raspberry, potting soil, citrus peel and pepper. The fruit notes deepen on a palate of cherry, wild strawberry, raspberry jam and blood orange, as tannins grip at the edges of your tongue, before acid lifts a cool, peppery finish. 

The Barolo offers dark red cherry aromas with notes of leather and earth. It’s round and full on the palate with good depth of flavor and rich extract on a long finish. It’s a blend across 7 vineyards in 5 villages with the Ornato vineyard in Serralunga the single most important source.

The Pio Cesare Barbaresco Pio opens with the scent of fresh red cherries and raspberries with a note of underbrush. It’s mouthfilling and balanced with a firm backbone, round approachable tannins and a long, focused finish. Sourced from four different vineyard sites, including the high altitude, south-facing Il Bricco at 425 meters altitude.

This 50/50 Chardonnay and Pinot Noir blend sourced from the estate’s vineyards in Mendocino’s Anderson Valley is light copper-salmon in color. It opens with delicate aromas of red berries and zest of blood orange. On the palate it reveals fine bubbles, a creamy mouthfeel, and notes of bread dough and minerals complementing the fruit. The perfect accompaniment for salmon. 50% Chardonnay and 50% Pinot Noir with 3.9% reserve wines from 2010-14. Dosage 8 g/L.