Last week’s sparkling wine tasting drew a great crowd, which was especially encouraging given the snowfall. (Just like the week prior, when we had four people. This tasting we had 27. Go figure – I guess there’s a quick adjustment period!)
The tasting went really well – we did 7 wines from around the world, and each showed good regional and varietal typicity, with not a dog in the bunch. (I’d tasted all these several times before, though, so felt fairly confident in putting together the line-up.)
First wine was Cantine Riondo’s Prosecco. Prosecco is both the name of the grape and the region in northeast Italy. Made in the tank method (where the secondary fermentation occurs in a pressurized tank, as opposed to in the bottle as with Champagne), which results in frothier bubbles and less lees character. Prosecco is known for crisp, lemony flavors. It’s slightly sweeter than brut Champagne, at about 20-25 g/L residual sugar compared to 10-12. The Riondo has gread lemony fruit; it’s one of the most concentrated I’ve tried, and really nice balance. It was one of the more popular wines, with lots of people buying bottles.
Next up was Gran Sarao’s Cava. I had put it after the Prosecco because it’s got more depth and structure, but in retrospect, I should have put this one first, since it’s drier than the Prosecco and the sweetness of the Prosecco made this one taste a little more austere than it really does. The Sarao, like all Cava, is made in the methode Champenoise (secondary fermentation in bottle, extended lees aging), from native grapes Parellada, Xarel-lo, and Macabeo, with the addition of a little Chardonnay for fruitiness. It has 18 months lees contact (lees are the dead yeast cells and other solids left after fermentation, which gives richness and a yeasty, briochy character), so some structure and richness, though not as much as Champagne. Very clean and well-made, great everyday sparkling wine.
Third was Jaillance’s Cremant de Bourgogne. Cremant is the French term for sparkling wine not made in Champagne; this is from the non-Champagne region of Burgundy, so it shares the same grape varietals (in this case, 90% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Noir). From a warmer part of Burgundy than Champagne, so the acidity is a bit lower and there’s not as much time on the lees, but it’s a beautiful poor-man’s Champagne. Good introduction to French sparkling wine.
Domaine du Margalleau Vouvray Brut, France ($16.50)
Vouvray is a region in the Loire Valley in France, and is 100% Chenin. Chenin is a great grape – it’s one of the few in the world that makes world-class sparkling, still, and sweet wines. One reason it can do so is that it can get quite ripe yet still retain its high acidity; it’s also known for its honeyed, nutty flavors and rich mouthfeel. Made in the methode Champenoise, the Margallou still showed strong varietal character while also displaying the rich yeastiness of lees aging. This wine was divisive – some loved it, others not so much. Then again, that’s true with Chenin Blanc, which is a very distinctive grape. If you like Chenin, you’d like this wine; it’s a great example of sparkling Vouvray.
Moving on, next was Gloria Ferrer’s 1996 Carneros Cuvee, which is the most Champagne-like non-Champagne I’ve had. From the 1996 vintage, this wine was disgorged in 2005, so it spent almost 8 years on its lees. Creamy, briochy, yeasty, toasted hazelnuts, rich and lush in the mouth. Just delicious. Very attractive bottle, too.
Sixth on the list was Montaudon Brut Champagne. The last two were true Champagne – I chose the Montaudon because it’s the best Brut I’ve found that retails for under $40, and I wanted to keep all the wines under that price point. Nothing sticks out about this wine, which is a good thing – it’s seamlessly integrated, rich yet smooth, which a long finish. A blend of 50% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Meunier, with three years aging on the lees. The red berry fruit comes through initially, with creamy yeastiness and a lemony finish.
Finally, we had the Charles Lafitte Rose Champagne, France
The best value on this list, (We loved it, bought it all, got a great deal. Normal retail would be about $10 more than its actual $34.95), and in my mind the best wine. A blend of 40% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir, 30% Pinot Meunier, with 16% red base wine added in to create the rose color. It showed really well – creamy, rich, red fruits, amazingly long finish. I wish more people would try rose Champagne – people think of it like it’s white Zin and sweet, but it’s got all the good things of Champagnes with the addition of the red berry fruit flavors to add depth and complexity. Almost everyone at the tasting flipped over it, though, so that’s 20+ converts!