Under The Wire is a collaboration between Chris Cottrell and Morgan Twain Peterson and was founded just a few years ago. Inspired in part by the grower Champagne movement the project aims to make California Sparkling wines and semi-sparkling wines from a particular vineyard and vintage. Current vineyards include Bedrock, Brosseau, Hirsch and Alder Springs.
Brosseau Vineyard is located in the heart of the Chalone Appelation high above the Salinas Valley. The vineyard was originally planted in 1980.
Straw colored with tiny bubbles. 12% ABV. Pretty nose of green apples, fresh ginger and yeast. Somewhat thin on the palate with light acidity. Flavors of fresh bread, pear and hazelnuts. The wine lacks the crisp finish I expect in a sparkling wine. Hoping for a better showing from the ’12 version. Sorry Morgan but I got to call them as I see them.
My rating: 87 points.
Under The Wire released their second set of wines this past Spring. I’d encourage you to sign up for the mailing list as I suspect the wines will be hard to come by in the upcoming years. The Brosseau Vineyard Sparkling Chardonnay was $60 direct from the winery.
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Hi – I still have not opened the 1 bottle I bought upon release, so thank you for posting your tasting notes on this 2011 Brosseau. I always appreciate your tasting comments.
While I have both Brosseau and Alder Springs from the 2012 vintage, I didn’t realize that Bedrock and Hirsch vineyards were also included. Do you know if these were added later, or if we may expect these to be in the offering lineup for the 2013 vintage?
Looking forward to enjoying these soon. Thanks!
Thanks Chris. The Bedrock was in the first release in 2014. I assume the Hirsch will be in a future release.