2016 Foundation La Perla Brut absolutely shimmers. Combining the rich strawberries and cream from 64% Pinot Noir with lemon custard, spiced apple and white blossoms, the volcanic soils of Spring Mountain create a serious mineral backbone for the wine. This wine is the perfect balance between razor freshness, ripeness, richness and focus. We chose to age this wine over three years to really showcase the amazing vineyard site and possibility for development. Like any great vintage Champagne, La Perla has fantastic aging potential we fully expect it to continue to develop and excite for the next 15 years.
This is our second release of our 2016 Foundation La Perla vineyard sparkling. This wine was aged an additional five years on cork in our cellar after 48 months aging on the lees. La Perla Vineyard Brut was fermented in neutral oak, which is exceptional for sparkling wines; aging in wood gives the wine greater complexity and depth. This wine is powerful and well-balanced. Our Foundation La Perla has spent 48 months on lees and was disgorged in 2020. This wine will continue to develop through 2035.
Single vineyard Brut style sparkling from organic Pinot Noir & Chardonnay from high-elevation Spring Mountain vineyard within Napa Valley
At 1,700 feet elevation with hillside slopes upwards of 25% grade, La Perla Vineyard is the definition of a mountain vineyard and truly treacherous terrain to grow Pinot Noir. In far northwest of Napa Valley, the cold air from the Pacific Ocean creeps over the Mayacama Mountains, draping itself over Spring Mountain, creating the perfect framework of cold nights and a long growing season for Pinot Noir. La Perla Vineyard is riddled with shallow volcanic soils with intermittent patches of sedimentary and calcareous rock. Meter by meter plantings of this site with over 4,000 vines/acre results in smaller vines with smaller, more concentrated and powerful Pinot Noir clusters and berries. The Chardonnay block is down the hill from the Pinot, and is goblet trained old vines. Coupled with the fact this vineyard is organically farmed, this rocky, hillside block is perfect for a Champagne-style sparkling from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
