ABOUT THE RMS BRUT

In 1987, when all other Willamette Valley wine producers were focused on Pinot Noir, Rollin Soles had a different vision. He believed that Oregon was the best place in North America to grow cool climate grapes for sparkling wine. After making wine at Petaluma Winery in Australia, Rollin moved to Oregon and founded Argyle Winery, the state’s first sparkling wine production facility. During his 27+ years with Argyle, Rollin crafted some of the most highly acclaimed New World sparkling wines, which made Wine Spectator’s Top 100 wines three times, proof that he has mastered the sophisticated craft of fine Méthode Champenoise. Rollin’s vision has become a reality as the world continues to discover that the Willamette Valley’s cool, maritime climate is indeed ideally suited to world-class sparkling wine production.

THE MÉTHODE CHAMPENOISE PROCESS

This labor-intensive process creates the very best Champagne and high-quality sparkling wines around the world. The wine undergoes a secondary fermentation in bottle creating those signature small bubbles. The process starts with the addition of a liqueur de tirage (a wine solution of sugar and yeast) to a bottle of still wine. This triggers that second fermentation inside the bottle which produces carbon dioxide and lees, or spent yeast cells, which collect at the neck during the riddling process. After an extended time on lees, the bottles are disgorged and the lees is replaced with a solution of wine and sugar, which gives sparkling wine its sweetness.

2017 VINTAGE NOTES

2017 vintage was completely different from the previous three years when vintners harvested their grapes earlier than normal. The wet, cool spring delayed flowering until late June, setting the stage for a later harvest. Hot, dry conditions prevailed through the summer and fruit set was higher than average requiring thinning to ensure incredible wines. There is a fresh fruit component and complexity that emerges to the forefront in the wines.

WINEMAKER’S TASTING NOTES

This wine is Elegance Personified. Immediately, the wines’ aroma is white rose petals while a mid-sniff reveals Naschi pear and apples accented by bright lemon and dragon fruit citrus. Yeasty creaminess adds lovely complexity. The flavor is a racy line of oyster shell brine rounded by a great combo of Bosch pear, red plum, and white nectarine laid upon a bed of dulce de leche creamy caramel, popcorn dusted with white pepper, and a tincture of tangerine zest. The wine exhibits out cool climate growing conditions.