Davies Schramsberg Extra Brut 2006
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In 1965, Jack and Jamie Davies began reviving the historic Schramsberg winery property in Napa Valley. They challenged conventional ideas and relied on innovation to craft the first world-class, American, méthode traditionelle sparkling wines produced from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. In the 1990s, a second generation of the Davies family undertook replanting the estate on Diamond Mountain to red Bordeaux varieties, and J. Davies Estate Cabernet Sauvignon was launched with the 2001 vintage. In 2014, the family released the compelling and balanced 2012 Davies Vineyards single-vineyard Pinot Noirs, a logical evolution based on over 40 years’ experience with cool-climate Pinot Noir sites and grapes in the North Coast.
Representing the topmost expression of a Champagne house, a vintage Champagne is one made from the produce of a single, superior harvest year. Vintage Champagnes account for a mere 5% of total Champagne production and are produced about three times in a decade. Champagne is typically made as a blend of multiple years in order to preserve the house style; these will have non-vintage, or simply, NV on the label. The term, "vintage," as it applies to all wine, simply means a single harvest year.
Reaching up California's coastline and into its valleys north of San Francisco, the North Coast AVA includes six counties: Marin, Solano, Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake. While Napa and Sonoma enjoy most of the glory, the rest produce no shortage of quality wines in an intriguing and diverse range of styles.
Climbing up the state's rugged coastline, the chilly Marin County, just above the City and most of Sonoma County, as well as Mendocino County on the far north end of the North Coast successfully grow cool-climate varieties like Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and in some spots, Riesling. Inland Lake County, on the other hand, is considerably warmer, and Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Sauvignon Blanc produce some impressive wines with affordable price tags.