[wine] Blanc de Blancs

Here's one way to have a white Christmas. Cheers, Jim December 19, 2011 A Toast to Versatility By ERIC ASIMOV NO doubt this column appears on first glance to be one of those dutiful end-of-the-year pieces on sparkling wines. Nothing could be further from the truth. Let me be plain: I need no seasonal inducement to write about sparkling wines, in this case blanc de blancs Champagnes. .I don.t have to show you any stinkin. badges!. as the oft-misquoted Alfonso Bedoya put it in .The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.. Got that? Good. I don.t mean to sound belligerent, but I feel compelled to emphasize that I love Champagne and sparkling wines too much to ever consign them to the scrap heap of obligation. I drink them year round, with all sorts of foods, for any occasion, but more important, for no occasion at all. An estimated 40 percent of Champagne is sold leading into the holidays, according to the Champagne Bureau, a trade association, but that does not mean we all must abide by the nonsense of restricting sparkling wines to end-of-the-year gatherings and celebrations. The plain fact is that Champagne is one of the world.s most versatile and pleasing wines. That.s another crucial point: Champagne is a wine, though this may not be obvious to some, and it needs to be thought of in that context. Too often, sparkling wines are set apart, as if they were a valued set of cuff links brought out only for special occasions, then returned to their plush box. But Champagne goes wherever other wines are capable of going, whenever, with ease. I must say, this perception of Champagne is partly the Champagne industry.s fault. It.s done such a good job of turning Champagne into an emblem of black-tie urbanity that it now seems out of place on the kitchen table. The panel tasted 20 bottles of blanc de blancs Champagne. What might seem like just another seasonal roundup was in fact a tasting with year-round staying power. Florence Fabricant and I were joined by two other members of the what.s-good-in-December-is-just-as-good-in-July club: Juliette Pope, wine director at Gramercy Tavern, and Carla Rzeszewski, wine director of the Spotted Pig, the Breslin and the John Dory Oyster Bar. Now, I love all sorts of Champagnes, but I especially treasure blanc de blancs, the finest, most delicate of all. Most Champagnes are blends of three grapes: pinot noir, pinot meunier and chardonnay, but blanc de blancs are made solely of chardonnay. At least they are almost all the time. The three main grapes account for just about all Champagnes, but, as most Champagne geeks know, the rules allow three other white grapes: pinot blanc, petit meslier and arbane. Very occasionally, I come across a blanc de blancs that incorporates small percentages of these grapes, too, along with chardonnay. Our Champagnes were from the lower end of the price spectrum, which admittedly is not so low in the greater scheme of things. You rarely see good Champagne for less than $35 a bottle these days. Yet only three of the wines were above $60, and the most expensive topped out at $80, which effectively eliminated high-end vintage Champagnes. Only four were vintage dated, and only one of those made our top 10, the 2005 Ruelle-Pertois Grand Cru, our No. 10 bottle. Nonetheless, we all considered this an excellent tasting. Florence and Juliette were both surprised by the range of textures, from lean to rich and broad. Carla suggested that many consumers might find these Champagnes confusing, primarily because the dosage, a small amount of sweetened wine added to Champagne just before it is sealed, can vary greatly. Producers use the dosage to balance out the wine.s acidity, which on its own can seem harsh. But it also serves a stylistic purpose, as more sweetness can soften austere wines. .Dosage is a delicate thing,. Carla said, posing a sort of three bears scenario. .Too much, it.s top-heavy. Too little, it can be abrasive.. We were seeking just right. Nine of our 10 favorites were bruts, which by definition may receive a dosage of up to 15 grams of sugar per liter. The remaining favorite, from Jacques Lassaigne, was an extra brut, meaning its dosage was 6 grams or under. What stood out to me was how well balanced most of these Champagnes were. Few were too sweet or too harsh. I noticed most of all how the best of these Champagnes, like good Sancerre and Chablis, seemed transparent, with almost savory herbal and mineral flavors rather than the richer fruit tones that I often detect in Champagnes with pinot noir and pinot meunier. Our No. 1 bottle, for example, the Delamotte nonvintage, was wonderfully elegant and fresh, with the sort of finesse and understated complexity I love in good blanc de blancs. Delamotte, incidentally, is the sibling producer of Salon, one of the greatest, and most expensive, blanc de blancs. Besserat de Bellefon, which produced our No. 2 bottle, has nowhere near the reputation of Delamotte, but this Champagne, with its lively texture, was surprisingly good. Among our top 10 were several very good smaller producers, like Pierre Moncuit, whose precise, chalky Grand Cru Brut was both our No. 3 wine and, at $43, our best value. The No. 4 bottle, from Marc Héart, was very different from the Moncuit . riper, fuller and more fruity than any other bottle in our tasting . while our No. 6 bottle, from Joséhondt, long one of my favorite small producers, was more austere and fresh. The extra brut from Lassaigne, whose grapes come from Montgueux, far removed from the other producers, was likewise distinctive, very dry with a touch of caramel, not austere at all. Among the bigger houses we especially liked the complexity and finesse of the Billecart-Salmon, though it was the most expensive wine among our top 10. Though we tasted 20 bottles, that really accounts for just a handful of the available Champagnes. Small producers like Larmandier-Bernier, Pierre Gimmonet, Agrapart, Guy Charlemagne, Aubry and Guy Larmandier are just a few of many who make excellent, reasonably priced blanc de blancs, while you could do a whole lot worse than the blanc de blancs from fine bigger producers like Louis Roederer, Deutz and Duval-Leroy. I should mention that one bottle in our tasting, the Prestige Brut from Franck Bonville, was tossed out because it was corked. It was a reminder that Champagne is more like other wines than we think, for better or worse. Tasting Report Delamotte, $55, *** Blanc de Blancs Brut NV Great combination of finesse and complexity, with brisk, fresh flavors of minerals, herbs and chalk. (Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, Ala.) Besserat de Bellefon, $56, *** Blanc de Blancs Brut Cuvédes Moines NV Savory mineral flavors with a rich, gripping texture. (Winesellers, Skokie, Ill.) BEST VALUE Pierre Moncuit, $43, *** Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Brut NV Chalky and herbal with fine, clear, lingering citrus and fruit flavors. (Polaner Selections, Mount Kisco, N.Y.) Marc Héart, $46, ** ½ Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru Brut NV Ripe, fruity, with flavors of lemon, apples and plums. (Terry Theise Estate Selections/Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, N.Y.) Billecart-Salmon, $80, ** ½ Blanc de Blancs Brut NV Light, lacy, clear and pure with a fine texture and toasty, nutlike flavors. (Robert Chadderdon Selections, New York) Joséhondt, $50, ** ½ Blanc de Blancs Brut NV Clean, fresh and refreshing with citrus, mineral and herbal flavors. (Becky Wasserman Selection/Pas Mal, Tenafly, N.J.) Jacques Lassaigne, $50, ** ½ Blanc de Blancs Les Vignes de Montgueux Extra Brut NV Dry and earthy with flavors of minerals and herbs, and a touch of caramel. (Jenny & Françs Selections, New York) Ruinart, $70, ** Blanc de Blancs Brut NV Taut and fine with fresh, chalky, spicy flavors. (MoëHennessy, New York) Demiè-Ansiot, $57, ** Blanc de Blancs Brut Grand Cru NV Steely aromas, with spicy, herbal flavors and a touch of balancing sweetness. (Becky Wasserman Selection/Pas Mal) Ruelle-Pertois, $40, ** Blanc de Blancs Brut Grand Cru 2005 Fresh, tangy and herbal with flavors of herbs and green apples. (Charles Neal Selections, Richmond, Calif.) -- ------------------------------ * 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 *