Sterling Vineyards Sparkling Blanc de Blancs, California
Tasting Notes
Sterling Vineyards, one of Napa Valley’s premier winery destinations, offers an array of distinct and beautifully crafted wines from many of the best appellations in California. The Sterling Vineyards Blanc de Blancs sparkling wine is sleek, elegant and creamy.
The Blanc de Blancs sparkling wine is a glistening pale straw color in the glass with ribbons of fine bubbles. The aromas of green apple, lemon citrus, pear and lemon cream are distinctive. The palate is fresh with fruit-forward flavors, zippy acidity and a creamy mouth with a long, smooth finish. This is a sophisticated and elegant wine with balanced fruit, structure and acidity.
The fruit comes from Yountville Ranch (Napa Valley) and Paris Valley Ranch (Monterey County) that produce beautifully vibrant Chardonnays with excellent freshness.
Winemaking Notes
Winemaker Harry Hansen takes great care in crafting a beautiful expression of Chardonnay for the base wine of this Blanc de Blancs. The Chardonnay fruit was harvested in the cool morning hours and sent directly to press at the winery. Only stainless steel is used during fermentation to preserve freshness. First and second pressings are blended to add depth, layers of flavor and complexity. The sparkling is made using the Charmat Method, or Cuveé Close, giving the final wine a delicate but persistent effervescence.
Specs
Varietal Composition: 100% Chardonnay
Appellation: Napa Valley, Monterey County
Vinification: Stainless Steel, Charmat Method
Alcohol: 12%
TA: 7.2 g/L
pH: 3.32
Included in the Box
6-bottles:
6x Sterling Vineyards Sparkling Blanc de Blancs, California
Case:
12x Sterling Vineyards Sparkling Blanc de Blancs, California
Sterling Vineyards was founded in 1964 by Sir Peter Newton, a British Knight and Oxford scholar. With a fondness for Bordeaux varietals, Sir Newton realized the potential in Calistoga, Napa Valley for growing excellent Merlot and bottled the first single varietal Merlot in 1969. Sterling Vineyards quickly put Napa on the map for creating top quality wines.
The winery itself is an architectural icon in Napa Valley. Modeled after a Greek monastery, Sterling Vineyards was the first winery ever built with the visitor in mind and the only winery in the world with an aerial tram. Today, Sterling is one of the most visited wineries in Napa Valley and one of the largest landowners in Napa, which provides immense opportunity for crafting world-class wines.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, KS, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NM, NY, NC, ND, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, VT, WA, WV, WI
Sterling Vineyards Sparkling Blanc de Blancs
6 bottles for $79.99 $13.33/bottle + $1.33/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $129.99 $10.83/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
Sterling Vineyards Sparkling Blanc de Blancs - $30 = 18.74%
@kevo152 I had the same concern because some of the blankety-blancs tend to the sweet (I’ll say off-dry) side. However looking back at comments from the Summer offer, I see notes about it being mild and pleasant but not overly sweet.
Oddly, same price (give or take some change) as my local liquor store has this on sale for this week. We just had a bottle of it yesterday. Grabbing a case just for the convenience of having it in the house in the new year.
@Jamileigh17 Interesting. I was thinking, hey maybe tomorrow morning I’ll go shopping and see if I can find some at a similar price to try. There is a large store related to the Kroger chain that has a fairly decent wine/beer selection and tends to follow corporate sales promos.
Then I realized that in my “new state” of North Carolina, I can’t buy it tomorrow morning because they can’t sell any alcohol on Sunday mornings. Presumably so you don’t get liquored-up until after church. And the grocery stores can only sell beer and wine anyway, no distilled spirits.
$35 retail is pretty pricey for a Charmat method wine, not that it can’t be a nice wine. This is available for around $15 plus ship so not a bad deal here but not a screaming deal.
@kaolis I think I recall seeing that Charmat wasn’t necessarily inferior in many cases, it’s just that it became associated with bottom-end products such as André and Cooks. (which, by the way, tend to be way too sweet, which was my concern with this one as well). I do agree the MSRP seems a bit off(ensive)
@kaolis@pmarin not necessarily that bulk secondary fermentation is inferior, but it’s certainly cheaper than the traditional method. Without the costs of riddling, the two stage corking process, disgorgement, etc, it’s just a lot less work to do it in bulk. So I’d expect this method to result in a cheaper wine.
For my money, at $35, there’s enough real champagne to buy. The price here is a different story. But then for me, you’re competing with the $10 Trader Joe’s Brut and Brut Rose. (Traditional method, too.)
I went for a case of this on the last recent round. Not very good. Tried to give some to a friend and they passed after tasting. If I could have returned it I would. Just my $.02 but I think you can do far better almost anywhere for less per bottle. Nothing to do with sweet/dry just not good IMO. Purchased some far superior B to B’s recently for $9.95 online that were impressive in comparison. Your taste may very but when my Russian GF that lives off anything with bubbles makes negative comments there is a red flag. However she did get it down over time and a few went down the drain half full.
overnight. Hopefully the UPS elves will be fleet of foot and beat the current estimated delivery of January 4th so this still arrives by New Year’s Eve as promised…
@sndg
I just received this one, today, but my Gruet is showing Jan4, even though it sits @ 30 minutes away from me, in the penultimate processing facility.
I also have a 1/4/2021 delivery scheduled according to UPS instead of the initially displayed 12/28/2020 delivery - it got to the local facility 12/29/2020 in the morning - and has not moved since. Funky.
The Sterling shipment arrived today, and the UPS driver noticed in carrying it to the house that the bottom of the box was pretty loose. On his advice, I turned it upside down to have a look, and the bottom was bulging a bit and had been re-taped. I opened it and found that the bottom layer was missing a bottle. As I looked through the rest of the box, I discovered that one of the layers was facing the wrong direction, which accounted for the inability to close the package properly. My experience in loss prevention (back in my grad school days) and opening far too many boxes of wine tell me that some UPS employee went through the box to see if the bottles were all the same, or if there might be something different worth having. There is no doubt in my mind that someone in the employ of UPS, and obviously not someone at WCC, is responsible for the clumsy theft. BTW, the UPS driver who suggested I open the package, leading to the timely discovery of the theft, notified his supervisor immediately, and left here with a bottle of Gruet that happened to be handy.
@rjquillin And we already have plenty of bubbly on hand, including a bottle of Iron Horse Resilience currently being chilled for New Year’s Eve. If anyone can think of a better choice than that for this year, I’d like to know. After spending time in 3 different hospitals this year, I’m happy to say goodbye and good riddance to 2020.
@winedavid49 any insight into what is going on with the delivery date/speed for some of us?
Customer support says that the order shows delivery date 1/4/2021 and in their perspective everything is in order - yet it was listed as:
“Delivered In Time for New Year’s Eve!”
(and ordered for that purpose).
@datruandi I can’t speak for WD, but I’ve had a couple things that were shipped UPS Ground over the last week and a bit that have been held at a distribution centre near the source. They’re all listed as arriving Jan 4. My reading of the signs is that UPS is on semi-vacation and most things going Ground are being deprioritized until the calendar rolls over to 2021.
Sterling Vineyards Sparkling Blanc de Blancs, California
Tasting Notes
Winemaking Notes
Specs
Included in the Box
Price Comparison
$456.00 at Sterling Vineyards for 12x Sterling Vineyards Sparkling Blanc de Blancs, California
About The Winery
Winery: Sterling Vineyards
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, KS, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NM, NY, NC, ND, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, VT, WA, WV, WI
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Dec 28
Sterling Vineyards Sparkling Blanc de Blancs
6 bottles for $79.99 $13.33/bottle + $1.33/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $129.99 $10.83/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
NV Sterling Vineyards Blanc de Blancs
Wish this could arrive by Tuesday.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
Sterling Vineyards Sparkling Blanc de Blancs - $30 = 18.74%
I got a chance to lab rat this back in July when it was previously offered and it is a no-brainer at this price!
@chipgreen I agree - I have a bunch left or id buy.
Did we ever get an answer on RS for this wine? My wife wont drink anything +1.5%.
@kevo152 I had the same concern because some of the blankety-blancs tend to the sweet (I’ll say off-dry) side. However looking back at comments from the Summer offer, I see notes about it being mild and pleasant but not overly sweet.
Too bad no O.H.I.O.
Can’t say no to this screamin’ deal. In for a case!
/giphy spiced-bright-cider
Oddly, same price (give or take some change) as my local liquor store has this on sale for this week. We just had a bottle of it yesterday. Grabbing a case just for the convenience of having it in the house in the new year.
@Jamileigh17 Interesting. I was thinking, hey maybe tomorrow morning I’ll go shopping and see if I can find some at a similar price to try. There is a large store related to the Kroger chain that has a fairly decent wine/beer selection and tends to follow corporate sales promos.
Then I realized that in my “new state” of North Carolina, I can’t buy it tomorrow morning because they can’t sell any alcohol on Sunday mornings. Presumably so you don’t get liquored-up until after church. And the grocery stores can only sell beer and wine anyway, no distilled spirits.
@Jamileigh17
Also same price as previous offer but without the extra burden of “summer shipping” for WCC.
@pmarin I feel your pain. I moved from TX to PA,so arcane rules to bureaucratic rules!
@Jamileigh17 @pmarin PA…with government control of the liquor sales!
/giphy polar-tiny-hearth
What is the vintage?
@sillihkram Since no vintage is given, it’s almost certainly a non-vintage wine. Nothing at all wrong with that.
Anyone in NYC want to do a split?
@albish7 I will.
@longtones great! If anyone else in interested in a bottle or 2 let me know
A case from one of my most trusted and familiar vintners? Done and done.
This looks tasty, esp. at the case price, but I already have the mixed case of Gruet on the way.
That said, any PDXers want to split a case?
@jfuruno you can never have too much
@kitkat34 indeed, but I would be happy for local co-conspirator
$35 retail is pretty pricey for a Charmat method wine, not that it can’t be a nice wine. This is available for around $15 plus ship so not a bad deal here but not a screaming deal.
@kaolis I think I recall seeing that Charmat wasn’t necessarily inferior in many cases, it’s just that it became associated with bottom-end products such as André and Cooks. (which, by the way, tend to be way too sweet, which was my concern with this one as well). I do agree the MSRP seems a bit off(ensive)
@kaolis @pmarin not necessarily that bulk secondary fermentation is inferior, but it’s certainly cheaper than the traditional method. Without the costs of riddling, the two stage corking process, disgorgement, etc, it’s just a lot less work to do it in bulk. So I’d expect this method to result in a cheaper wine.
For my money, at $35, there’s enough real champagne to buy. The price here is a different story. But then for me, you’re competing with the $10 Trader Joe’s Brut and Brut Rose. (Traditional method, too.)
/giphy edwardian-blinking-mantel
/giphy ancient-roasted-falalalala
@apathy0 and one sent as a gift
/giphy starlit-lucky-love
/giphy marvelous-golden-carol
I went for a case of this on the last recent round. Not very good. Tried to give some to a friend and they passed after tasting. If I could have returned it I would. Just my $.02 but I think you can do far better almost anywhere for less per bottle. Nothing to do with sweet/dry just not good IMO. Purchased some far superior B to B’s recently for $9.95 online that were impressive in comparison. Your taste may very but when my Russian GF that lives off anything with bubbles makes negative comments there is a red flag. However she did get it down over time and a few went down the drain half full.
@finewiner
@finewiner Da! Same here. Ug. May shake the bottle profusely and watch it spray out the door, maybe freeze on the sidewalk. Cheers
Any Rats?
@irenegade
There were rats back in July here:
https://casemates.com/forum/topics/sterling-vineyards-sparkling-blanc-de-blancs
Fwiw- I bought a case and didn’t regret it.
@pete0744 thanks! I’ll check it out!
Pulled the trigger. Tired of Gruet
@salpo
I see the words…
@apathy0 @salpo
Neither one of them ship to OH, guess I will just have to wait for the Christmas Day Iron Horse offer!
Got the shipping notice for my order
/giphy overcast-glorious-sugarplum
overnight. Hopefully the UPS elves will be fleet of foot and beat the current estimated delivery of January 4th so this still arrives by New Year’s Eve as promised…
@sndg I also have an estimated delivery date of 1/4. I hope it’s going to be updated, as it was clearly advertised as arriving by 12/31.
@jeffcohen @sndg I had something else (not from here) ship UPS Ground yesterday and it’s also showing Jan 4. Sheesh.
@sndg
I just received this one, today, but my Gruet is showing Jan4, even though it sits @ 30 minutes away from me, in the penultimate processing facility.
Stick with the Gruet. The Sterling, it’s hardly usable for mimosas. Got some on special at a local market a few months ago and hardly drinkable.
Didn’t see any Iron Horse offer. Come on Casemates, jingle bells and all that…
@jettstream Pinot Noir Magnums offered on 12/25. You might have been busy that day.
@ddeuddeg nfw. Yea, I was busy. Would have definitely gone for a few. Next time. Cheers. Sipping a Walla Walla Cab at the moment.
I also have a 1/4/2021 delivery scheduled according to UPS instead of the initially displayed 12/28/2020 delivery - it got to the local facility 12/29/2020 in the morning - and has not moved since. Funky.
The Sterling shipment arrived today, and the UPS driver noticed in carrying it to the house that the bottom of the box was pretty loose. On his advice, I turned it upside down to have a look, and the bottom was bulging a bit and had been re-taped. I opened it and found that the bottom layer was missing a bottle. As I looked through the rest of the box, I discovered that one of the layers was facing the wrong direction, which accounted for the inability to close the package properly. My experience in loss prevention (back in my grad school days) and opening far too many boxes of wine tell me that some UPS employee went through the box to see if the bottles were all the same, or if there might be something different worth having. There is no doubt in my mind that someone in the employ of UPS, and obviously not someone at WCC, is responsible for the clumsy theft. BTW, the UPS driver who suggested I open the package, leading to the timely discovery of the theft, notified his supervisor immediately, and left here with a bottle of Gruet that happened to be handy.
@ddeuddeg
Unfortunate, but a well executed recovery.
@rjquillin And we already have plenty of bubbly on hand, including a bottle of Iron Horse Resilience currently being chilled for New Year’s Eve. If anyone can think of a better choice than that for this year, I’d like to know. After spending time in 3 different hospitals this year, I’m happy to say goodbye and good riddance to 2020.
@winedavid49 any insight into what is going on with the delivery date/speed for some of us?
Customer support says that the order shows delivery date 1/4/2021 and in their perspective everything is in order - yet it was listed as:
“Delivered In Time for New Year’s Eve!”
(and ordered for that purpose).
@datruandi I can’t speak for WD, but I’ve had a couple things that were shipped UPS Ground over the last week and a bit that have been held at a distribution centre near the source. They’re all listed as arriving Jan 4. My reading of the signs is that UPS is on semi-vacation and most things going Ground are being deprioritized until the calendar rolls over to 2021.
@datruandi we gave expecting no later than 12/30 delivery. Apologies if it doesn’t make it! Shoot me a message if it didn’t.
@klezman @Winedavid49 thanks for both of your responses. the chosen shipping speed may play a role. Will whisper you.