PHILOSOPHY
Most of Chandon’s sparkling wines are blended, non-vintage wines, designed to reflect a consistent style year to year. With this Vintage appellation Series, we choose to create distinctive wines to showcase the unique qualities of a particular growing season from each of our vineyard appellations: Yountville, Mt. Veeder and Carneros. With this release of 2007 Vintage Brut, we showcase the fruit grown in Carneros, the site of our largest vineyard planting.

VINTAGE NOTES
The year of 2007 began dry with some very cold days and single-digit nighttime temperatures around the New Year holiday, and continued dry, with about 60% of normal precipitation throughout the appellation. Temperatures were warmer than normal as winter continued into spring with resulting earlier budding, bloom and set in the vineyards across all varieties.

The summer growing season continued on the mild to cool side, with few days topping 100 degrees, even in the warmest locations in the appellation. There were also notably fewer days in the 90s, and harvest followed a traditional, even relaxed, pace. Clusters, as well as individual berries on the clusters, though set at a normal quantity, were notably smaller in all varieties due to the dry season. Harvest of Chardonnay began in early to mid-August in Carneros and southern Napa, followed by Pinot Noir. The timing was just a little ahead of normal but ideal for sparkling.

TASTING NOTES
Excellent acidity island raspberry and lemon zest aromas. Complex notes of fuji apple, custard and soft toffee complete the depth aromas and flavors.

FOOD & WINE PAIRING
Creamy on the palate yet vibrant, this sparkling wine is absolutely ideal for seafood pairings such as oysters and crab cakes. The texture of the wine enhances the natural flavors and consistency of dishes like roasted vegetables, carpaccio, steak tartare and sashimi.

Vintage: 2007

Appellation: Carneros

Aging Profile: Minimum of 3 years on the yeast

Blend: 60% Pinot Noir, 38% Chardonnay, 2% Pinot Meunier