Here we have 2 interesting wines from Minnesota and two sensational wines from Schramsberg and Dugat-Py.

This is a great way to toast the New Year: Schramsberg 2004 J. Schram Brut is the best sparkling wine we have tasted from California to date. The Schramsberg is something for fans of mature champagne: for us, it has the perfect maturity with cognac, walnut, a hint of caramel, medium body, light fruit sweetness, and is fresh, balanced, mineral, precise, creamy, medium to long, and complex. 19.3/20 points.

Except for Alaska, there are wineries in every US state. Even in Minnesota. Since it gets extremely cold here in winter, European grape varieties cannot survive, but hybrid varieties can. The new hybrid grape varieties no longer have a fox tone and produce drinkable, interesting wines. However, one should not expect any pronounced complexity here.

The Wooden Link 2024 Blanc Cuvee is made from Frontenac Blanc and Itasca. It has gummy bears, flowers, medium body and is spicy, dense, long, balanced and fresh. 14-16/20 points.

The Wooden Link 2024 Rose is made from Marquette and is very fruity with herbs, strawberry, some animal notes, medium body, crisp acidity and a medium-long finish. 14-16/20 points.

Even though we cannot rate these two wines highly and do not agree on the score, they are both very enjoyable.

To balance things out, there is a sensation from Burgundy: the Dugat-Py 2009 Mazoyeres-Chambertin Grand Cru has a masculine structure with plenty of polished tannins, but it has a lot of potential and could reach full score in a decade. The wine has violet, tar, elderberry, full body, a long finish, and is balanced, earthy, complex and dense. 19.8/20 points.