Ultramarine, Sonoma Coast Rose Sparkling Wine Heintz Vineyard, 2016

The Heintz family has farmed their ranch outside Occidental on the West Sonoma Coast since 1912, planting Chardonnay vines in 1980—and Michael Cruse's Ultramarine is one of a handful of producers granted access to its fruit. The Heintz site's thin soils over sandstone, with heavy clays and sandy loams, receive abundant annual rainfall and daily Pacific Ocean influence, producing grapes of remarkable intensity and site-specificity. This rosé is made by saignée—brief skin contact with Pinot Noir before pressing—then fermented and aged using the traditional Champagne method, hand-disgorged with just two grams per liter dosage. The 2016 vintage offered ideal growing conditions after three years of drought: steady ripening with cool, foggy mornings and sunny afternoons. Candied cherry, strawberry skin, citrus rind, and dried rose petals with fresh, energetic acidity and a long mineral finish. Cult-level California sparkling at its most elegant.