Carboniste Corralitos Extra Brut 2020

From the producer:

2020 Corralitos Extra Brut

A limited product wine made from the best barrels from Carboniste's Santa Cruz Mountain vineyards blend. The 2020 Corralitos Extra Brut is made of 64% Pinot Noir and 36% Chardonnay and it exhibits loads of orange peel, apricots, almonds, and toffee. A small portion of reserved Corralitos from previous vintages is added back to the blend to create delicate layers that integrate into the finished wine.

Vineyards

Grapes are exclusively sourced from the Corralitos area of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Sandy soils and winds from the Monterey Bay result in unique and highly expressive wines. We have never found Pinot noir that is so expressive at sparkling levels of ripeness (much lower compared to still wine ripeness). This vintage includes Frances J Vineyards, Lester Vineyards, and Beauregard Vineyards.

Winemaking (Traditional + Modern)

After harvest, grapes were pressed in whole clusters and settled for 1-2 days as juice. Clear juice helps to retain the purity and focus of this wine. The juice was fermented in barrel with native yeast at 60-70°F for 3 weeks. The fermentation sediment was kept with the wine in a barrel for 9 months without the addition of sulfur dioxide. The wine was bottled with fresh yeast and a small amount of sugar. After 34 months in bottle, the yeast had consumed the sugar, the sediment was removed, and we added back a small amount of wine and sugar resulting in an Extra Brut style of sparkling wine. The bottles were recapped in order to preserve the natural youth and freshness of the wine.