2019 Cruse Wine Co. Sparkling St. Laurent Petillant Naturel Ricci Vineyard

The 2019 Sparkling St. Laurent Pétillant Naturel has a pale onion-skin color and minerally aromas of chalk over crushed red berries and toasty hints. In the mouth, it's characterized by creamy mousse and gentle, clean berry flavors, finishing with a kiss of sweetness. Since this is bottled partway through fermentation—to create the bubbles in bottle and maintain the desired sweetness—bottles of this will vary, but the pressure will be around four bars, a bit less energetic than the average sparkling wine, which contains about four to six bars of pressure. Cruse Wine Co. is now using a gyropalette instead of hand-riddling these bottles, so they will have a bit of a haziness instead of looking perfectly crystal clear. It's nothing to worry about!