In a bold move (and equally bold attire – a pink shirt and gold tie), Hugh Davies, owner of Napa’s Schramsberg Vineyards, challenged some sharp palates to blind taste his J. Schram Rosé 2000 (SRP $130.00) against some of the best rosé Champagnes. The J. Schram Rosé 2000 is a blend of 75% Chardonnay and 25% Pinot Noir, with grapes sourced from Napa, Mendocino, Sonoma, Monterey and Marin Counties and aged on its lees for seven years.

Confident that his wine would show well, tasters were given six flutes filled with varying shades of pink bubbles and asked to rank the wines from 1 to 6 (with 1 being their favorite). None of the tasters knew the identity of the other wines as they set off on their tasting journey.

Once the wines had been tasted and scored, the scores were tallied before the identities were revealed. The verdict? Collectively, the group chose the J. Scram 2000 as their favorite, with the Louis Roederer Cristal 2002 in 2nd place, followed by Perrier-Jouet 2002. My personal picks varied a bit, placing the Cristal first, the Perrier-Jouet second and the J. Schram in third place. I found the former two to be lighter and more delicate, but did still enjoy the J. Schram a lot.

The second flight of wines permitted attendees to taste through the J. Schram in various stages and from different vintages. More specifically, the 2009 pre-bottled, base blend of 85% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Noir was compared with the post-bottle version. The wine has nicer qualities, but appeared young and disjointed given its incomplete stage. A 2006 J. Schram showed how, in time, the wine would become more integrated, while a comparison of the 2003 J. Schram – a natural sparkling version vs. the finished wine – provided a glimpse into the wine’s further development, with less fruit on the nose and more complexity on the palate. To finish off the flight, the 1993 J. Schram offered a sample of the aging potential of this wine.

The final flight of the day paired several different Schramsberg wines with a delicious lunch, showing the food friendly nature of these wines.

~Blanc de Blancs 2006 – Salmon crepe
~Blanc de Noirs 2006 – Wild mushroom and rice cake
~Reserve 2001 – Lobster Choux
~J. Davies 2006 (a still wine blended from 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Malbec, 6% Petit Verdot) – Lamb Skewers
~Crémant Demi-Sec 2005 (produced from 88% Flora, a cross between Gewurztraminer and Semillon) – Ham