Egly-Ouriet Champagne Grand Cru Brut Tradition (Champagne) – Dry, dry, dry. Apricot skins and apple skins, lightly bitter and rather desolate, It never really improves past this point. A very, very particular Champagne for which I can’t say I care, at least in the form of this bottle. (8/10)
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sparkling
Gramella’s house
Tinterto 2009 Moscato d’Asti Sorì Gramella (Piedmont) – Orange blossom with counterpoints of mint and lemongrass. Nice. (8/10)
Redhead
Reynouard “Manoir de la Tête Rouge” Saumur Rosé “Tête à claques” (Loire) – A little fizzy (by design), perhaps not entirely dry, and mostly about poppish strawberry fruit. It’s liquid laughter, and as such far more appealing than Angeli’s grossly overrated version of the same thing. (7/10)
The end is Nai
Frecciarossa 2008 Provincia di Pavia Bianco Frizzante “Nai” (Lombardy) – Bright, almost (but not quite) brittle, bringing grass and clean greenness together with lemony citrus broth. Vivid, but only for a moment. Something’s missing here. Length? Breadth? Depth? Pick one. (6/10)
Paul Simon came up with 50 more
JP Brun “FRV100” (Beaujolais) – “Aged” (by which, of course, I mean forgotten in the cellar) for about a year. My initial reaction is that the boisterous, bubbly fruit has faded a bit, but it’s marginal enough that I could easily be self-suggesting same. It’s still good. Good fun. (5/10)
Garcia
Mionetto “Sergio Mionetto” Extra Dry Sparkling Wine (Italy) – Soft, formless, and vague. (7/10)
Vrigny, vini, vichy
Egly-Ouriet Champagne Brut 1er Cru “Les Vignes de Vrigny” (Champagne) – 100% pinot meunier, July 2006 disgorgement. Dark cherry and tangerine, with a dark, moody cast and finish. Very bubbly to the point of froth. Essentially red wine with bubbles, despite the color. (5/10)
Pét control
Huet 2002 Vouvray “Pétillant” Brut (Loire) – L02 PSB, for those tracking such things. Sophisticated, with crisp acidity, chalk, aspirin and the faintest prickle…so faint that, were one told that this is not pétillant, but rather just blessed with a little residual CO2, it’d be believed. Like most young Huet mini-bubbles, nowhere near as generous as some of its peers. And like most young Huet mini-bubbles, it would probably outlive and outclass them all. (5/10)
Enrico Caluso
Ferrando Erbaluce di Caluso “Cuveè del Fondatore” (Piedmont) – Sparkling…and yes, that’s really how they print the accent on the label. Dark-fruited for a white sparkler, with the expected herbs. Bitter, fierce, and wild. Not easy to like…but nonetheless, I do, very much. I think. (5/10)
Aubry Hepburn
L. Aubry 2003 Champagne Brut “Le Nombre d’Or” (9/09 disgorgement) (Champagne) – Fascinating. Exotic pear. Very floral and boisterous. Fun and yet odd. Considering what this is made from – fromenteau, petit meslier, and arbanne – there’s little surprise I’m having trouble getting a handle on it, or contextualizing it within my expectations for Champagne. (3/10)