[wine] Champagne from Aube, World wide bubbles

SFGC Top 100 - Sparkling Sparkling Wine The American sparkling wine industry is clearly being pulled in two directions. One school of thought sees a need for sweeter, easy-to-please bottles. The other is holding true to the vision of pioneers like Schramsberg, trying to create crisp, food-loving alternatives to French Champagne. That latter style is proliferating in regular nonvintage brut as well as vintage and roséottlings. Top houses are hunting colder vineyard sites and reducing the amount of added sugar used to finesse the wines. The result is more sublime and affordable bottles that can be enjoyed year-round. NV Domaine Carneros Cuvee de la Pompadour Carneros Brut Rosé$36, 12% alcohol): There's some finesse at work on Duhig Road, seeing as the pink version of Carneros' brut shows a remarkable focus and distinction, with depth from added Pinot Noir. Accents of rose hip, damp stone and bread dough provide depth to this tight-knit, raspberry-inflected effort. NV Domaine Chandon Brut Classic California Sparkling ($22, 13%): Winemaker Tom Tiburzi has been fine-tuning Chandon's trademark bottle, with less added sweetness and more focus on the fruit. It's paying off beautifully, with rich pear-tart aromas and a bounty of fruit and pastry flavors. The bright lemon-oil and sea-foam accents signal a wine with serious intent. 2000 Gloria Ferrer Carneros Cuvee Carneros Sparkling ($50, 12.5%): This long-aged reserve bottle from Ferrer shows its commitment to the potential of Carneros. After a full decade on its lees, this is simultaneously opulent and precise. Aromas of citrus pith, thyme, pear skin and yeast underscore remarkable youth for a 10-year-old wine. NV J Vineyards Russian River Valley Brut Rosé$28, 12.5%): There's a return to form at this Healdsburg house, with its pink brut offering a sweet yeasty note that underscores raspberry and rose petal, and vibrant citrus tying it all together in a mouthwatering way. Think of it for the holiday table. NV Roederer Estate Anderson Valley Brut Rosé$27, 12%): Roederer's rosén particular remains a standout, a sign of winemaker Arnaud Weyrich's talents. Subtle notes of rose, copper and peach, with a warm vanilla-bean accent and cool berry ice flavors. NV Scharffenberger Mendocino County Brut ($19, 12%): Now affiliated with its neighbor, Roederer Estate, this longtime local fave (just renamed Brut Excellence) has found a new level of precision for its quintessentially California style of sparkling. There's just a hint of a soft side to an otherwise steely texture, with green apple, poppy seed and morning bun flavors underscored by a perfect mineral bite. The best hidden value in American fizz. NV Schramsberg Mirabelle North Coast Brut ($25, 12.8%): Schramsberg's nonvintage second bottling is stellar right now. A Chardonnay-dominant blend is fresh with tree fruit, freesia and chalk accents, and a wonderful strawberry edge from its Pinot Noir. Just enough bready opulence without losing its playfulness. The Chronicle recommends: Bubbles around the globe Jon Bonnéunday, December 11, 2011 One final shot, then, to buy year-end fizzy drinks. We've covered Champagne (go to: sfg.ly/v9DY0K) and homegrown bubbles (go to: sfg.ly/trOkwT), but once more to the shelf for a grab bag of options that deliver a lot of fun for under $20. While Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, traditional Champagne grapes, make the occasional appearance, you'll notice a proliferation of more unusual options. At these prices, your better choices are standout Prosecco, cava, Lambrusco and more. It simply signals the desire of winemakers everywhere to apply their know-how to a diversity of sparkling options. What's not to like? NV Les Vins ContéPow Blop Wizz Petillant Roséin de France ($19, 11% alcohol): Olivier Lemasson's avant-garde Loire label keeps making plain delicious table wine using minimal methods. Here it's a blend of older-vine Pineau d'Aunis and Trolleau doing the work. An oyster and crab wine - think mignonette - with robust accents of wet stone, celery, cranberries and sourdough. Showing a yeasty side, its spiritual sibling might be white ale. Great fun. (Importer: Louis/Dressner Selections) NV Markus Huber Hugo Austria Roséparkling ($14, 11.5%): Huber's efforts in the Traisental region reflect Austria's merging of tradition and modern progress. We could use more wines like this fashionably frothy take on Zweigelt and Pinot Noir, pressed as a true roséWith tangerine, strawberry and jasmine tea flavors, and just a tiny hint of sweetness to give it body, it tastes well crafted and carefree without being cheap. (Importer: CircoVino) NV Graham Beck Brut Western Cape Sparkling ($16, 12%): Famed South African vintner Beck leaves behind this beautifully dry effort based on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. A properly crisp nose of saltines and lemon peel, with a slightly softer texture to the bubbles and chalky orange flavors to the palate. Delivers a ton for the money. (Importer: Maritime Wine Trading Collective) NV Borgoluce Brut Prosecco Superiore Valdobbiadene ($16, 11.5%): While too much Prosecco uses sweetness as a crutch, the Collalto family's sprawling estate frames the best of a true brut style. It has the baby's-breath freshness of dry Prosecco, with ripe pear, melon and orange. Immediate and refreshing, with a food-friendly bite that Prosecco too often lacks. (Importer: The Sorting Table) 2010 Vigneto Saetti Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce ($18, 12%): Lambrusco with soul. Using the Salamino clone, Luciano Saetti's wines undergo second fermentation in bottle - a Champagne-like method almost unheard of in Emilia. He uses no sulfur dioxide, again a rarity. The result, from organic 40-year-old vines, features earthy cranberry overtones with cardamom and bark accents and intense minerality, providing depth and vivaciousness so many Lambruscos lack. (Importer: Louis/Dressner Selections) NV Vilarnau Brut Cava ($15, 11.5%): Sherry house Gonzalez Byass has invested heavily in this Penedes property, and it shows in the serious profile of this Macabeo-dominant bottle, aged on its lees for 18 months. Stony and accented by tangy mandarin orange flavors, it brims with refinement - subtly opulent without losing the chalky bite of good cava. (Importer: San Francisco Wine Exchange) E-mail Jon Bonnét jbonne(a)sfchronicle.com. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/12/11/FD351M9HAR.DTL This article appeared on page G - 7 of the San Francisco Chronicle Just say yes to disgorgement dates Posted on 12/08/2011 at 11:03 am by Jon Bonnéin Champagne, France, Wine, Winemakers TweetShare8shareE-mail A bottle of Bruno Paillard Champagne shown next to a back label that reveals a disgorgement date. (Photo: Craig Lee / The Chronicle, 2004.) Buying Champagne is a bit like shopping for a late-model car. The model itself may not change, but model years do. A nonvintage wine may not change, but Champagne houses always have new releases. How do you know if you have the latest? Disgorgement dates on the label tell you when the wine was uncapped from its extended aging, its flavors polished with a bit of sugar or sweetened wine, and the bottle sealed with a cork. After being disgorged, Champagne is ready to be sold. Yet the vast majority of nonvintage Champagnes lack disgorgement dates. At the behest of importers like Terry Theise, who requires it of his producers, and thanks to the evangelism of Champagne makers like Bruno Paillard, there is a growing trend to include these dates. It is a trend largely pushed by small grower-producers, who increasingly are capturing the agenda for Champagne lovers. That said, some larger houses provide disgorgement dates for certain wines, like Bollinger.s R.D. (.rémment dérgé or .recently disgorged.) and Dom Perignon.s Oenotheque line. But most large Champagne houses have no interest in including this information. At best they include a lot number, often on the cork, for the importer or wholesaler (but not consumers) to be able to trace a Champagne back to its origins. That is changing, slowly. Last month the famed house of Krug, which had been steadfastly opposed to disgorgement dates, said it would start including them for its nonvintage Grande Cuvee . although it won.t reveal the base vintage for each release. And that.s really the key information. A disgorgement date is in no way a sell-by date; just the opposite, since Champagne often improves with time. Instead it.s a clue to a bottle.s place in time: which vintage served as its base, which reserve wines were used, what the dosage was. Not knowing this information presents a huge challenge if you want to review a nonvintage Champagne. A critic receives a bottle, tastes it and rates it. But how to know which batch it comes from, or whether it bears any resemblance to the wines on the shelf? Without a disgorgement date, there.s no way to know you.re buying the same wine I.ve tasted. A writer.s crusade Some wine writers have been frustrated by this lack of specificity, none more vocally than Antonio Galloni of the Wine Advocate, who announced he would only review nonvintage wines with that information included. Other writers, myself included, voiced our support for his stance, most recently in some Twitter banter noting the problem last month. Galloni ramped up his challenge this week, saying it is .time for my colleagues at other pubs to step up to the plate.. For The Chronicle.s part, we already include disgorgement dates in our reviews if a Champagne lists it. But perhaps that.s not enough. In a subsequent e-mail, Galloni said that .[t]he bottom line on disgorgement is really about credibility and protecting the consumer.. His argument: If the wines we taste aren.t the same as those you find on the shelf . except in name . then our reviews have little meaning. And that.s exactly the point. The blending of nonvintage Champagne was once a means of ensuring continuity amid often marginal vintages. But it has been stretched by large producers who now insist that their wines show continuity year in and year out. That can in fact be done; the solera-style system devised by Anselme Selosse can provide a continuity of flavor, much like similar methods in Jerez. But the truth is that nonvintage Champagnes are mostly based on a single vintage, and they vary significantly from batch to batch. Like Forrest Gump.s box of chocolates, you never know what you.re going to get. The simple solution? Disgorgement dates. While some large producers insist that info negates the value of nonvintage blending, it.s not true. A disgorgement date isn.t a vintage date; it.s a mark of a specific batch made a specific way. So, why the opposition? Shouldn.t Champagne makers stand behind every bottle they release? Do they find batch varation less worrisome than the wide quality swings created by shipping and storage? (Next time you dash to your local liquor store for that top-shelf bottle of Veuve Clicquot or Piper-Heidsieck, ask yourself how long it.s been sitting there.) 91 forever It.s hard to imagine who.s hurt by a disgorgement date. Certainly not the consumer. The Champagne houses? Only if they.ve sided with brand equity over full disclosure. That.s why more writers, myself included, see the value in requiring disgorgement dates if we.re going to review a nonvintage Champagne. (Champagne expert Peter Liem laid out an effective case back in 2008, and his reviews on Champagneguide.net are probably better than any other at including this info.) Galloni and the Wine Advocate deserve credit for standing forward. The next step is for other wine publications like the Wine Spectator to join in. Why? Because the way the system currently works, getting a 90-plus score on your nonvintage Champagne is like having your bar mitzvah: Once it.s done, it can.t be taken back. If the same Champagne gets a 91 and an 88 in different years, which number do you think gets quoted on the shelf? What about a general-interest publication like The Chronicle? We don.t numerically score wines, so the value of our recommendation is different, and our readers aren.t necessarily as focused on Champagne connoisseurship. But certainly we and other newspapers should be seriously weighing this option. If we.re in the business of giving readers more information about the products we endorse, it.s a key data point. And not just for Champagne; ideally, we.d do this for domestic sparkling wine, too. Decoding lot numbers One recent example: My tastings this year found favor with Bollinger.s nonvintage Special Reserve Brut, which seemed more focused than a year or two ago. But Pol Roger.s often excellent nonvintage tasted reduced and slightly bitter. For the record, Bollinger.s lot number (found on the gold foil at the top) is L113801, which according to Bollinger.s U.S. importer corresponds to April 26, 2011. (For those playing at home, Pol Roger.s was SA10888.) This sort of information shouldn.t require a secret decoder ring. Is there a reason not to insist on this information before reviewing a bottle? I can.t think of one, although I.m open to your thoughts. It might not make all Champagne producers happy, but here.s a case where the wine media can tangibly improve the quality of the consumer experience. If the current state of Champagne tells us anything, it.s that consumers are getting better educated. So why not continue that trend? Champagne's Aube region gets a moment to sparkle Jon Bonnéunday, December 11, 2011 The southern region of Champagne known as the Aube has long been an also-ran, growing grapes in large quantities for influential houses up north in Reims and Epernay. It has been a reliable engine of the region's growth but rarely given its due. Now the Aube is ready for its close-up. Within the past couple years, this pastoral area two hours southeast of Paris has become a darling, driven by a new generation of Champagne vintners who have turned to this unheralded spot, also known as the Cote des Bar, in the hope of pursuing greatness on a small scale. New names like Cedric Bouchard or Dosnon & Lepage, and established houses like Serge Mathieu, are making wines that speak more of their origins than of the stylish tastes that have turned Champagne from wine to beverage. As Champagne focuses on the small scale (go to: sfg.ly/v9DY0K) the Aube has become a new comfort zone. The area's often uncomfortable attachment to Champagne has existed since the Middle Ages. Though its main city, Troyes, was once Champagne's provincial capital, counterparts in the Marne Valley regarded the area with disdain - enough that they rioted in 1911 as part of an effort to block Aube grapes from Champagne. Ultimately the Aube was ushered in, but even today its 17,000 acres of vineyards receive none of Champagne's top classifications. So the Aube has long felt an affinity elsewhere. Indeed, its schism with Champagne can be seen directly in the soil. Limestone rich While the Marne's chalky soils come from a later period, the Aube shares the limestone-rich Kimmeridgean soils of its neighbor to the southeast, Chablis. In fact, Les Riceys in the southern Aube is about three times as far from Champagne's beating heart of Reims as it is from the village of Chablis, 30 miles southwest. To the south, the Aube abuts Burgundy, and in some sense its culture nods more toward the Cote d'Or's obsession with a sense of place than toward its sometimes haughty patrons in Reims and Epernay. These Kimmeridgean soils are part of a band of white-wine greatness that encompasses not only Chablis but also Sancerre and Pouilly-FuméAnd yet this is predominantly Pinot Noir territory because plantings were dictated by the needs of the area's Champagne masters. That is not to say white grapes don't have a profound role, especially in Montgueux, which grows ripe Chardonnay sought by large houses like Veuve Clicquot. Profound blancs de blancs can be found from such producers as Jean Laurent and Montgueux's Jacques Lessaigne. But does the Aube speak clearly in the glass? To consider this, I was joined by Rajat Parr, corporate wine director for the Mina Group; Ian Becker, wine director for the Absinthe Group; and Mary Christie, wine director of the forthcoming State Bird Provisions. Signature of place Our conclusion: Regardless of grape, there's an unmistakable signature of place - the wines show a weightlessness and bite reflective of all that limestone. Aube Chardonnay can evoke Chablis with bubbles; Pinot Noir often reveals white-grape flavors and savory aromas that nod to Burgundy. These are not only very good Champagnes; they are true to their origins. The Aube's partisans, even the early ones, clearly arrived at the same conclusion. In 1930, in the western part of the Aube known as the Barsequenais, the house of Fleury decided to bottle its own wines as a way to escape the economic whims of large houses. An early convert to biodynamic farming, Jean-Pierre Fleury now makes largely oak-aged Champagnes from his 50 acres that are dominant in Pinot Noir and brimming with foresty depth and a Burgundian complexity. They are powerful and lusty. To the east in the Barsuraubois area is the Aube's most influential name: Drappier. This historic house in Urville, farming in the area since the 18th century, helped pull less prestigious Gamay Noir from Aube soils in the 1930s, replacing it with Pinot Noir. The Drappier wines are that rare exception that muscled their way into the ranks of high-profile negociant houses. Unfortunately, the wines appear here somewhat irregularly. A new generation of pioneers is also making its mark in the Aube with wines that demonstrate skill in the cellar and absolute devotion to place. Even the region's co-op in Bar-sur-Seine, which makes Champagne under the Devaux label, shows remarkable talent. But a range of tiny producers have caught the most attention. There is Bertrand Gautherot, whose Vouette et Sorbee is named for his two biodynamically grown vineyards in Buxiès-sur-Arce; his lean and uncompromising wines evoke those specific sites. Jacques Lessaigne in Montgueux makes distinct, rich cuvees (although they fell short in our tasting). New names to know In the south of the Aube lies Les Riceys, renowned for its rare, long-aging rosé It is further tribute to the dominance of Pinot Noir. It's no surprise that in nearby Avirey-Lingey, you'll find Serge Mathieu, whose hand with Pinot Noir reveals spice and vibrant red fruit reminiscent of a bubbly take on the Cotes de Nuits. And don't overlook Davy Dosnon and Simon-Charles, who in 2005 built a few acres of Dosnon family holdings into a new label that exults in supple, oak-aged wines. Bouchard, however, is arguably the Aube's reigning star. Based in the tiny town of Celles-sur-Ource and making wine only since 2000, he has quickly become known for his exquisite bottles, each of which hails from a single variety, vineyard and vintage. Made in steel with minimal winemaking and a lower atmospheric pressure than standard Champagne, Bouchard wines like Les Ursules speak with absolute precision of their roots. With less than 20,000 bottles per year to go around, these vanish quickly. These new names provide a context for the Aube that echoes a modern French tale: Relatively obscure corners become laboratories for innovation precisely because they are the only places the avant-garde can afford to work. Found a new Champagne label in the fancy Cote des Blancs? Doubtful. But if you're Bouchard, son of a vintner in a Champagne backwater, it's possible to find fame by applying a new generation's philosophy. Now, as Champagne finds many of its big players treading water, the Aube can shine. NV Dosnon & Lepage Recolte Blanche Brut Champagne ($50, 12% alcohol): Davy Dosnon used some family land and additional nearby parcels to launch this Pinot-focused label, making unfiltered wines in oak casks. This all-Chardonnay cuvee lands in one of those "Is it Chardonnay?" spots, with the accents of orange peel and forest floor hinting at red grapes, but also fresh sea foam and green apple that's balanced by a touch of wood-aged richness. (Importer: Jon-David Headrick Selections) NV Serge Mathieu Tradition Blanc de Noirs Champagne ($42, 12%): The Mathieu roots in the Aube run back several centuries. Pinot is the thing here, and the use of steel tanks with malolactic fermentation and long aging provide both depth and precision. A pure expression of chalk and citrus pith, with vibrant red-fruit notes - cranberry, watermelon skin, apricot, coriander - that telegraph the Aube's potential for laser-like focus. (Importer: Charles Neal Selections) NV Cedric Bouchard Inflorescence Val Vilaine Brut Blanc de Noirs Champagne ($60, 12.5%): Made all from Pinot Noir in a single vintage, from the Val Vilaine parcel in the town of Polisy. Fermented only in steel, Bouchard's wines have an uncanny ability to telegraph their origins. This latest release , disgorged April 2011, comes from ripe 2009. Layered and dense, with musk, cranberry, dark stones and apricot skin. (Importer: Thomas Calder/Farm Wine Co.) NV Jean Laurent Blanc de Blancs Brut Champagne ($45, 12%): Like Bouchard, Laurent works in Celles-sur-Ource, and this all-Chardonnay bottle from several vintages shows the potential of white grapes there. After time to breathe, it matches a steely iodine presence with rich hazelnut, key lime, sea bean, peach and pastry dough. Disgorged May 2011. (Importer: Handpicked Selections) NV Vouette & Sorbee Fidele Extra Brut Champagne ($85, 12%): Bertrand Gautherot began farming his parcels in Buxiès-sur-Arce in 1986, and the often-earthy flavors aren't for everyone. This latest Fidele, all Pinot Noir from Vouette and a nearby parcel, Biaunes, is powerful, if esoteric: pine pitch, wheat chaff, nori, lemon confit and a whack of mineral and acidity. You'd be hard-pressed to nail it as Pinot, a further testament to that Kimmeridgean signature. Disgorged January 2010. (Importer: Domaine Select Wine Estates) NV Devaux Cuvee D Brut Champagne ($52, 12%): Champagne's co-ops often have a lowly reputation, but the Aube's is impressively committed to quality under its Devaux label. If the nonvintage Cuvee D, from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, is in a more polished style than that of some Aube mavericks, it's still expressive and almond-accented, with delicious apricot, morning bun and grated orange flavors. (Importer: Adventures in Wine) NV Fleury Rosée SaignéBrut Champagne ($50, 12.5%): Fleury's rosépproach is uncompromising - it's all Pinot Noir, all pressed off the skins. A powerful, finessed wine with briny accents to cranberry, tangerine and fern, and richer notes of guava and mushroom. It's a serious, pure expression of Aube Pinot. Disgorged May 2011. (Importer: K&L Wine Merchants/Premier Wine Co.) Jon Bonnés The Chronicle's wine editor. Find him at jbonne(a)sfchronicle.com or @jbonne on Twitter. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/12/11/FD351M9I5A.DTL This article appeared on page G - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle -- ------------------------------ * Dr. James Ellingson, jellings(a)me.umn.edu * * mobile : 651/645-0753 * * Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 * * james(a)brewingnews.com James.Ellingson(a)StThomas.edu *