J Cuvée 20 Brut NV

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The Vineyards
Celebrating twenty years of winemaking excellence, J Cuvée 20 proudly displays an exceptional, stylish assemblage from our best cool-climate vineyard sites in the Russian River Valley.

Processing
All grapes at J are hand-harvested into small quarter-ton bins and placed as whole clusters, without destemming, into our special Coquard press for a gentle pressing cycle. Grape juice from the various vineyard lots is fermented and kept separately until blending decisions are made in mid-November. The cuvée (blend) was assembled in December of 2003, cold stabilized to remove excess tartrates and then bottled in the spring of 2004. The cuvée included 25% oak cask aged non-vintage wines that were carefully selected for this blend.

Aging
After the secondary fermentation occurred in the bottle, the wines aged for more than three years in our cool cellar. In early 2007, the wines were carefully riddled to remove the yeast sediment responsible for the aging character. Following disgorging, a dosage liqueur of reserve wine and pure cane sugar was added to balance the wine. An additional six months of ageing on the cork before release ensured a perfect balance of flavors.

Tasting Notes
This J non-vintage Brut gracefully opens up with crisp lemon peel, honeysuckle and delicate yeast aromas. Upon entry, these notes follow through to a mix of Fuji apple and grapefruit interlaced with toast, caramel and almond flavors on the mid-palate. The acidity adds just enough liveliness and the citrus zest leads to a lingering, warm pear and lush finish. Demonstrating an illustrious combination of yesterday and today, its fresh exuberance showcases layers of depth and complexity.

Appellation:   Russian River Valley

Residual Sugar:  1.5%

Final Analysis:  Alcohol 12.5% by volume

Final Blend:
55% Chardonnay
43% Pinot Noir
2% Pinot Meunier

Production:  17,400 cases