Sparkling wine tasting

As the weeks of 2009 count down, sparkling wine events awaken from an 11 month slumber and begin to multiply like rabbits. This is a great opportunity for you to get out and try a variety of bubblies, from Spanish Cava to the premium products of Champagne. You can say it all you want and I’ll agree, Champagne isn’t an absolute value in the wine world, but I will argue it is a relative value. That means in my experience, a $40 bottle of Champagne is more likely to please me than a $40 something else. Your mileage varies.

Yes, I dig on the domestic producers (many of whom are offspring of Champagne) and think there are some great wines from all over the world that do a great job at producing bubbly, but I still find Champagne to be the best. This past weekend was Chris Hinton’s annual sparkling wine tasting, a flight of six different bubbles, 4 from France, 1 from Italy and another from California. While I didn’t find anything new under the sun, it was still a great way to spend a bit of time on a dreary Saturday, for if I can’t get sunshine, I can’t light the sun on the inside with Champagne.

2009 Sparkling Wine Tasting

2005 Saint-Hilaire Blanquette de Limoux, France – $14.99 Here we have a sparkling wine from the Languedoc region of France. There are four different AOCs for the region, three of which are sparkling wine. I can’t recall ever having a bubbly from this part of the world and according to the information I found, this is France’s oldest sparkling wine producing region. There is your trump card the next time your know it all wine geek friend starts babbling on. Throw that one at ‘em and watch them stumble. Hey, before today, it would have gotten me.

As for the wine, I can’t find the exact composition, but Chardonnay, Chenin blanc and Mauzac (new one to me) are the major grapes of the region. This got an 88 point rating from Wine Enthusiast, but I didn’t see it. As a matter of fact, nobody at our table did. There seemed to be a bitter edge to the wine that I didn’t find appealing. It could have been the toppings on the brie that also did the wine in. There was one that was fig preserves and the other was something that had cranberries, cinnamon and walnuts in it. Both were yummy, but next time I’d skip them as they definitely changed the tasted perceptions. For me, this was a pass, but I did hear some folks talk about it favorably after the tasting. Me, I’ll stick to Cava.

Lamarca Prosecco, Italy – $15.99 For those who don’t like the tart, more biting edge of Champagne and other sparklers, I always pushed them towards Prosecco. I always found them to be a tad softer, with pretty peach and apricot fruit tones on a silky light weight mouth feel that made them perfect for summer time sipping. Granted, there are some made with a bit more stuffing, but this one falls right in line with the pleasant to drink on its own during the warmer months. It finishes with a bit of tart apple and is very easy to drink. While Prosecco in general isn’t my preferred style for this time of year, I’d keep this one in the memory banks to celebrate the return of warm weather.

NV Deutz Classic Brut Champagne – $44.99 This wine floats across the palate like Dorothy Hamill skates across the ice. Wow, did I just date myself or what? I’m sure you’ve read the word ethereal in tasting notes before and here, it really applies. For me, more than other wines, texture and mouth-feel are more integral to the appreciation and savoring of Champagne and sparkling wine than others. Dessert wines as well, which perhaps explains my affinity for both. While the wine floats in your mouth, as if suspended above your tongue by its very effervescence, it is in now way lacking for flavor. It teases and tickles more than it probes and punches. This is definitely an apéritif style wine that will be best suited for starting off a meal and pairing with only the most delicate of dishes.

NV Louis Roederer Premier Brut Champagne – $36.98 Of the three Champagnes we were delighted with, this was the most classic and resonate of the region. It showed the connection to time and ocean, with the chalky terroir underpinning the bright citrus, ginger and toasted character which define and set apart Champagne from all others. Not quite as full bodied as I was expecting (it has been a while since I’ve had this), it was somewhere in the lower end of middle weights and was very appealing. A solid value in big house brand Champagne that will work across the entire spectrum of the meal, save for dessert which is best left in the hands of other libations.

NV Duval-Leroy Cuvée Paris Brut Champagne – $34.99 This wins the prize for best bottle design, a silkscreen from American artist LeRoy Neiman. If you want something unique to give and your recipient loves Champagne, this is an excellent choice at a value price. Another lighter weight Champagne, I think this should have been served before the Roederer. It has a distinctive graphite, pencil type aroma that was lesser than previous releases, but still played a supporting role to the delicate pink grapefruit and vanilla flavors. The length was a bit clipped and while this paled in comparison to the last time I had it, I’ll be trying this next year in the quest, as I think it has more to share with a bit more time in bottle.

NV Schramsberg Mirabelle Brut Rosé Sparkling Wine, Calistoga, CA – $24.99 The first thing we all noticed (our table was the same group as Thanksgiving when we had a bottle of this) was the color was slightly paler, indicating a change in the blend of still Pinot Noir to give the color. Now, before I even wrote that, I’m only guessing this is the production method that Schramsberg uses, since it is the most common. Excuse me while I do some research…
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Okay, so a quick read on their website doesn’t exactly straighten it out for me. There is a line that says Pinot Noir lots, including a few fermented with skin contact,, which indicates the saignée method. Oh well, it doesn’t matter that much, as it was still rockin’ good and an excellent value.

For food, there is no better sparkling wine selection (in general) than a good rosé. This one in particular is filled with beautiful red berry aromas and flavors and is so easy and delicious to drink, you don’t really want to pay attention to the notes. You just want to sit back and let the symphony take you away.

Overall, an excellent tasting, with only one speed bump to overcome for me.

Haiku
Bubbles make happy
Company adds to delight
Sun shines from inside

Hope you have a great Monday and if you like what I’m doing, please pass it along to your friends, email me questions, tell me opinion or tell me why you think differently. If there is anything I can do to help, please ask. Cheers!