Browse Tag

sparkling

[disgorgement]Larmandier-Bernier Champagne “1er Cru” Vertus Blanc de Blancs (Champagne) – Stunning elegance, with the finest particulate matter forming some sort of indescribable sculpture of beauty. The finish is long and supremely refined. Fabulous Champagne. (10/07)

Chiquet magnet

[vineyard]Gaston Chiquet Champagne “1er Cru” à Dizy “Tradition” Brut (Champagne) – Gritty lees with a softening, almost warming brioche character and a smooth, supple mousse. Polished and elegant, with length and subtlety. (10/07)

Too young or Thuaud?

Bossard-Thuaud Mousseaux (Loire) – Crushed shells, wet with dewsparkle and showing nothing that could even generously be called fruit. It’s interesting and yet forgettable, and then interesting again as the finish grinds up another handful of bivalves. (10/07)

Zinedine Chidaine

Chidaine Montlouis “Méthode Traditionnelle” Brut (Loire) – Austere almost to the point of tastelessness, showing an acidic papery aspect and, other than some stemmy verticality, very little in the way of interest. Perhaps it just needs age, or air. (10/07)

Spumante hall

Dessilani “Collefino” Spumante (Piedmont) – The house pour, this sparkling wine made from Greco is simple, floral, clean and quite nice. I could drink a lot of this and not notice…a mixed blessing, to be sure…but in a more contemplative setting it might be possible to discover something beyond these surface impressions.

Delos, I love you, won’t you tell me your name?

[bottle]Pierre Moncuit Champagne à Le Mesnil sur Oger “Grand Cru” Brut Blanc de Blancs “Cuvée Pierre Moncuit-Delos” (Champagne) – Brilliant bubbly with fine poise, creamy texture, and complexity to spare. Brioche and hazelnut are in the mix, as well as preserved lemon, old wood shavings, and a delicate aroma of faded yellow flowers. Just beautiful. (8/07)

No reply Etoile

[bottle]Domaine Chandon Brut Rosé “l’Etoile” (Mendocino/Napa/Sonoma) – Crown cap. Very fruity, with strawberries to the fore, and perhaps a little sweeter and more neon-intense than I’d like. But there’s yeasty complexity underneath, and the wine firms up a little bit on the finish…though eventually it turns every so slightly candied again. Still, not bad, though not worth the price either. (8/07)

Bubbly Barmès

[bottles]Barmès Buecher 2005 Crémant d’Alsace Brut (Alsace) – Piercing and vibrantly acidic, though the acid dominance renders the wine more brittle than I would like. What fruit there is seems whitewashed and then coated in a fine dust of blackboard chalk. A very particular, almost old school crémant d’Alsace, which isn’t necessarily a compliment; to the extent that crémant can be made to feel like Champagne without tasting like Champagne, I think it benefits from the aspiration. This is more like sekt. Ultimately, of course, there’s an issue of preference here, but I think Alsace is less suited for sekt than it is for a richer, more complex bubbly. (9/07)