Alistair hosted a splendid evening showcasing excellent sparkling wines for all budgets. Guests were spoilt with not only a Dom Perignon 2000, but also a Krug Grande Cuvée NV. The real winner of the evening, however, was a Green Point Vintage Brut Rose 2004, which not only won the vote when the Dom and the Krug were excluded, but even managed to garner a few votes when they were included.
1. “Cetto” Brut by L.A. Cetto, NV
Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California, Mexico- £7, Bin Ends
Notes from the tasting: 100% chardonnay. Appearance: very light yellow, almost clear. Nose: fresh – pine, citrus. Palate: quite dry, pleasant, ultimately not much better than a good Jacob’s Creek sparkling. Good value.
2. Freixenet “Cordon Negro” Brut Cava, NV
Sant Sadurni d’Anoia, Alt Penedès, Spain- £7
Notes from the tasting: Appearance: quite pale, only a little yellow. Nose: hazelnut, toasty, vanilla, ripe fruit (peach?) – not citrusy. Palate: full bodied, Moet-like (though not nearly as good). Has a desiccating effect on the mouth – salty aftertaste, not entirely pleasant. Not enjoyable.
3. Astoria Millesimato Prosecco di Valdobriadene, 2007
Montello, Treviso, Italy- £12, Bin Ends
Notes from the tasting: Prosecco is not the Italian word for sparkling wine but rather a grape varietal, and is used to make still as well as sparkling wine (although the latter is more common). This prosecco is uncommon in several respects – it is more expensive than one would ordinarily expect, and it is unusual to find a vintage prosecco. It did not disappoint, however. Appearance: very light. Nose: nutty, bakery, apple. Palate: fresh and fruity, granny smith, ripe fruits. Overall, very enjoyable. Fades a little at the end.
4. André Extra Dry Champagne by E. & J. Gallo, NV
California, USA
Notes from the tasting: Alistair exhibited a bottle of this wine, but, as a law-abiding citizen, did not offer it to the group on the grounds that it would be illegal. In the EU, this Californian sparkling wine is considered a counterfeit good because of the inclusion of the word ‘champagne’ in its name.
5. Lanson “Black Label” Brut Champagne, NV
Reims, Marne, France- £26
Notes from the tasting: Appearance: a stronger yellow than previous wines, but still reasonably pale. Nose: parmesan cheese, burnt/ brown sugar. Palate: yeasty, thick texture, not fruity, syrupy. Elegant with good structure. Overall an excellent wine, though not what one would necessarily expect of a Lanson. Received one vote for favourite overall wine of the evening.
6. Green Point Vintage Brut Rose, 2004
Coldstream, Victoria, Australia- £17.50, Bin Ends
Notes from the tasting: Green Point is the UK brand name of Domaine Chandon, the Australian subsidiary of Moet & Chandon. This particular wine, a chardonnay/ pinot noir blend, gave the parent company’s flagship a run for its money. Appearance: neither amber nor pink – some said rosewater, others peach. Nose: toasty, orange, tangerine. Taste: dry and crisp like an excellent rose, but with something extra – a lovely fruity lift (strawberries?) on going down. Finishes with a tart, orangey aftertaste. Overall, an outstanding wine with great complexity and a lot going on.
7. Chapel Down “Vintage Reserve” Brut, NV
Tenterden, Kent, England
Notes from the tasting: Appearance: light with yellowish tinge. Nose: seaside, oyster shell, lemony, but also stagnant water and hardboiled egg – overdone sulphites? Something sweet as well, but hard to pin down. Taste: crisp yet flowery, less complex than the Lanson or Green Point. Overall, pleasant but not a great success.
8. Dom Perignon Vintage Champagne by Moet et Chandon, 2000
Epernay, Marne, France- £105
Notes from the tasting: Appearance: yellow with a little green – more colour than most previous wines, though still pale. Nose: classic Moet – bread, vanilla, melted butter, toast, custard, bread pudding. Palate: complex, well structured, melt-in-your-mouth. Beautiful both on the palate and going down. Did not disappoint.
9. Krug Grande Cuvée NV
Reims, Marne, France- £140
Notes from the tasting: The most expensive NV champagne in the world, this wine is fermented in oak barrels and stays on the lees for six years. The result is an extremely full-bodied champagne. Appearance: light yellow with a shade of green. Exceptionally tiny bubbles. Nose: truffles, mushrooms, caramelised, ripe brie, parmesan, red wine characteristics. Palate: granny smith apple with an olive underscore. Sharp and focused mid palate. Delicious going down. Better structure and definition than the Dom Perignon, but such a powerful wine that some ventured that they would not want to drink it all night. Others disagreed, though, as we are all students anyway, it is somewhat of a moot point! Opinion was divided over whether the Dom or the Krug was better, with a small majority favouring the latter.
10. Jacob’s Creek Sparkling Shiraz, NV
Barossa Valley, New South Wales, Australia- £9
Notes from the tasting: Appearance: not as opaque as normal shiraz. Nose: cherries, leather, forest. Palate: opinion was very strongly divided on this wine. A minority loved it, most thought it was only average, and a further minority thought it was absolutely undrinkable. MS opinion: like much sparkling shiraz, the sugar in this wine tasted like an add-on, with the effect that it was hard to assess the underlying characteristics of the wine. Ultimately, this was a disappointing wine and probably not a good representative of sparkling shiraz.
11. Schramsberg Vintage Crémant Demi-Sec, 2004
Calistoga, California, USA- US$40, N/A in UK
Comments from the tasting: The word “crémant” is often used nowadays to refer to any French sparkling wine made outside of the champagne region. However, its original meaning – and the one used in relation to this wine – is a sparkling wine with lighter effervescence. Appearance: rich yellow, not as viscous as many dessert wines. Nose: salt and vinegar chips, honeycomb, paw paw, medical ward. Taste: not unambiguously a dessert wine – not too sweet. Good sweet/tart balance – would be excellent with a dessert with some tartness in it. Overall, a very good wine. However, in MS’s opinion it did not live up to Alistair’s introduction as “possibly the best sparkling wine in the world”.
