Ma Fête, À la Maison

It's my party and I want to drink bubbly...*

Something of an occasion today, smack up against the Thanksgiving holiday, prompted a relatively impromptu and, as it turned out, quite civilized lunch.  The festivity, the time of day and, most importantly, my craving all called for something sparkling.  It turned out to be a great choice.

Crémant du Jura, Domaine Jean Bourdy N.V.
$21.  12% alcohol.  Cork.  Importer: Potomac Selections, Landover, MD.
This was my first time drinking Jean Bourdy's Crémant du Jura. It won't be the last.  Produced in the méthode traditionelle, it's a non-vintage cuvée based purely on Chardonnay.  A lovely nose of lightly toasted hazelnuts, brioche, pear and marzipan led do a palate much racier and brighter than aromatically suggested, all of which was finished off with a vaguely Chenin-like note of honey and beeswax.  Coursing through it all was a core of almost sweet minerality, with a tang to it that made me think there might be a little Savagnin at play.  The wine blossomed with food, yielding some of the generosity to which its aromas had alluded.  What became crystal clear as we drank the bottle with lunch is that we were enjoying an excellent Jura wine, one that spoke clearly of its place, that just happened to be sparkling — not a sparkling wine for sparkling wine's sake.

The soupe a l'oignon served at À la Maison, the bistro we'd chosen for our mid-day repast, proved a natural match with Bourdy's Crémant du Jura.  Though Gruyère, the cheese traditionally used for French onion soup, may technically be of Swiss origin, it is of very much the same style and proximal place as Comté, arguably "the" classic match with the white wines of the Jura region.  You won't find me arguing.... The sweet nuttiness of the cheese, the deeply caramelized onions and rich broth all brought out the earthy, round aspects of the Crémant.  Truly a lovely match.

The poulet vol au vent at À la Maison, even though the dish was arguably a bit under-seasoned, also worked wonders with the wine.  Between the light cream sauce, buttery accents courtesy of puff pastry, earthy mushrooms, the delicate protein of white meat chicken, and fresh herbaceousness via tomatoes and asparagus, we were again in a sweet spot when it came to the meshing of wine and food.  I'd like to try the dish again, at a time when tomatoes and asparagus are actually in season (and when the person in the kitchen has a freer hand with the salt and pepper ), but even now it was a lovely foil to the wine, not to mention quite a comforting meal on a chilly November afternoon.

À la Maison
53 West Lancaster Avenue
Ardmore, PA 19003
484-412-8009

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* To be sung to the tune of:

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Two Bruts from the Touraine

There will be no intensely detailed tasting notes here today. Friends and I recently drank these two sparkling Loire Chenin Blancs. We were having a good time, I didn't take detailed notes, and the intricacies are no longer fresh in my mind, just the overall impressions, the broad strokes.

I'm intentionally writing them up in reverse order: oldest to youngest, pricier to less so, opposite to how we experienced them. You'll see why soon enough.

Montlouis-sur-Loire "Almendra" Brut, François Chidaine 1996
$42. 12.5% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Polaner Selections, Mount Kisco, NY.
It's kind of funny, you know, in that way that makes you say, "What the hell...?" I've visited the Chidaine estate in Montlouis, formerly sold their wines for several years, and have been enjoying drinking them for well over a decade. Yet it was only recently that I learned that François makes a sparkling wine called "Almendra," only in the best vintages or so I'm told, that spends 10+ years on its lees before disgorgement. This was my first time trying it. One of my favorite wine blogging buddies, as it turns out, drank and wrote-up the very same vintage of "Almendra" well nigh on three years ago. Turns out our reactions were very much the same, despite the three year and 3000 mile distance between them.

There was an intense mineral character, along with the mushroomy, toasty character that often accompanies sparkling wines that have seen extended lees-aging. The developed Chenin character of the wine sang loud and clear — wool, quince, dried honey, again, some pretty concentrated mineral character. It's that intense Chinin-ness that made appreciating the wine a complicated venture for me, almost as if the sparkling character was sitting off to one side, the Montlouis/Chenin character to another, not quite harmoniously joined. I enjoyed it in the general sense, but not as much as I normally do Chidaine's non-sparkling examples of Montlouis.

The experience made me think about something I hadn't considered in a while. As much as I enjoy sparkling Vouvray and Montlouis from producers such as François Pinon, Foreau, yes, Chidaine, even Poniatowski back in the day, and, more recently, Jacky Blot, I sometimes wonder whether there's any real benefit to be gained from producing Méthode Traditionelle examples of Loire Chenin, other than to satisfy market demand or to yield a product from slightly under-ripe fruit.

Then I drink this and the question again recedes...

Vouvray Pétillant Brut, Domaine Huet 2005
$26. 12% alcohol. Cork. Importer: The Rare Wine Company, Sonoma, CA.
Technically speaking, Huet's Vouvray Pétillant is not made according to the Méthode Traditionelle but rather via the Méthode Ancestrale, in which primary fermentation is stopped before completion (usually by dropping the temperature to a point where the yeast go dormant) and the wine is placed in bottle where fermentation will continue to completion, trapping CO2 in solution (bubbles!) along the way. I'm given to understand that Huet's winemaker, Noël Pinguet, adds a dab of yeast at bottling to ensure that the bottle fermentation goes smoothly, and that he finishes the wine with an small addition of one of the estate's off-day wines in place of the typical dosage used in the traditional method. For the 2005 Pétillant, that finish came courtesy of a soupcon of Huet's 2002 Le Mont Première Trie. (Check out The Wine Doctor's exceptional report on Huet for more details on this and the rest of the wines produced at the estate.)

Technical stuff aside, the Vouvray Pétillant Brut from Huet is consistently delicious wine. As much as I do like the others I mentioned above, I'm really not sure that Huet has a true peer in this context. The 2005 is still a baby, showing nowhere near the nuance of the best bottles of the 2002 I've drunk over the last few years but, like I said, it's still a baby. The wine is showing beautiful fruit, balance and structure, and complete integration between the sparkling and serious Vouvray sides of its personality. Given its balance and purity, I expect the wine to develop quite nicely over the next several years and will certainly enjoy exploring its evolution. I'll be sure to tell you if I was wrong....

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Italian Sparkling Wines and Cheese at Tria Fermentation School Tonight

Here's a sneak peak at what I'll be pouring at the Tria Fermentation School tonight. I'll be schooling the class on some of the finer points of the sparkling wines of Italy, and teaching in harmony with Erin McLean, Tria's resident Manager and cheese maven, who's paired what looks to be a great lineup of formaggio with each of the wines. The session has been sold out for weeks, so this is a little bit of a teaser but only in the best sense, for those who'd like to follow along in part, in whole or in spirit. Gotta say, I'm looking forward to revisiting all of these vini myself.

• Prosecco Montello e Colli Asolani Extra Dry, Bele Casel NV
  Or is it now Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG? I can't remember which label version I packed... but it matters not as the DOCG is simply a rechristening/theoretical upgrade of the same wine. Always a joyous way to start.
  
  
• Malvasia dell'Emilia IGT "Il Mio," Camillo Donati NV (2008)
  The dry version of Donati's frizzante Malvasia Candia, lot number 01/08.
  
  

• Alta Langa Brut, Ettore Germano 2006
  A traditional method blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, grown in Sergio Germano's vineyards in the Alto Langa, south of and at a higher altitude than his main property in Serralunga d'Alba.
  
  
• Franciacorta "Cuvée Brut," Bellavista NV
  The flagship of Bellavista's broad portfolio of Lombardian bubblies.
  
  
• Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro "Rive dei Ciliegi," Francesco Vezzelli 2009
  An excellent expression of dry, frizzante Lambrusco. I've poured this at a number of events and it inevitably turns out to be a polarizing wine, with some tasters falling immediately in love while others are left scratching their heads.
  
  
• Moscato d'Asti, G.D. Vajra 2009
  Moscato doesn't get much better than this. As classic and easy with cheese as it is on the breakfast table!
  
  
• Brachetto "Fosso della Rosa," Giovanni Almondo 2008
  We couldn't get by with just one sparkling red now, could we? And yes, it makes for three of seven from Piemonte, but if you've been reading here for long that should come as little surprise. Deliciously fruity and sweet, immensely gulpable and a pleasingly low alcohol way to close out with class.

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Triple Zero at Last

Ever since first reading about Jacky Blot's "Triple Zéro" via Jim's Loire about two years back, I've been wanting to try it — well, really, to drink it. As I kept reading over the ensuing months (then years), it started to dawn on me that the reason I'd never had that chance is that Jim was keeping it all to himself. More recently it became clear that a little bit of "Triple Zero" did indeed escape the grasp of Mr. Budd, at least enough for some to make its way across the pond. I began to hear of sightings here and there around the vinoblogosphere. Yet still, nary a glance had I of a bottle, much less of a glass, full in hand.

Finally, I figured it out. It's all being slurped up by the staff and regulars at Bar Boulud. I stopped in yesterday afternoon, looking for a cool respite from the city heat with a little time to kill before meeting a friend. Frankly, I had a glass of water, a sit down and maybe an icy cold beer in mind. But as soon as I spotted a lineup of Triple Zero bottles behind the communal bar/table, my mind was changed. "Are you pouring that by the glass?" "Yep," came the response. Said glass was in hand before I ever got around to perusing the rest of the by-the-glass offerings (a quite well rounded list, I might add). It turns out that Triple Zero not only headlines the glass pour list at Bar Boulud, it also serves as the base for one of the bar's signature cocktails. No wonder it's evaded me all this time....

Montlouis-sur-Loire Pétillant "Triple Zéro," Domaine de la Taille aux Loups (Jacky Blot) NV
12.5% alcohol. Cork. Importer: VOS Selections, New York, NY.
It's been said enough times before but it still bears repeating: "Triple Zéro" takes its name from the fact that its method of production involves neither chaptalization, tirage nor dosage. Instead, Jacky Blot simply harvests only ripe, healthy and pristine Chenin Blanc from his vineyards in Montlouis when the fruit on the vine has reached a potential alcohol of 12-12.5% alcohol. After about three months of barrel fermentation, Blot then bottles the wine with about 14-15 grams of remaining residual sugar. Fermentation then completes in the bottle.

The result, after disgorgement, cork finishing and a little more age, is a wine that displays its pétillance much more clearly to the mouth than to the eye. Triple Zéro has a richness that belies its non-sugared nature, a testament to the quality of Blot's fruit and the skill exercised in his production method. Those facets are re-emphasized by the wine's vinosity and its very Chenin-ness, which both come through in spades. There's an enticing dash of funk on the nose, sitting quite comfortably alongside prettier aromas of lavender, peach blossom and quince. And as rich as it feels up front, the wine finishes bone dry, laden with minerality and palate cleansing acidity. Just the refresher that was needed after a long, hot day traversing New York sidewalks and subways.

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Carne Cruda and Movia Puro at Enoclub in Alba

After three straight days of plodding through buffet lunches in a subterranean cafeteria following the morning tastings at Nebbiolo Prima, time for the post-tasting repast on the ultimate day of the event absolutely called for a break-out. With one of Alba's main squares only a short walk from the event headquarters and with the sun shining brightly on a late spring afternoon, al fresco dining seemed like just the thing. And my co-conspirators and I knew just the place.


We'd already stopped at Enoclub, located on the south side of Alba's Piazza Savona along with its sister restaurant/enoteca Caffè Umberto, for late night refreshments earlier in the trip. Enoclub's cafe tables, its eclectic, reasonably priced wine list and the promise of a satisfying lunch beckoned our return. Boy, am I glad we heeded the call.

And on the fourth day...
someone at Enoclub made the best damn carne cruda I've ever eaten.

As I've mentioned here before, I'm a fan of the traditional Piemontese dish, carne cruda. The rendition served at Enoclub is off-the-charts good. The full name of the dish on the menu at Enoclub is Carne cruda di vitello Fassone (macelleria Oberto di Alba). That's raw veal — Fassone is the famed Piemontese breed of cattle — from the butcher Oberto. I don't doubt that there are others, but Enoclub is the only restaurant I've visited in Piedmont that identifies the source of the meat they serve directly on their menu. I take that as a point of pride, pride that showed through in the incredible freshness and succulence of their carne cruda.

If you haven't tried carne cruda you might expect it to be rich and heavy. When done right, though, it's actually refreshingly bright and easy on the constitution. A little squeeze of lemon juice and a drizzle of good olive oil and man was it good. Writing about it now, I can't help dreaming of going back for seconds.

But what to drink? As much as I love Nebbiolo, I must say that after four days spent tasting 320+ examples of Nebbiolo from Roero, Barbaresco and Barolo (and that's just the morning tastings), I was ready for something of a different nature. When my companions and I spotted Movia's 2001 Puro Rosé on the list, we needed look no further.

Mauro Repetto, the talented and affable young sommelier at Enoclub, didn't flinch when we ordered a bottle of Puro to accompany our lunch. Nor did he miss a beat in disgorging our bottle — Puro is sold with the lees from its second fermentation still in the bottle — in the classic-to-Movia underwater method.

At nine years of age, the pinkness of this bottle of Puro Rosé was much more apparent in its disgorgement bath (see the third shot in the series above) than in the glass, but it was still fresh as a daisy on the palate. Its medium sparkle and crunchy texture proved a fantastic foil to the meaty savor of the carne cruda and seemed to work quite well with the rest of the plates on our table, too.


Those other plates were no slouches. The Tartare di Baccalà (at left) and Tajarin served at Enoclub were both fantastic.


While I started with carne cruda then moved on to a theoretically lighter plate of pasta with pesto and shrimp, my buddy and fellow Nebbiolo Prima attendee, Wolfgang Weber, took the opposite approach. That's him above, caught munching on a piece of focaccia (even the bread was good). Wolfgang's starter of salt cod tartare was right on, a very nice opener to his second act, an absolutely killer plate of Tajarin. A fresh, thin-cut, egg yolk-rich pasta, Tajarin is another Piemontese specialty. The rendition at Enoclub, dressed with just the right proportion of meat ragu, had me wishing I'd gone the meat and more meat route when ordering.

The new bar and ground-floor dining room at Umberto/Enoclub is quite nice, contemporary in design, bright and inviting. I'm told the original restaurant, located downstairs, is stunning, but it was closed on both of my visits. No matter, though. On this visit, eating and drinking under the sun and sky was just right.

Caffè Umberto Enoteca Ristorante
and
Enoclub Ristorante
Piazza Savona, 4
Alba (CN) ITALY
+39 0173 33994

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Champers and Choco at Éclat

Yes indeed, we're at it again. On Friday, May 28, 2010, I'll be teaming up with Master Chocolatier Christopher Curtin of Éclat Chocolate to espouse the possibilities and pleasures of pairing fine chocolates with wines that sparkle.

Honestly, I've long been a firm believer that chocolate and wine are not a match made in heaven. But Sir Curtin's chocolates are uncommonly savory. And I'm always up for a challenge, especially when it comes to difficult food and wine pairings.

Here's a sneak peak at what I'll most likely be pouring:

• Prosecco Montello e Colli Asolani, Bele Casel NV (always a great way to start)


• "Cravantine," Domaine Fabrice Gasnier NV (a rosé sparkler produced from Cabernet Franc in the Loire Valley town of Chinon)

• Champagne Brut Réserve, Béreche et Fils NV (yes, only one actual Champagne, but it's wicked good)


• Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro "Rive dei Ciliegi," Francesco Vezzelli 2009 (dry, fizzy red from Emilia-Romagna)


• Moscato d'Asti, GD Vajra 2009 (I'll have just returned from Piemonte, all set to regale you with tales of the trip)

Our chocolate and bubbly mash-up will be set in Chris' shop, Éclat Chocolate, in West Chester, PA, where the storefront by day becomes a tasting room by night. Cost for the event is $50 per/person, all inclusive, and there will be two seatings: from 6:30 to 8:00 PM and from 8:30 to 10:00 PM.

Please call Éclat at 610-692-5206 for reservations or further information. Cheers!

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Throwing a Changeup

Sometimes I wish I didn't know.

Tasting Vincent Ricard's most recent release (summer/fall 2009) of "Le Vinsans Ricard" a few days back, I would have guessed — and it took me a while to put my finger on the flavor and aroma signatures — that it was produced from Romorantin. I wasn't tasting blind, so that guess would have been made in full knowledge that the wine comes from the Loire, from Thésée in particular, not far from Cour-Cheverny. Romorantin country. The Monaco of Loire vine footprints.

What I do know is that this batch of naturally pétillant "Vinsans" was produced from Sauvignon Blanc. I sell the wine (when it's available) in the course of my day job, where it's part and parcel of my work to know such things. Anyone could find out that it's Sauvignon, as Ricard tells us so in succinct fashion on his website. But Vincent chooses to make no mention of the vine on the wine's label. He easily could, as it is not an AOC-designated wine, just a humble "Vin de Table Mousseux;" but again, he doesn't. I kind of like it that way. It keeps the focus on the wine, not the grape. It lets what's in the bottle speak for itself.

The previous release of "Vinsans," circa summer 2008.

If you rewind to a year earlier, you'll find that notion reinforced by the fact that the previous couple of releases of "Vinsans" — the first two ever if I'm not mistaken — were produced from Gamay. Gamay with traditional maceration on the skins, so we're talking about what was previously a sparkling red wine. Again, there was no mention of variety on the label. In fact, the only labeling changes from batch-to-batch were minor typographical and layout adjustments.

The change proved tricky from a retailer's perspective, as shoppers who'd fallen in love with the red, Gamay-based version and were excited to see the wine back on the shelves had to be alerted to the fact that the wine was now white, was now Sauvignon. Without holding the bottle up to the light, there would have been no way for them to see the difference. Why warn them? Why does it matter? Expectation. I can only imagine how many of the bottles would have been returned, along with an "I thought this was supposed to be red...."

As a consumer in my own right, albeit one who spends a good deal more time than normal thinking about things like this, I like the unheralded shift. The surprise. The fact that it keeps the focus on what is in the bottle, not on what is supposed to be in the bottle.

Intro only...

Tissot's Crémant du Jura "Indigène"

Following on the heels of yesterday's vin de soif, today's post is about a wine served as a proper aperitif at a recent food, wine and relaxation oriented get together. It proved a very fine accompaniment to a quite tasty if rather peculiar cheese, flavored by smoked chestnuts walnuts, that my friends had brought back from a recent trip to Sonoma; let's just say the cheese was very, well, chestnutty walnutty. I can't seem to recall or find the name and/or provenance of said cheese so, if anyone out there knows it, please do hit the comments with any pertinent info.


Crémant du jura Brut "Indigène," André et Mireille Tissot (Stéphane Tissot) NV
$22. 12.5% alcohol. Cork. Importer: A Thomas Calder Selection, Potomac Selections, Landover, MD.
Stéphane Tissot produces two different Crémants du Jura: one made in the conventional méthode traditionelle and a second cuvée called "Indigène." The truly bloggerly approach to this tasting would have been to pour the two cuvées side-by-side in order to compare and contrast the differences. That will have to wait for another day, I suppose, for funds not being limitless on the shopping excursion during which I procured this bottle — not that funds are ever anywhere close to unlimited! — I headed straight for the more geeked-out "Indigène."

What's the difference? As with most sparkling wines made in the Champagne method, Tissot's regular Brut cuvée achieves its effervescence through the addition of measured quantities of selected yeast and sugar to an already finished still wine. Seal the bottle and nature takes its course, sparking a second fermentation. With "Indigène," Tissot utilizes yeast that has been cultivated from the leftovers from the production of his own vin de paille (or "straw wine," made from grapes dried on straw mats). Given that the vin de paille is fermented, like all of Tissot's wines (other than round two for the normal Brut), on its native yeasts, "Indigène" is wholly fermented on yeasts that are indigenous both to Tissot's vines and to his own production methods. Very self-sufficient, no?

The end results yield a very pretty wine, one that could easily slip into the ringer position in a blind Champagne tasting. Leading off with a forward, pillowy nose of pastry, whipped cream and lavender, the wine reveals a very sweet-fruited profile on the palate, full of baked apple and peach skin nuance, fresh hazelnuts and brioche. The wine's richness made me wonder about dosage levels. A little research, however, revealed that the wine is in fact produced with zero dosage (and zero added sulfur dioxide) but is finished with a small amount of unresolved residual sugar. So we're simply talking about good, ripe raw materials.

Cautionary word of mouth suggests that the regular cuvée is not quite so compelling but, as suggested above, we'll have to wait for another occasion to put that theory/opinion to the test.

PS: For readers in the greater Los Angeles area, Lou Amdur was pouring "Indigène" at his eponymous wine bar and restaurant, Lou on Vine, last week. You might want to give Lou a shout before hightailing it over there, just to make sure there's some left.

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Bubbly Bubbly Notes

Tuesday's class on the sparkling wines of Europe was a success, at least so I'm told. I've never had such a quiet, studious group before. A good thing, I hope. In any event, the wines showed well, including a surprise or two, so I thought a few quick notes would be in order. You know, just in case you didn't manage to follow along on short notice. Here's what I poured:


Bugey Cerdon VDQS, Raphaël Bartucci NV (L07)
Very direct Bugey, both in its fruitiness and unabashed sweetness. Pure macerated strawberries with just a whiff of spicy earth. Perfect picnic wine and a fun way to lead off class.

Prosecco Montello e Colli Asolani, Bele Casel NV
Crisper, brighter and not as creamy as the Prosecco di Valdobbiadene from the same producer. A nice mineral tingle on the finish, too. Very peachy up front. Extra Dry in style but drinks no sweeter than an awful lot of Brut wines. Very tough after the Bugey, though, as the sweet red fruits left on the palate tended to wash out the Prosecco, which isn't shy on fruit in its own right.

Bacharacher Kloster Furstental Riesling Sekt Brut, Weingut Ratzenberger 2003
2003 remains the fruitiest rendition of Ratzenberger's Sekt that I've ever tried. Some time in bottle since last I drank it, though, has allowed the fruit to settle a bit. In turn, that's letting its hallmark mineral and floral notes emerge more clearly and it's tasting more like the Traditionelle Flaschengärung (traditional method) wine that it is. The intensity of its fruit nonetheless had a few attendees thinking it was sweeter than the Prosecco (which it's not).

Vouvray Pétillant Brut, Domaine Huet 2002
Amazingly different than when last tasted, so much so that I at first thought I was dealing with a bad batch. The corks had no spring-back and initial aromas were intensely mushroomy and otherwise mute. It turned out that patience was all that was needed. After about an hour of open air, this turned into a beauty, though still surprisingly more developed than only two months earlier. Loads more Chenin character. Rich, wildflower honey and quince with just a touch of dried biscuit. Plenty dry but plenty generous and truly pétillant, showing just a subtle trace of bubbles when poured in a white wine glass.

Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut, Diebolt-Vallois NV
This is an old friend, warm and welcoming. Like any old friend, it's sometimes neglected but it's always good to get reacquainted. When this wine is young, like the bottles opened this night, it just brims with creamy lemon curd flavors and aromas, carried on a light, nervy frame. Delicious Blanc de Blancs that might have unduly suffered from being sandwiched between two more intense wines.

Champagne Extra Brut Réserve, Bereche et Fils NV
This was the showstopper, kind of as expected. Muscular, grippy Champs, loaded with dark red fruits and displaying plenty of depth. Really finely balanced. This is a serious food wine, one I'd love to drink with a meal starting with a platter of oysters and moving on to chicken breasts with a thyme infused cream sauce and fresh morels. Real vinous extract. Even a little tannic on the finish. I expect this should age quite nicely.

Moscato d'Asti, G.D. Vajra 2007
If the Bugey makes for a perfect lunchtime quaff, this makes an ideal breakfast wine. A vibrant expression of Moscato Bianco. Fresh, grapey and intensely perfumed, it's totally refreshing and a real joy to drink. Vajra makes one of the most concentrated examples out there. A good way to finish class on a light, happy note.

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Vouvray Pétillant Brut, Domaine Huet 2002

I could just post a picture, point you to Brooklynguy’s recent write-up of Huet’s Vouvray Pétillant and leave it at that. But that wouldn’t be very bloggerly of me now, would it?

I received this bottle as a gift from a friend several months ago and it’s been biding its time in my wine fridge, waiting for the right occasion, ever since. Saturday night turned out to be one of those evenings where, with not much else in the works, opening the bottle was the occasion in and of itself.

That Huet’s Vouvray Pétillant Brut is produced from the estate’s youngest vines (only three to ten years old) does not come as a surprise in the broad context of a sparkling wine’s place in a Vouvray grower’s overall portfolio. It does come as a surprise, however, in the context of tasting the wine. This is much more than simple sparkling Vouvray. The wine has both finesse and concentration in spades. As Peter Liem points out, it’s an absolutely top-notch alternative to Champagne. And I’ll second Brooklynguy’s opinion that it gets the better of many entry-level Champagnes when it comes to complexity, balance and even its expression of autolytic flavors, which are no doubt helped along by four years of sur lie aging. What I loved about the wine is how it does all of that while still maintaining a clear expression of its place, of its very Vouvray-ness.

The wine’s mousse is sparse, to be expected of the lower pressure of the Pétillant style, yet I found its bead to be finer than in most Vouvray Pétillant. Poured in a white wine glass, the bubbles dissipate and the wine quickly becomes still to the eye. Aromas are of blanched nuts, lightly baked apples, cinnamon, mace and brioche. Behind that come some of the hallmarks of Vouvray: a telltale note of beeswax followed by the springtime scent of yellow daffodils and ripe pear fruit. A honeyed note emerges on the palate, yet the flavor and structure are completely dry. Limestone and clay minerality are submerged in the lingering finish, all wrapped up in a blanket of toasty goodness. There’s nerve enough to make this a fantastic food wine – I enjoyed it in particular with a simple dish of scrambled eggs and sautéed asparagus – yet it’s ample and forward enough to function as an aperitif. In other words, I’d be more than happy to drink it just about anytime. $34. 12% alcohol. Natural cork. Importer: Robert Chadderdon Selections, New York, NY.

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