Ultramarine Sparkling Rosé Brut Heintz Vineyard Sonoma Coast 2018 “Quite simply, I can't recommend these wines highly enough.” – Antonio Galloni

Michael Cruse is the wizard behind the Ultramarine curtain – an upstart garagiste producer making tiny amounts of highly detail oriented wines, from some of California’s best vineyards – all in an effort to redefine how California makes sparkling wines. Just off Highway 101 in Petaluma, this completely ordinary industrial space nevertheless houses one of the most exciting wine projects in California today! Cruse fell head over heels with the intricate and exacting methods of top-notch, site-specific Champagne – the individual plot fermentations, the gentle and precise crushing, the never-ending micro-dosing and blending sessions, the careful aging… just, all of it. 

So he sought to replicate all that, here, in an unremarkable industrial park in Petaluma, where form certainly takes a backseat to function. But, like Antonio Galloni remarked after his own visit, “Don't let the stripped down setting fool you. Cruse makes a wide range of incredibly distinctive wines here. The sparkling wines are especially of note.” 

Decanter’s William Kelley would further go on to state that “by pioneering the artisanal methods and terroir-driven philosophy of the grower Champagne movement here in North America, it’s fair to say he’s enjoying an influence that’s being felt far beyond his modest facility in Petaluma."

The stage for this cuvee is none other than Sonoma Coast’s famous Charles Heintz vineyard. Set on a ridge over 1000 feet above sea level in Occidental, and only a few miles from the pacific, this site produces some of California’s best pinot noirs and chardonnays – from fabled producers like Williams Selyem, Dumol, Littorai, and more. The sandy Goldridge soil allows for quick draining, while also ensuring minimal pest damage (phylloxera can’t survive in sand, so the AXR1 rootstock absolutely thrives here.) This just might be the only sparkling wine made from this revered vineyard, as the price per ton of this exceptional fruit is some of the highest in all of California for chardonnay and pinot noir grapes.

The assemblage here for this rosé is composed of 49% chardonnay and 51% pinot noir, with 10% of the pinot added as a still wine to produce the color, along with an Extra Brut level dosage of just 2 grams per liter.  Expect flavors of ripe Summer strawberries, and sweet cream, but also a distinct savory edge that expresses dried herbs, iron ore, and salted plums. Immensely complex, the wine also holds subtle notes of worn leather and dusty earth. This is as deep and nuanced as California sparkling gets, and the wine is just getting started. Don’t be in a rush to open this rare gem, as its best years are yet to come, but… wow! What a start so far! We have less than TWO cases total of this exceptionally collectible beauty, and you simply can’t find this wine at a better price anywhere – so don’t delay!