Chepika 2023 Concord Catawba Sparkling
This is a fun singular wine from Nathan Kendall & Pascaline Lepeltier, who were only able to bottle one cuvée in 2023 from the Buzzard Crest vineyards near Keuka Lake. It's a blend of 76% Concord and 24% Catawba, hand-picked and co-fermented with native yeasts. The second fermentation comes from a culture they made using the sweet must of Concord kept in cold storage. It spends 5 months on the lees and was hand disgorged with no dosage, no SO2 added and a clocks in at a cool 10%abv. The nose makes you smile - think adult Welch's Grape Juice without the sappy sweetness and dark fruit. Some floral aromatics mingle in, mostly white flowers, from the Catawba. The palate is more taut and lean, with great acidity and a dry, slightly tart finish. One of the more fun wines we've had the pleasure of tasting recently! JD