Sosie, First Things First Brut Nature 2018, Sonoma County, California

Tasting Note: A robust, golden-fruit-filled, sparkling brut nature made from the Rhône-grape Roussanne that would please a wine drinker who appreciates heft and body.

Pale-intensity gold in color with medium-sized bubbles, this wine has an aromatic, medium-plus-intensity nose white peach, tangerine zest, pineapple, fuji apple, honeydew melon and orange blossom.

On the palate the dry, medium-plus-bodied sparkling roussanne has medium-plus-intensity, orchard-fruit flavors suggested on the nose supported by medium acidity and completing with a medium-plus, golden-fruit-infused finish.

The sparkling wine has a somewhat creamy texture even as it is lifted by the bubbles.

During an October 2019 visit to Australia I learned, there are only three sparkling Roussannes in the world, and with this wine I’ve now tasted two of the three (see the other in Australia).

I’d love to taste more sparkling Roussanne with this level of depth and complexity and experience this potentially-emerging, sparkling-wine category.

Bottle Note: Here at Sosie, we have our priorities straight: good friends, good food, great wine. We put these things before all others because they give us the greatest pleasure. So it is with our sparkler, “First Things First.” Just knowing there’s a bottle in the fridge and a friend at the door makes us happy. What could be more important? Disgorged: May 2020.

This wine was submitted for review.