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"...the
bubbles flow like the stars as seen through the
viewports of Picard’s Starship Enterprise..."
Sacchetto Spumante
Rosato Brut NV, $12.99, 12% alc.: This peachy pink rosé had already
been sitting in the retail department for some time when I took over a
little more than 13 months ago, so when I finally tried it, it was quite
likely two years old or more. Happily, only one out of six bottles that
we went through over two or three weeks was a little tired; the rest
were fresh and lively, with plenty of effervescence, active bead and
some solid, earthy strawberry-watermelon flavors and aromas, with the
emphasis on “earthy.” With good heft, zip and length, this has proven to
be a satisfying everyday sparkler, so much so, that I brought four more
home a week after the World Series ended. Interestingly, this has proven
again and again to improve with air, so I may end up bringing the whole
inventory home.
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Imported by J&J Importers, LLC, Bloomfield Hills, MI
Taltarni Victoria and Tasmania Brut Taché NV,
$18.99, 13% alc.:
Made from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, and a little Shiraz
for color, that being salmon pink; fine active bead, with an impressive
mousse; yeast and bread dough on the nose follows through on the palate
with a somewhat earthy, yet slightly creamy cherry base. This shows
excellent presence, giving a wealth of froth in the mouth, just the
right amount of acidity and good length on the finish. A fine little
Brut rosé that is well worth the money.
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Imported by Clos du Val Wine Co. Ltd., Napa, CA
 1999
Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs Brut 5 County (Napa 53%, Sonoma 18%,
Mendocino 18%, Monterey 6%, Marin 5%), $39.99, 12% alc.: Medium
straw color, with a heady mousse and a very fine, very active bead (the
bubbles flow like the stars seen through the viewports of
Picard’s Starship Enterprise); yeast and hazel nuts dominate the
under-ripe yellow apple flavors and aromas, all with a certain
creaminess underneath. Medium full body, with good heft, there’s nothing
“delicate” about this; it shows excellent presence and acids, with great
length on the finish. One of the three best California sparklers I’ve
had to date (and one of the other two was also from Schramsberg).
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2003 Schramsberg Brut Rosé 4 County
(Napa 47%, Mendocino 33%, Sonoma 19%, Marin 1%), $35.99, 12.4% alc.:
We had this one cued up for WS Game 6 back in Detroit, but since that
never came to be, we enjoyed it with
Bennett Traub on his triumphant return to Day-twah instead;
notes are included here for the halibut. I enjoyed the
non-vintage version of this in July of 2005, and this one is
even better. Salmon pink in color, with mousse up the waz, a fine active
bead and a pungent, yeasty strawberry nose that follows through on the
palate with earthy undertones and hints of smoke and mineral. Medium
full bodied, it shows excellent presence, good acids and very good
length; Bennett described it as “Clean across the palate, clean, but not
sterile,” with “not too much of that strawberry thing,” and in fact, the
fruit is toned down perfectly, with a fine balance all around. Made from
Pinot Noir, with a touch of Chardonnay for added complexity.
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"...and
even if it’s not the best Champagne around for the money,
it still kicks Veuve Clicquot’s yellow ass every day of the year.
But then, I suppose that’s not saying much…"
 Laurent-Perrier
Champagne Brut LP NV, $35, 12% alc.: Medium straw color, with
ample mousse, a fine active bead and flavors and aromas of yeasty,
under-ripe apples that also show hints of bread dough and a subtle
minerality. Good acids, decent length, and although perfectly
serviceable, an unexceptional Champagne that doesn’t stand up to the ‘99
Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs in depth and character, much less any of the
other Champagnes noted here. This was a sample provided by the local
distributor, so it would seem to be the current release, and in that
regard, our friend Brad Baker, a serious Champagne aficionado, advises
us that Laurent Perrier's NV needs a good 3-4 years to start drinking
well, so perhaps we should withhold judgment on this one for a while. Find
this wine
Imported by Laurent-Perrier U.S.,
Inc., Sausalito, CA
G.H. Mumm
Champagne Cordon Rouge Brut NV $35.99, 12%.: Here’s another that
was quite likely two years old or more, from what the distributor rep
who sold it to my predecessor tells me. I brought this one home to check
out the condition of the wine, due to water damage to the labels that
made it impossible to sell, and I was happy to find that what is in the
bottle is doing just fine. Medium straw in color, with an active bead
and plenty of froth in the mouth; the nose is all flint and unbuttered
popcorn, with more of the same on the palate, anchored with a solid core
of under-ripe apple and a hint of bread dough underneath it all. It
shows good intensity on every level, with plenty of nervosity and good
length on the finish. It’s somewhat ironic that I brought this home when
I did, because I read some rather unkind remarks directed towards Cordon
Rouge on some internet wine forums with regard to being in the Tigers’
clubhouse for both of their playoff celebrations, but we found it to be
just fine, and even if it’s not the best Champagne around for the money,
it still kicks Veuve Clicquot’s yellow ass every day of the year.
But then, I suppose that’s not saying much…
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Imported by Allied Domecq Wines, USA, Healdsburg, CA
 Bonnaire
Champagne Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru NV, 100% Chardonnay, 12.5% alc.:
Medium straw to pale gold in color, with a fine, active bead; flavors
and aromas show a little yeast, and anise over a good dose of fairly
rich apple. Medium to medium full bodied, elegant, crisp and delicious,
with a nice long finish. If I’d like a little more weight and mineral, I
can’t argue with the appeal here; it’s less toasty, yeasty and doughy
than many, but offers more pure fruit to compensate, and gets better and
better with air. By the second (and third) glass, I stopped looking for
what wasn’t there and really enjoyed it for what it was, which is one
very tasty Champagne. Many thanks to the Madame
Mystery for this beauty, made entirely from estate grown
fruit.
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Imported by Vineyard Brands, Inc., Birmingham, AL
1990 Delamotte Champagne Blanc de Blancs
Brut, $38.99, 12.5% alc.:
The last of five that we’ve
had over the last year, and this one hasn’t held up quite as
well as the other four; medium straw to pale gold in color, with a lazy
bead and an accentuated toasted hazel nut character that dominates the
wine’s personality. It’s not sherried, but it’s much more advanced in
its secondary qualities than one tasted last December or three that were
opened at this year’s
'06 MoCool
celebration. Those showed plenty more rich, under-ripe apple
with the nuttiness taking a supporting role at most. Still, while I
prefer less, rather than more tertiary character, my main concern here
was with the flaccid effervescence; it’s there, with good acids to pick
up the slack, but doesn’t live up to what any good bubbly should give.
It does open up with air, gaining more primary fruit with some yeasty
accents, and morphing into a pretty tasty Champagne, but it never
completely recovers from the detraction of the languid sparkle.
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Imported by Wilson Daniels, Ltd., St. Helena, CA
I’ve been a fan of
Jean Laurent Champagnes for
about a year now; like Bonnaire, he is a grower as well as
winemaker, so he’s responsible for the whole enchilada… er, wine. I
tasted the following two at a trade event a while back, and got just
enough of a snapshot to get the sense that I’d like to get to know them
better, so I took the opportunity to do just that.
 Jean
Laurent Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut NV, $41.99, 12% alc.:
Medium straw in color, with a fab mousse and fine, active bead; gives up
toasty, yeasty, flinty aromatics, following through in the palate with
plenty more of the same, all buoyed by a solid core of rich, if
under-ripe apples, all shaded with a chalky minerality. Medium full
body, with excellent acidity and length, this is down to the bone dry,
and downright dee-lish, getting better and better with air. This one is
lots of fun, especially while watching the Tigers only victory in the
World Series. If
Kenny Rogers had taken his regular turn in the pitching
rotation, the following wine might have been enjoyed with a similar
outcome in Game 5.
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Jean Laurent Champagne Blanc de Noirs Brut
NV, $39.99, 12% alc.:
Medium straw in color, with a big mousse hairdo and another fine, active
bead; this one really blows my coif back with yeasty green apple flavors
and aromas accented with a streak of spicy lime and some bread dough
lurking in the background. Young, primary and seriously intense, with
zippy acidity and very good length, and as much as I really like this
now, I’d love to try it in another three to five years to see what the
bottle age will do for it.
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Jean Laurent Champagne imported by Hand Picked
Selections, Warrenton, VA
Reporting from Day-twah,
Bastardo
Other Recent Wine Explorations
6 From Stark-Condé
8 From Qupé
Following Up
With Fisher, Ladera and Schweiger
QPR All Stars:
MAN Vintners & Marqués de Cáceres
12 From the Perrin
Family
Harvest Images from
Berthet-Rayne
Wicked Couch & Spit
Back to November '06 Index
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© George Heritier November, 2006
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It
was never a case of celebrating prematurely; it all started because of a
sore throat when the series with the Yankees began, and the only
wine that tasted any good to me was a nice little Sacchetto Spumante
Brut Rosato, which I rode throughout the entire series. The bubbles
soothed the sore throat, and when the boys charged out of the clubhouse
after dispatching the Yankees in four, celebrating with the fans and
spraying them with Mumm’s Cordon Rouge, I decided I had a schtick
for the rest of the playoffs, come what may. Here’s what we enjoyed.