2014 Family Reserve Ella

We love sparkling wine… while some people only enjoy sparkling wine at celebrations, we think it is one of the most versatile wines available. Monday? Sparkling wine! Date night? Sparkling wine! It is so food friendly – the complexity of effervescence, complexity and acidity allows you to pair it with almost any course during the meal. It even pairs well with Netflix.

At Maverick, we create two different sparkling wines – the non-vintage Ella spends 24-36 months ageing on the lees, and we strive to make it refreshing, complex, and consistent over time. We take out all of the stops with our vintage Family Reserve sparkling – it spends at least 60 months ageing in bottle (we have 2013 sparkling wine still ageing on the lees!) – and the result is a deep, complex, and amazingly age-worthy sparkling wine.

The 2014 Family Reserve Ella is a stunning sparkling wine that is the result of a beautiful vintage and a lot of patience.  The grapes were picked in 2014, the second vintage that Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were reserved for sparkling wine. This traditional method means the secondary fermentation was carried out in the bottle to capture the bubbles and create a fine mousseux. 

2014 Family Reserve Ella was left to sit on the lees from secondary fermentation until disgorging in August 2020.  Notes of brioche, almond and lemon preserves have developed over time. The 6 years of lees aging has given this wine incredible depth of flavour and an extraordinarily creamy mouthfeel.

TASTING NOTES:
The two varietals used in our traditional sparkling wine each bring their own special magic to the final blend: Chardonnay (20%) for fruit and elegance and Pinot Noir (80%) for length of flavor and a touch of colour. The combination creates traditional sparkling wine that is delicate with light yeasty aroma, good freshness on the nose and rich and creamy complexity on the palate. Notes of brioche, almond and lemon preserves have developed over time. The 6 years of lees ageing has given this wine incredible depth of flavour and an extraordinarily creamy mouthfeel. Fine mousse with great length on this beautiful, enticing salmon pink coloured traditional sparkling wine.

WINEMAKING:
Grapes are hand-picked into small 30-pound trays. Cooled to 5-8 degrees Celsius before being whole bunch pressed. The two varietals are jointly pressed and fermented. Fermentation in stainless steel tanks with a portion of reserve oaked aged wine added during the ferment. The wine is aged in stainless on light lees for 8 months and then bottled for secondary fermentation in bottle. After over 72 months of yeast contact the wine was tasted and disgorged. In line with tradition a dosage was added.

WINEMAKERS COMMENTS:
The 2014 growing season will be remembered as one of the warmest in recent history and joins 1998 and 2003 for heat and length. An almost perfect start to the season, with great winter and spring rain followed by beautiful July weather. Dry and hot summer with a cool September and a warm October made for growing season that would be remembered. The steady heat and the cool nights giving the vines time to ripen the grapes to optimal levels. This, one or the Okanagan’s driest and hottest growing season will be remembered as challenging but ultimately rewarding.

NOTES:
Production – only 456 bottles produced
Alcohol – 12.5%
Varietals – 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay
Vinification – 95% stainless steel, 5% neutral French oak for 8 months, 66 months en tirage before disgorging, disgorged in June 2022
Cellaring – can be cellared for 15-20 years