2014 Caraccioli Cellars Brut Cuvee Santa Lucia Highlands 750 ml

No one crafts New World sparklings quite like the Caraccioli family. They nailed the formula for drawing classic Champagne style from top-tier California grapes—world-class Santa Lucia Highlands vineyards and one of the world’s most illustrious bubbly makers. The intricacy and focus of their 2014 shows why Vinous has said that Caraccioli wines “stand toe-to-toe with any New World sparklers... not to mention plenty of Champagnes.” 

That’s what you get from a wine crafted by the late Michel Salgues. After 13 years teaching Enology in Montpellier, France and 19 years at the helm of the famed Roederer Estate—the California arm of iconic 100-point Champagne house Louis Roederer—Salgues established himself as a master of the traditional Champagne method, and one of the most renowned sparkling wine makers on either side of the Atlantic.

Winemaking for Caraccioli was Salgues’ post-retirement passion project, one permeated by his expertise. It gave him the chance to flex his creative muscles and imagination. After he passed in 2017, Scott Caraccioli took over, continuing in Salgues footsteps after working alongside him for years. Their Brut Cuvées are so elegant and alluring that SingleThread has featured it as their “greet wine,” the first impression for their Michelin three-star experience.

And SingleThread isn’t alone in their admiration. Luxury hotels like Post Ranch Inn, The NoMad, Pebble Beach, Farmhouse Inn, and others have pampered guests with Caraccioli wines. Pour a glass of the 2014 iteration and you’ll get the charisma, sophistication, and attention to detail of a five-star getaway. It springs forth with citrus blossom, lemon cream, and oven-warmed bread aromas. The palate takes you through ornate corridors of pear, apple, and fresh cream, decorated and balanced by brioche, salinity, and honeysuckle.

The Caraccioli family’s farming prowess and world-class vineyards provided Salgues with stellar grapes to craft this standout sparkling. Their farm has been a Salinas Valley mainstay for four generations. But in 2006, Gary Caraccioli caught the wine bug and expanded into the bright and cool Santa Lucia Highlands with the goal of making unique and original sparkling wines. Today, the family utilizes their extensive farming knowledge to tend vines on the 124-acre Escolle Vineyard, which is “painstakingly maintained and farmed,” and produces “extremely high-quality fruit,” according to Vinous. 

On the northern side of the Santa Lucia Highlands, Escolle sits on an east-facing bench, allowing for the morning sun and cool nights that inspire and preserve this wine’s lemony line of acidity. Well-drained, Chualar sandy loam soil supports more than 30 rootstock and clone combinations of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, which gave Salgues the diversity to construct this wine’s brilliant complexity. 

Hand-picking and night harvesting show the Caraccioli’s dedication to low intervention practices and allow the exemplary grapes to shine in the wine. They round out their Brut Cuvée with grapes from Talbott and Hahn, two other Santa Lucia Highlands pillars who consistently craft acclaimed Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. 

They don’t rush the wine either, giving it an ultra-patient four years to age on the lees, then another 23 months in bottle. It emerges with incredible balance, a contemplative bottle with a perfect equilibrium of California fruit and traditional Champenois finesse. 

The Gary Caraccioli-Michel Salgues partnership formed over a shared belief that wine is more than a beverage, it’s an experience. This 2014 Brut Cuvée is the best kind of experience, one that sticks with you long after the bottle is finished.