2018 Odonata, Sparkling Rosè of Sangiovese, Santa Clara Valley.
Odonata’s lovely Sangiovese Rosé sparkler, which comes from the Machado Creek Vineyard in the Santa Clara Valley region in the shadow of the Santa Cruz Mountains, is lightly fruity and crisply detailed, gaining some nice yeasty notes and texture with air, making for a real treat either on its own or especially with a meal. As I’ve been saying too, Odonata’s winemaker Denis Hoey thinks 2018 will go down as a great vintage in California, noted that, the perfect weather, from a long cooler growing season, allowed the grapes to mature at a steady pace, which delivered wines with finesse and balance, with all the Odonata releases I’ve tried this is especially true, in particular their Pinot, their new Carmel Valley Cabernet, which shouldn’t be missed, and this fun Rosé fizz. The delicate pale pink hue and creamy beading of the mousse make the latest Rosé of Sangiovese an inviting sparkling wine before it even reaches the palate, where it continues to be absolutely delicious with hints of racy citrus, strawberry, apple skin and crushed berries leading the way, before the leesy brioche kicks in adding a touch of luxuriousness to this easily quaffable bubbly. Faint dough and peach flesh come through here on Hoey’s Italian inspired methode ancestrale style wine or classy version of Pétillant Naturel, this is super enjoyable stuff again from this winery based on River Road in the Santa Lucia Highlands.
The Odonata Sparkling Rosè of Sangiovese is very pleasing and provides a little celebration in stressful times, like this year is giving us all, regardless of where you are, and I highly recommend getting a few bottles to brighten your day. Hoey, who was influenced by old world traditions and old Californian wines started making wines at the ripe age of 21 and has become a humble talent with his Odonata label where he crafts a unique collection of wines that come from a range of sites from the SLH to Paso Robles as well as the Santa Cruz Mountains. For this Sparkler, Hoey explains, that the early picked Sangiovese juice spent a couple of hours on the skins to provide him with the color we needed, then the grapes were then gently whole cluster pressed and the juice was racked to a settling tank for 24 hours. Once the primary fermentation was completed, about 14 days, he transferred the wine to a stainless tank and two barrels for a short period. After four months of aging, Denis and team “en tirage” bottled the wine with added yeast and sugar that start another fermentation in the bottle. This process, methode ancestrale, naturally creates the fizz in Odonata’s sparkling wines. Hoey makes a point of adding, the fizzy wine wasn’t touched or moved for two addition years, while it aged in bottle and it was disgorged (when the yeast plug is removed from the bottle for clarity) on March 20th of 2020. Also he added 5.0 grams per liter dosage (sugar) to balance out the acid profile, which makes this dry Sparkling Rosé a more rounded! This wine was a huge hit when tasted with a group of wine industry friends, I can’t wait to try it again, it brings lots of welcome smiles!
($42 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive