Today we share one of the electric sparkling wine producers on the west coast. A small production winery out of Washington, Elentone is the brainchild of winemaker Chris Sherry. Sherry hails from Brighton in southern England, which is somewhat of a stone’s throw from England’s premier sparkling wine country. Sherry is an avid Brighton football supporter and shares the same passion for sparkling wines. He has formerly trained under Morgan Lee at Two Vintners.
Each wine is crafted in the traditional Champagne method and are given a limited dosage (2G/L in both wines I tasted). Just as the last releases by Elentone, these are very fresh and show fantastic underlying acidity with a soft mousse. Most wines stand en tirage for more than three years. Both 2020 and 2021 were warm vintages that Sherry is bullish on. Sherry said that in 2021 “Everything was thick and fast. I was at Two Vintners at the time and we were picking Zinfandel at 28 brix in August. We picked these wines at the right time and the acid had not dropped off. It was still very acidic.”
I love the wines coming from the Rainmaker Vineyard in the Columbia Gorge AVA. This site produces wines with serious nerve and lovely salty character. I love the new 2020 Elentone ‘Brut Blanc de Blancs’ Sparkling Wine (OB, 93) which shows good richness from this warm vintage and also beautiful melon and nutty tones. Learn more about these beautiful wines at elentone.com and here are the outstanding new wines by Elentone.
2021 Elentone ‘Willow Blanc de Noirs’ Sparkling Wine- This Pinot Noir sparkling wine come from the Clos Cheval Vineyard in the Lake Chelan AVA. Given 2G/L dosage this was harvested early in August. Guava and ripe melon tones combine with ripe strawberry on the nose. Showing a soft mouthfeel, this offers good richness and a refined mousse. The palate has very delicate and red fruit tones. Beautifully balanced, showing good weight and freshness, enjoy now and over the next eight plus years to come. Drink 2024-2032- 93
2020 Elentone ‘Brut Blanc de Blancs’ Sparkling Wine- Coming from the Rainmaker Vineyard, this was given zero dosage. Barrel fermented, this was aged on the lees for three years prior to disgorgement in March 2024. All Chardonnay, this was picked considerably before the smoke event in September. This comes off very rich with honeyed almonds, toasty buttered brioche, Japanese pear and suggestions of honeydew melon on the palate. Drink 2024-2034- 93