Royal Cuvée Accolades

2004 Vintage

93 POINTS
"A beautiful sparkling wine, rich and refined in the mouth, with creamy flavors that show ripe, sweet California strawberries and lime. This bottling gets better and better with each new release."
- Wine Enthusiast, March 2012

90 POINTS
- Wine & Spirits Magazine, February 2012

88 POINTS
"Floral aromas of pear and crème brûlée lead to a burst of succulent lemon flavors before turning crisp and minerally on the finish. Drink now through 2014."
- Wine Spectator, April 2012

87 POINTS
"The 2004 Royal Cuvée is an attractive wine laced with ripe apricots, pears, hazelnuts and brioche. Hints of toastiness add complexity on the creamy, expansive finish. The blend is 67% Pinot Noir and 33% Chardonnay. Disgorged on 2/4/2011. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2014."
- "The Best of Sonoma", The Wine Advocate #199, February 2012

"Make your mother feel like a queen with this sparkling wine, whose first vintage was served to the King and Queen of Spain when they visited California in 1987. The 2004 vintage is a blend of two-thirds Pinot Noir and one-third Chardonnay grown on the winery's estate vineyard in the Carneros region of Napa Valley. On the nose, it offers a bouquet of peach and toast. In the mouth, it reveals apple and pear flavors with a hint of butterscotch."
- Gayot, "Top 10 Mother's Day Wines", April 2012

89 POINTS
- Connoisseurs' Guide California Wine, November 2011

2013 Gold Medals
San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition - Best of Class

2012 Gold Medals
Critics Challenge
Fingerlakes Wine Competition
Jefferson Cup Invitational - Sweepstakes
LA International Wine Competition - Gold Best of Class
Monterey Wine Competition - Platinum
National Orange/Pacific Rim
North of the Gate Wine Competition
US National Wine Competition
Winemakers Challenge - Platinum

2002 Vintage

CRITICS PLATINUM
"A biscuit-like, baked brioche bouquet enhances a clean, crisp, and very long wine, with real complexity. Extremely compelling!"
- Paul Lukacs, 2010 Critics Challenge Wine Tasting Competition

93 POINTS
"Gloria Ferrer holds this vintage brut back for many years before release, to the consumer’s benefit. The ’02 is rich and complex and beautiful now, although it has years remaining to its useful life. Shows flavors of limes, raspberries, brioche, tangerine zest, vanilla, yeasty bread dough and honeysuckle. An elegant, dry bubbly of enormous charm."
- Wine Enthusiast, Best of the Year Issue 2009

2011 Gold Medals
Sommelier Challenge - Best of Show Sparkling
San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition - Double Gold
Winemaker Challenge International Wine Competition
Florida State Fair - Double Gold
Grand Harvest Awards
Monterey Wine Competition

2010 Gold Medals
San Francisco Wine Competition
Winemaker Challenge International Wine Competition - Wine of the Year, Best of Show
Hilton Head Island Wine Competition - Best of Show, Bubbly
Monterey Wine Competition - Best of Show
Tasters Guild International Wine Competition
Pacific Rim Wine Competition - Best of Class
National Womens Wine Competition
Long Beach Grand Cru
Indiana Wine Competition - Double Gold
Sonoma County Harvest Fair - Best of Class
Sommelier Challenge
Tasters Guide Consumers' Wine Judging

2009 Gold Medals
San Francisco International Wine Competition - Double Gold
Sommelier Challenge
Sonoma Valley Wine Competition

2001 Vintage

93 POINTS
"The Two Sides of Sparkling Wine" - Roger Voss & Steve Heimoff, Wine Enthusiast, July 2009

4 STARS
"Wine of the Week: Tasty sparklers Scouting for the tastiest sparkler $26 and up.
- Press Democrat, December 31, 2008

93 POINTS - TOP 100 OF 2008
"Royal Cuvee is usually Gloria Ferrer's best bubbly, and so it is with this bottling, a worthy followup to the past several vintages. Very finely structured, it shows appealing flavors of cherries, citrus fruits and vanilla, and is so rich, it's almost like a table wine. Addictively good now. Watch it change as it warms in the glass."
- Wine Enthusiast, December 2008

93 POINTS
"Fresh and vibrant, yet with a core of rich and luscious fruit. Aromas of Asian pear, rose water and lemon curd lead to layered flavors of fresh ginger, Pippin apple and cinnamon that finish on a showy note. Drink now through 2013."
- WineSpectator.com, Tim Fish, October 2008

2010 Gold Medals
Jerry Mead New World Wine Competition
West Coast Wine Competition

2000 Vintage

93 POINTS
"Royal Cuvee has turned into one of the most consistent buys in an upscale California bubbly, mainly due to the elegance that always marks the wine. The 2000, which is a classic blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, shows the smoothness and complexity that mark fine sparkling wine, with subtle citrus, peach, raspberry, brioche and smoky vanilla flavors."
- Wine Enthusiast, December 31, 2007

90 POINTS
"Bubbles seem to carry this wine's spicy acidity and alcohol right out of the glass when it's first poured. Then the wine calms down, the fruit develops and the cuminlike spice lengthens into the finish. Decant it for roast sea bass and chanterelles."
- Wine & Spirits, December 2007

Best of The Best
Best of The Best in California Sparkling Wines: 55 sparklers tasted blind. Only 6 wines were chosen for recognition.
- Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine November 2007

2008 Gold Medals
San Francisco Wine Competition - Sweepstakes and Best of Class
West Coast Wine Competition
Monterey Wine Competition - Best of Show, Sparkling
Finger Lakes International Wine Competition
Tasters Guild International Wine Competition
Orange County Fair Wine Competition
National Women's Wine Competition - Double Gold