Gruet Blanc de Noirs (75cl, 12%)

A méthode champenoise sparkling wine from New Mexico, bottled at 12% ABV in a 750ml format. The cuvée is 75% Pinot Noir and 25% Chardonnay. Gruet Winery was founded by the Gruet family, who brought Champagne-making expertise from Bethon, France, to vineyards at over 4,000 feet elevation in New Mexico. The wine is made using traditional méthode champenoise, with secondary fermentation in the bottle and a minimum of 24 months of sur lie ageing. The aroma is yeasty toasted brioche, raspberry, cherry, baked pear, vanilla and hazelnut. The palate is crisp apple and lemon, then Anjou pear, cinnamon bread and chalky minerality, with fine persistent bubbles. The finish has toasted almond, saline, gentle spiciness and dried earth.