Carboniste "Rouge Brute" Sparkling Red Brut 2023

If you're looking for a wine that will surprise you and make your taste buds do a happy dance, you'll love this beast of a sparkling wine. The Rouge Brute is a 70% Merlot and 30% Albariño blend and a "mullet wine," as the winemakers like to say. The plumy richness of the Merlot greets you upfront while the playful lighter Albariño waves to you from the back. Enjoy big soft tannins and some herbal character for a bottle of sparkling wine with guts.

The Merlot and Albariño were fermented separately and blended before bottling. The Merlot, from the Santa Cruz Mountains, was partially destemmed for one ferment and left on the stem to ferment in a second ferment. This created two separate styles of Merlot giving depth and layers to the finished red portion of the wine. 

The wine was bottled with fresh yeast and a small amount of sugar, which yielded lower pressure than our other wines. This low pressure is in compliment to the red wine tannins.