Maître de Chai - Sparkling Solera Sonoma Mountain NV

The Michael Mara Vineyard — planted in 2006 by Steve & Jill Klein Matthiasson — is a beautiful Chardonnay site just west of the town of Sonoma. This Traditional Method Sparkling Solera is a reserve blend of Chardonnay with components dating back to 2012 — our first vintage. The base wine was fermented with its native yeasts and after the second fermentation, was bottle aged for 24 months. Hand disgorged in July 2021. 1,260 bottles produced.

Without question, after nine years in the making, this is the wine we are the most excited to release this fall. What started as the “Intern Project Chardonnay” in 2012 has culminated into a sparkling wine that is a blend of every vintage we have produced. In February of 2019, we tiraged roughly 100 cases, leaving behind about a single barrel to continue the Solera. With over a year and a half in bottle, the wine shows the beautiful autolytic character you'd expect.

Meyer lemon tart and almond butter greet you on the nose with a palate of beeswax and tarte tatin, but the wine is driven by the acid and tannin characteristic of the Michael Mara vineyard. This bottle could easily age for 10+ years.