A few quick thoughts on the blue (yes, blue) sparkling wine Blanc de Bleu.
The Geekery
Blanc de Bleu is a California sparkling wine made by Bronco Wine Company. Owned by Fred Franzia, Bronco is noted for its value-oriented brands like Charles Shaw (“Two-Buck Chuck”), Cellar Number 8, Crane Lake, Estrella River, Forestville, Hacienda, Montpellier Vineyards, Once Upon a Vine, Stark Raving Winery as well as Gravel Bar in Washington State.
In 2016, Bronco acquired the iconic Zinfandel producer Rosenblum Cellars from Treasury Wine Estates.
Blanc de Bleu is made from Chardonnay sourced from throughout California. The bubbles are produced via the Charmat method of secondary fermentation commonly used for wines like Prosecco.
After this fermentation, the wine is filtered off the lees with the blue coloring coming from the addition of blueberry concentrate. While I could not find the exact dosage, the wine is labeled as a Brut.
The Wine
The nose reminds me of uncooked, Eggo blueberry waffles from the freezer. Not really any toasty yeast notes or fresh blueberry aromas in this wine.
Medium-minus intensity nose. Very citrus-driven though not very defined. There is a faint uncooked Eggo blueberry waffle note hinting at the blueberry.
On the palate, the blueberry becomes a tad more noticeable. However, the faint yeasty waffle notes don’t carry through. We go from uncooked Eggo waffle to low-calorie blueberry cotton-candy. Definitely more of a fake, flavor additive blueberry than fresh juice.
It’s not as sweet as I was expecting it, but it’s still distinctly on the sweeter side of Brut–probably in the 10-12 g/l range. Moderate-plus mousse is frothy like Prosecco but also feels like a lower pressure. Maybe something more in the 4.5 to 5 atmosphere range rather than 6 atmospheres of most Champagne. Short finish brings back the citrus notes from the nose which become more defined as lemon.
The Verdict
At $15-20, it’s clear that you are paying for the novelty of the color.
Quality-wise, it reminds me of $9-12 Proseccos which would be a better price-point for this bottle.