19 year old NV brut rose from Michigan

We opened an older bottle of sparkling wine from Mawby, a sparkling wine producer on the Leelanau peninsula in Michigan. While Mawby has strayed further into cheap and cheerful tank method sparklers over the last decade, they have been making traditional method sparkling wine since the 80s – and a lot of it has been really high quality.

This particular bottle is from their sandpainting line. Each sandpainting release is unique, bringing together different grapes and styles. Sandpainting 2 is a NV pinot meunier brut rose with an en tirage date of 2007, disgorged in 2011.

Appearance: deep salmon, plentiful bubbles that dissipate after 10+ minutes in the glass.
Nose: pecan and baking spices, jumping out of the glass.
Mouthfeel: small creamy bubbles, singing acidity that you can immediately feel on your tongue.
Palate: the fruit has faded away on this wine, leaving just a hint of lemon, apple, and honeydew. Much more pronounced is candied walnuts, pecan, honey, and a touch of smoke. The acidity is lovely (not surprising in a Michigan sparkling, which always showcase that cool climate acidity I crave). The finish is long and lingering, fading gently and leaving warmth and a touch of sweetness behind.

Look, I know that no one will believe me, because I’m sitting here drinking an almost 20 year old NV Michigan sparkling wine. But honestly – this is a fantastic bottle!