Over the holiday weekend I had the pleasure of taking lunch at Bouchon in Yountville. If you've never dined there I wholeheartedly recommend it - from the oyster bar to the brandade fritters, from the steak frites to the moules frites -- it's just plain delicious.
Their wine list is quite good as well, and on Sunday we chose a bottle of 1999 S. Anderson Blanc de Noir to start our meal. I was especially pleased to see the S. Anderson sparkling on the list, as this is something of an endangered species nowadays. For a variety of reasons, not the least of which were a change in ownership -- the winery is now called Cliff Lede Vineyards-- S. Anderson bubbly will no longer be produced.
Always one of my favorite California sparkling wines by dint of its depth, complexity, and value for money, I will be sad to no longer find it on the shelves. That time is, at least, a little ways off. I have it on good authority that there is still a fair amount of sparkling wine resting in the caves in Yountville waiting for degorgement (for a nice overview on sparkling wine production, click here). Given that the 1999 vintage bubblies are currently being released, we've got a bare handful of vintages left before they go the way of the Dodo.
While it is disappointing to see an old favorite falling by the wayside, I am happy to at least know of it far enough in advance to be able to lay some down in the cellar for future enjoyment.
The non-vintage Brut and Blanc de Noir can be found, I believe, at Trader Joe's for around 25 dollars. The vintage sparklers I usually purchase through the winery at www.cliffledevineyards.com. Enjoy them while they last -- on the beach with friends this summer, or back at Bouchon over a boudin noir. Cheers!