Introducing the Stunning Sparkling Wines of BxT
I first tasted a bottle of BxT sparkling wine during a fantastic wine dinner at Heitz Cellars last Fall. The dinner was being hosted in a stunning room in the old stone winery building at Heitz surrounded by huge oak casks that once housed some of the most iconic wines in the history of California. Alongside an amazing lineup of new Heitz releases served throughout the evening, guests had also been encouraged to bring other bottles from their own cellars to share with the table. Among the wines brought by patrons was a bottle of BxT. I was immediately intrigued by the quality of the wine and the fact that I had never seen nor heard of the wines before. Then came the revelation that BxT is actually a small passion project from Tom Sherwood, who just so happens to be the husband of immensely talented Heitz winemaker Brittany Sherwood.
A week or so later I had the chance to meet up with Tom at a small cellar space he rents down in the industrial neighborhood of Napa where many such tiny projects are incubated. The idea of BXT (which by the way stands for “Bubbles x Tom” is to take a grower-Champagne mentality and apply it to top-quality, hand-crafted sparkling wines made in California. Tom seeks out interesting vineyard sites, makes very small batches of wines including oak aging base wines, hand-riddling, disgorging, and writing on every single bottle. At the cellar we tasted numerous base wines (vin clair) that were aging in various oak casks from regular barriques to Austrian Stockinger, to 600L puncheons. I even got to sample Tom’s mind blowing Perpetual Oxidation Solera wine right from the cask (more about that later). Then we sat outside in the sun and tasted through a few wines still on lees, and a few that he had recently disgorged that would be released in the coming months. Everything I tasted was stunning. The wines all have a common thread of quality, immense depth of flavor and precise textures. Each shows its own individual character and it is very clear to see Tom’s dedication and pursuit of excellence with the wines. Currently we have four wines from BxT in stock at K&L, most of them in miniscule quantities, though as his production grows I truly hope we can continue along for the ride and introduce more and more people to these wines, as very few people are even attempting to make domestic sparkling wines with this level of dedication and commitment to quality and authenticity.
2022 BxT "California Immersion" California Brut Sparkling Wine $39.95 The California Immersion bottling is a blend of 66% Chardonnay, 17% Pinot Noir, and 17% Pinot Meunier combined from the four vineyards BxT farms and sources from: Manley (Carneros), Yount Mill (Yountville), Wheeler (San Benito) and MacCormack (Solano). The base wines are aged in large format oak casks. 3% solera style reserve wines are added before 12 months on lees during secondary fermentation. Hand-riddled, zero dosage, no added sulfur. Just 730 bottles were produced. Beautiful floral notes of summer meadow and freshly cut hay on the nose with pure golden orchard fruit, baked bread, seashell, preserved lemon and subtle hazelnut. Fantastic balance and length on the palate, fine bubbles and crystalline acidity. Incredible value for money given the quality and hand-made artisanal process.
2022 BxT "McCormack Ranch" Solano County Brut Blanc De Noirs $44.95 The McCormack Ranch Blanc De Noirs is 100% Pinot Noir from a vineyard right on the banks of the Sacramento River in deep sandy soils. Perhaps not the first place you might think of for Pinot Noir…but Tom found a great grower with a few acres planted to a specific sparkling clone of Pinot Noir right on the river where cooling delta breezes produce pure racy fruit that lends itself perfectly to making traditional method sparkling wines. The wine is fermented with native yeast in neutral oak, large puncheons and Stockinger casks are favorites of Tom’s for the 6-9 months of elevage before secondary fermentation. The wine then sees 18+ months on the lees before being riddled by hand. Less than 50cs produced. Freshly picked redcurrant leaves and cherry blossom-like tones meet you on the nose. Flavors of Cox’s Orange Pippin, freshly crushed raspberry, wet granite minerals, a hint of strawberry and cream on warm shortbread. Rich and flavorful but delineated by racy, mouthwatering acidity. Really cool wine. Very limited.
2021 BxT "Manley Vineyard" Carneros Brut Blanc de Blanc Sparkling Wine $54.95 Tom has been farming this tiny, one acre vineyard just outside downtown of Sonoma since 2019. Everything is done by hand, the vineyard is farmed organically. The resulting pristine fruit is pressed in a small, one ton, coquard basket press. The base wines are fermented and rested in neutral oak Puncheons and Stockinger casks. The wine spends 6 months in cask then 24 months en tirage. The wine is then hand-riddled, unfined, unfiltered, zero dosage, zero added sulfur. A true labor of love! Manley Vineyard is home base for BxT and Tom has put a lot of blood sweat and tears into the tiny parcel of vines over the past 5 years. The vineyard sits in a small part of Sonoma-Carneros that is very close to the course of the creek that has intensely rocky, free draining soils particularly renowned for quality Chardonnay. A perfumed nose of white florals, citrus blossom, baked pear tart, fresh bread, lemon barley water. Crushed rock minerals, hints of sea spray and chalk. So complex and yet so refreshing at the sametime. The details are all here in perfect focus if you care to look…or you could just close your eyes and enjoy every drop.
BxT "“Perpetual Oxidation - Solera Barrel 3.0" California Sparkling Wine $59.95 This may well be sold out by the time you read this as we only got one case. BxT's Perpetual Oxidation is one of the most fascinating, experimental, complex and delicious sparkling wines you're ever likely to taste. It's truly mind boggling! This wine is pulled once per year from a single solera cask of reserve wines. This solera cask has been created from reserve wines held over from 2018 through 2022. The wine is minimally sulfured and is only topped up once per year. Oxidative notes are readily encouraged. When approximately 72 bottles worth of wine is pulled from the solera, the same amount of base wine is added back from the new harvest. The wine is then put through bottle fermentation using local Black Button Sage honey as the sugar source for the secondary fermentation. After 12 months it is hand-riddled with zero dosage added. The result is vintage Champagne meets a hint of fino sherry, a whisper of honey (but very very subtle) and a finish that just goes on and on! One of those wines that blows my mind how much flavor and complexity one sip can have packed into it. Truly special.