Josh Morgenthau

9.1

Sensual aromas lead in, and then this is so bright on the palate. Over time florals emerge- and glycerine, almost verging on soapy. Dark, transparent and ultramarine fruit. Not too acidic, but bright and lively nonetheless. Cali Cab that you could pair with sushi. — 4 years ago

J Choi

9.4

Yum. Rose. 2015. — 5 years ago

Al Shikoh

9.0

light golden brown, looks like creme soda, medium beaded mousse; ripe berries, toasted hazelnuts, slight herbal tang; medium body, 12% ABV; 100% Pinot Noir sourced from Seven Springs Vineyard, zero dosage, disgorged early 2019, bottled and finished in Petaluma by Michael Cruse of Ultramarine; $65 — 6 years ago

Ely Cohn

9.3

The best thing I’ve tried from Cruse. Big boy pet nat. Sophisticated, serious, and not so different from something method traditional. Tight mousse and bone dry in a hazy white strawberry robe. Big red fruits, Dole strawberry, bing cherry, and candy watermelon slushee.

Now who can find a way for me to try some Ultramarine? — 7 years ago

Scot McIntosh

9.2

Depth, texture, but still surprisingly precise. — 7 years ago

Shay A

9.3

Weston hosted Friday group today and was it definitely a can’t miss tasting. Wow! Absolutely knocked it out of the park with heavy hitter after heavy hitter. Similar to Wednesday group, all wines are tasted blind.

English sparkler ladies and gentlemen! Coming on the scene hot. Most guessed French NV. I wondered if it was possibly high end west coast like an Ultramarine. Loads of apple here. Little yeast and chalk. Great texture and bubbles. — 8 years ago

with Weston

Charles Antin

Senior Wine Specialist/Auctioneer Zachys

9.5

Cool to taste two expressions of Heintz vyd Chardonnay in two days, one sparkling, one still. Banshee picks early, Ultramarine very early. This is really awesome stuff. Great length, fresh acid, a tight core of fresh fruit. — 11 years ago

Josh Morgenthau

9.3

Furry nose of black currants, black cherries, dank florals, tobacco. On the palate, black, ultramarine and red fruit, ripe cherries, toasted barley, light cocoa and deep spices. Young and heavy tannins, but with a few hours of air this is very nice- velvety, with flowers, minty herbs and spices. Chewy but lively. Needs 15 more years. Even so, not sure I see it meriting the same high marks as the professional critics gave it. Time will tell, I guess. — 5 years ago

Taylar Hart

9.0

Very enjoyable but not as exciting perhaps as Ultramarine. I would 100% buy and enjoy this but I - as Michael Cruse himself explained - this one is more representative of CA as a whole whereas Ultramarine has a bit more of a sense of place. Just found it a bit less noteworthy but still very good. — 6 years ago

Ely Cohn

9.0

My second vineyard of Cruse sparkling Valdiguie and it’s good but it’s definitely the less interesting of the two. Where Deming was a pretty hazy white strawberry, Rancho Chimiles is more upfront - visuals and flavors of bright Jolly Rancher watermelon and pink strawberry starburst. A little overpriced at $35.

Still searching for Ultramarine in Texas - help? — 6 years ago

Shay A

9.2

Today was my annual hosting of the Wednesday Wine Committee. There was 1 sparkler, 3 whites, 4 reds and 1 dessert, all provided by me. Tasted blind, as always.

Copying my note from the ‘07 vintage as the wines are near identical. I will say that I didn’t get as much yeast out of the ‘09 as I did the ‘07, but it’s hard to know if it was simply due to age. I’ll hold back a bottle or two for a few years and revisit then.

Next to Ultramarine and the Reserve Schramsberg Sparklers, this is one of the best domestic Sparklers I’ve had, especially at the price ($50). Nose was grilled honeycomb, baked yeast and a small bit of limestone. Extremely creamy on the front palate...bubbles were so incredibly tiny. Multiple bubble strings. Wonderful lemon bread palate, with a crisp, chalky finish highlighted by grilled pineapple. There seemed to be more green apple notes here compared to the ‘07 vintage, but may be due to youth. This is an excellent US version of champagne. — 7 years ago

with Andrew, Weston and 3 others

Alicia Cypress

9.1

A good midpoint between Ultramarine and traditional champagnes. Those farmers certainly know their fizz! — 9 years ago

with Art, Joe and 1 other

Al Shikoh

9.2

tight bead, amber hue; yellow apple, citrus, white flowers, cheese rind; light bodied, zesty acidity, touch of residual sugar, 12% ABV; made from Chenin Blanc sourced Seven Springs Vineyard in Eola-Amity Hills, fermented naturally, unfined, unfiltered, no added sulfites, in pétillant naturel style by Raj Parr with Michael Cruise of sparkling wine house Ultramarine; $32 — 5 years ago

Shay A

9.3

One of three bottles of bubbly (2014 Ultramarine BdN and 2010 Larmandier-Bernier VV du Levant) opened when a good friend, @Shawn R , was in town. EO is one of my favorite champagne producers, but this was actually my first experience with the rosé.

5yrs on the lees, disgorged mid 2019. Slightly orange pink in the glass. Initially, it was very razor sharp and intense. Jasmine, orange zest, and dried apricots on the nose. On the palate, the intensity picked up with a strong backbone of limestone, chalk, tangerine and some honeysuckle. When this paired with food, it showed its true colors with a touch more body and richness. Even more impressive was how much better this was on day two...likely a champagne that could benefit from a decant at this age. Much more creamy and showing more red Berry fruit like raspberries, rhubarb and also a little floral. Yeast driven notes didn’t appear until day two. Complex, intense and lots of potential. — 5 years ago

with Shawn

Bryan Kesting

9.5

Cabernet night with the guys. Started with a few whites.

Other than the Ultramarine this is the Cab I brought. I decanted this for about 12 hours before the gathering. I really enjoyed this. — 7 years ago

with Scott

Chris Durall

9.0

Finback Brewery Ultramarine DDH IPA. — 7 years ago

Michael Elmore

9.1

Peach fruit cup. Very reminiscent of Ultramarine Rose... or vice versa — 8 years ago

Bill Crites

9.4

Got a taste of this at the Ultramarine pickup party. Wow! Now my new fav Champagne. — 9 years ago