*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from J Vineyards.
Apparently this review is quite timely given the announcement this week of the sale of the J brand to Gallo. Only time will tell what that will mean for the future of the brand. As for today’s wine, we have the J Cuvee 20. The Cuvee 20 is a non vintage (NV) blend made mostly of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, with a touch of Pinot Meunier. The wine has a traditional Champagne closure, retails for around $28, and sports an alcohol content of 12.5%.
Four takeaways from this wine:
1.) The J Cuvee 20 is a solid sparkler for the money/ I’ve seen it online for as little as $20 a bottle, which is a steal and makes this a great mid-week sparkler. At closer to $28 I’d probably save it for Friday after our kid goes to bed!
2.) I really wanted something hot and salty to munch on with the wine. I was dreaming of the truffle and parm fries from the Healdsburg Bar and Grill as I sipped.
3.) I really liked the yeast and pear notes on the nose of the J Cuvee 20.
4.) While great for sipping on its own, I think the J Cuvee 20 would lend itself well to your next cheese tray.
On the nose I found green apple, bread, yeast, lemon, and pear. In the mouth got more apple, pear, lemon, and lemon zest along with some toast and vanilla notes. The bubbles were persistent and the wine changed nicely from tart up front to smoother mid-palate.
Filed under: California, Sparkling wine, Wine |
Wannabe Wino Wine Blog 
The last time I tried J vineyards was back when I was up in Healdsburg. I didn’t know that they just sold to Gallo though. I hope that doesn’t change too much about their operation. I would hate to see their quality decline….