Duck Pond Fries Family Cellars XX Blanc de Noir Bruit 1996 Sparkling Wine

Duck Pond Fries Family Cellars XX Blanc de Noir Bruit 1996 Sparkling Wine, Willamette Valley  “The Dark Horse” – $58 – limit of 3

We at Tasting Pour truly did not know what to expect from this wine and we really did not know how our industry tasting group would respond to it in a blind tasting format.  I mean 20 years on lees and not even on purpose at that.

While preparing for the 2016 harvest, Duck Pond winemaker Trevor Chlanda discovered filled tirage boxes with bottles aging on lees, tucked away in the winery library. “At first I figured they were empty, and would be extremely useful for the upcoming vintage.  Once I noticed they were full, I realized the treasure I might have,” Chlanda said.

 

The base wine and original 1996 sparkling was made by Fries Family Wines President and Winemaker Greg Fries at the request of his sister Lisa Jenkins who serves as Vice President of the family-operated company.  Jenkins stated. “It’s incredible to me to see a wine that I loved so much find new life 20 years later. It’s the past and present coming together to make something so special.”

“This is a wine that is designed to be textural, hedonistic, mouth-filling and palate pleasing,” remarked Chlanda.

We at Tasting Pour knew opening this bottle was going to be a once in a lifetime experience – whatever the result.

AND IT WAS INCREDIBLE.  The nose was like walking through an evergreen forest – cedar, pine, juniper – all mixed with clove, orange peel and toast.  “Holy crap,” one taster exclaimed, “this smells like Christmas.”  Once we got some in our thirsty mouths we noticed some truffles in that forest plus  nutty flavors like toasted almonds and hazelnuts.

Only 160 cases of this sparkling wine have been disgorged. It is priced at $58 per bottle with a 3-bottle allocation per consumer. It is available through the Duck Pond Cellars tasting room and web site store.

For more notes from our blind tasting of Northwest Sparkling Wines visit 6 NW Sparkling Wines for your Holiday Wish List.

Samples provided by winery and boy howdy were they enjoyed by our group in an unbiased blind tasting format.