SUPERIOR/UNIQUE WINE ALERT!:

Today’s wine is a sparkling Pinot Noir. Think real Pinot Noir, but with bubbles, a unique combination of two of our favorites!

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Mission Codename: What’s red and dark and bubbly all over?

Operative: Agent Sparkle

Objective: Procure an outrageous yet delicious sparkling wine for our celebratory Operatives

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Mumm Napa

Wine Subject: Sparkling Pinot Noir

Winemaker: Ludovic Dervin

Backgrounder: For today’s remarkable selection, we sent Agent Sparkle back to our friends, Mumm Napa. This time, we gave her instructions to sample Mumm’s Sparkling Pinot Noir, a bubbly that we had received numerous positive reports about. She loved the wine well enough to secure an ample allotment for our Operatives. With so much to celebrate and be thankful for, Agent Sparkle invites you to enjoy this rich and wonderful sparkling wine with your friends, family and loved ones – during all of your celebrations!

Read Agent Sparkle’s detailed tasting notes and mission report below

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Beautiful and dazzling, a deep crimson, with a heart of darkest pomegranate. Held up to the light, or even better, sunlight, the wine presents a rushing upward cascade of tiny bubbles that seem to move far faster than regular Champagne bubbles!

Smell – Amazingly, this wine smells like a real French Burgundy at first, with darker and more earthen notes. Then, dark cassis and cherry with subtle clove and cinnamon

Feel – This bubbly starts big, delivering a delightful mix of medium-tannins one may associate with a great Pinot Noir, but there is much more going on here. This is going to sound funny to some, but the wine has a dark brightness to it, especially on the mid-palate. That is, the wine feels big and dark, but there is a crisp brightness that surrounds it, making the wine a delightful enigma in the mouth

Taste – If the feel is a playful puzzle, the flavors follow in perfect lockstep. Present here is a mixture of dark red fruits, musky dried cherries, cranberries, dark chocolate powder, with classic Pinot Noir flavors

Finish – Slightly dry, with flavors that ramp up quickly and then taper off slowly moving from big and dark to sweet, then gently tart

Conclusion – An incredible wine! I must admit that I was somewhat skeptical when I was assigned this wine. On tasting, though, I was very moved and very impressed by this wine. When I am not getting cozy with a bottle of bubbly, I am a red wine kind of gal. Pinot Noir and Petite Sirah are the red varietals I love best. This remarkable wine is a wonderful fusion of these two passions, melding the fun and feel of a great methode champenoise, with the flavor and quality of a great California Pinot Noir. This wine will be served at my holiday meals, making the perfect companion for roast turkey or great roast or even lighter fair. If you are looking for a great wine that is also a real conversation piece, you’ve found it! And then some!!

Mission Report

Provided as background intel, what follows is a mission recap from Agent Sparkle’s initial experience with Mumm Napa:

It was a high level meeting of all of our overseas operatives. HQ wanted to have a rare face-to-face. We needed to get on the same page and refocus our efforts. I, Agent Sparkle, was tasked with arranging the summit.

Choosing the location was easy; I just had to get us all to the Monterey safe-house. Agents from around the world arrived. It was good to see Agent Baco Noir in the flesh, in her signature Italian pumps. Agent J played pilot to Agent Terroir and Agent White, flying them both in in her Citation X. They had come all the way from France for the meeting (stay tuned for the results of that ongoing mission). Agent Red arrived a little late but, as a founder of The Wine Spies, he can get away with it.

Agent Grenache, the heavy-lifter of the group, fresh cleaning up our latest logistical nightmare, was in attendance. So, too, were Agent Neutron and Agent Orange (our hipster Paso Robles Operatives), Agent Noir (Monterey), and Agent Smith (you read about him in Agent Red’s mission report of yesterday). Also in attendance were a select group our Agent’s field assets, moles, and confidential informants.

The meeting room was packed. So was the agenda: There were extended tastings to conduct, technical analysis, sessions on trade-craft, research on trends and perhaps most importantly, the latest harvest reports.

It was a long and grueling day and thankfully Agent Red arranged a great after-conference BBQ, Aussie style, in my honor. He arranged the dinner, but I had arranged the refreshment of the evening, a beautiful sparkling wine from my newest friends, Mumm Napa.

Mumm Napa’s bubbly became an instant favorite from the moment I first placed the winery under surveillance. It took some skillful subterfuge to procure enough to serve at our gathering – and to keep enough for our well-deserving Operatives for today’s offering. We’re sorry that you weren’t able to attend our conference, but I am sure that today’s superb bubbly is consolation enough.

The day behind us, the BBQ was in full swing. We were having a great time, and I just love the fall along the California coast. It was the perfect way to finish the days activities, watching the sun set into the mighty Pacific – with a glass of Champagne in hand.

Agent Terroir raised his glass and said, “A mes amis et à un grand avenir!, A votre sante!”. He took a sip and smiled at Agent Sparkle with a glowing look of approval. Sparkle just smiled back and whispered to Red, “Mumm’s the word.”

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The gorgeous Rutherford, California location of the Mumm Napa winery and vineyards can be seen in this satellite photo.