2023 Carboniste "Whale" California Sparkling Chardonnay

Today we have a wine that proves classy, luxurious, dynamic sparkling wine doesn't have to break the bank! Carboniste has long been a favorite here at K&L with its outstanding range of bubbly, spanning everything from delightfully esoteric pét-nats to traditional method, grower-Champagne-inspired wines from top single-vineyard sites. Carboniste is owned and operated by husband-and-wife team Dan and Jacqueline Person. They are fully committed to small-batch sparkling wines and work out of a modest warehouse winery in Sonoma. Dan is a true master of his craft and has become a trusted source of knowledge for many of his peers in the industry on all things sparkling wine. Many of Carboniste's labels feature ocean creatures: octopus, urchin, crab...but today we're featuring the grandest of ocean voyagers: the whale. Carboniste's Whale Sparkling Wine is Chardonnay-based, with parcels of fruit sourced from Santa Cruz, San Benito, and Sonoma counties. The really intriguing thing here is that rather than maturing the wine for an extended period on tirage, Dan ages the still base wines for up to 32 months in neutral oak casks before giving the wine another 12 months on its lees in bottle. The wine is then hand-disgorged and finished with a very minimal dosage. This unique approach perfectly captures the rich, golden fruit and unctuous texture of California Chardonnay while combining it with coastal freshness, saline minerality, and subtle toasty notes from the lees aging. The low dosage keeps the wine bright, vibrant, and zesty on the palate, drawing you back for another mouthwatering sip. This is a stunning bottle of sparkling wine from a small boutique producer at an exceptional price. It's no surprise this earned a massive 98-point score from Jeb Dunnuck, it's a winner through and through.