I wanted to try all the bruts from the main north American sparkling wine producers to get a sense of producer style. Here are my notes.
NV Mirabel Brut – Medium oxidation, medium toast. Has aromas of nuts butter and white flowers with lemon and nutty flavors. My first time trying it and better than I expected somehow. A rich and forward style but with good savory notes.
NV Mumm Napa Brut Prestige – No oxidation, light/medium toast. White flowers and toast aromatics. The lemon zest and toast flavors are very rich and assertive. Not elegant at all but good in a forward sort of way. Seems less classy when drank in the context of its peers.
NV Gruet Brut – No oxidation, no toast. The aromatics were grapy and berry like with a fresh (as opposed to toast) yeast scent. The flavors have strong strawberry notes, was quite sweet and had a saline note on the finish. Not that great and totally outclassed by its peers.
2008 Domaine Carneros Brut – Light Oxidation and medium Toast. Has an interesting aromatic profile of butter and something like coconut or even lanolin. It is one of the more elegant wines in the group with lime and savory flavors. Balanced and racy. Nice.
NV J Winery Cuvee 20 Brut – No oxidation. Heavy toast. Ripe and fruity aromatics with what seems like oak derived notes. It has balancing acidity but it tastes very ripe and fruity. My wife said it tastes like a ripe California chardonnay with bubbles and I agree. I thought it tasted good but it would be better on its own than with wines that illuminate its ripeness. Not totally my style but fun.
NV Scharffenberger Brut – Medium oxidation and heavy toast. Has a savory aromatic profile with lots of toasty notes. The flavors mirror the aromas and it has a good racy backbone. Its really not fruity at all but I like the style. Its been a while since Ive tried one of these and it performed better than expected. Nice wine.
2008 Iron Horse Classic Vintage Brut – Heavy oxidation and light toast. The most oxidative style of the night. The aromatics have a light biscuit type note with the assertive oxidative notes. The flavors are largely the same. Good acid balance. I like the style so would buy again but maybe not for everyone.
NV Korbel Brut – No oxidation and no toast. Has a grassy and tangerine like weird aromatic profile. It has very sweet fruity grapefruit flavors. Overall it’s a bit thin and insipid just slightly weird.
NV Korbel Organic Brut RRV – Much better than the regular brut. No oxidation or toast. It has fruity green apple aromas and the flavors are the same. Good. Would buy again.
2009? Korbel Natural – No oxidation and no toast. Most ripe of the Korbels. The aromatics have an herbatious note with some green apple. It has pure and rich red berry fruit flavors. Has nice racy acid. Good. Would buy again.
NV Pipper Sonoma Brut – No oxidation and light+ toast. Has a bit of sulfur on the nose along with a toast note. It taste ripe rich and round. Better than I expected for some reason. Good but not special. Would buy again.
NV Chandon Brut – Very sulfury nose. Thin sweet and insipid. Just not good at all.
NV Gloria Ferrer Brut – Light oxidation and light/medium toast. Has an almost 
-like color. The aromatics have lemon zest, orange oil and ginger notes with some butter and toast accents. Quite complex. It tastes ripe and rich with the heaviest carbonation of all the wines. A great acid framework to balance the assertive ripe flavors. Probably the best of the fruit-forward style wines.
NV Roederer Estate Brut Anderson Valley – Light+ oxidation and medium toast. It has aromatics of green apple, slight toast and a buttery note. Very elegant and balanced with great green apple flavors. Has a vibrant and spicy finish. Clearly one of the best wines of the night.
NV Domaine St Michelle Brut – No oxidation. No toast. Clean green apple aromatics. It has racy fairly sweet grapey flavors. Exceeded my expectations.
NV Woodbridge Mondavi Brut – Just totally horrible. Does not deserve to be described.