For the American Palate

I have to stop buying sparkling wines that I don't know in America. They're just too sweet, no matter where they're made, it seems like the shopkeepers know which ones are going to appeal to the sugar-rush of the American palate. Sadly, the Cote Mas Cremant de Limoux Brut was no exception. In its favor was lots of citrus fruit flavor and surprisingly good bubbles for a cremant wine. But the finish...sadly the finish was an explosion of sugar in my mouth. It could have been a nice wine but for that sweetness.

Lovely Loosen

I took a chance...I bought a bottle of Dr L Sparkling Riesling, a German wine from Loosen Bros. It was a very nice surprise. It tasted of honeyed apples and quince, but with a very dry finish. It had lots of bubbles at the start, settling into a lasting fizz. It was refreshing and fun, not at all sweet or overpowering. I liked it a lot, would definitely drink it again. It's not at all like a champagne, but a very tasty wine with bubbles, good as an aperitif, or perhaps with some cheese and nuts.

A Typical Prosecco

I was in the mood for some bubbles this week, and stopped by my local to see what they had. I brought home a bottle of Jeio Brut, which cost around £10. My husband said it was a typical prosecco, with a not-too-sweet pear and mint flavour. It had lots of fizz rather than bubbles, which was still OK. It also went really well with the blueberry pancakes we ate for dinner. It did a good job of filling my craving for something sparkling without breaking the bank.

New Old Billecart-Salmon

We drink a lot of Billecart-Salmon champagne. They are without a doubt my favourite champagne maker, and I feel fortunate to be in a position to purchase their champagnes. I stopped reporting on 'repeat' bottles, because I really don't like to rub it in when I'm drinking it and you might not be. But we recently had two new bottles of older vintages that I should report.

The first was the 2000 vintage Cuvee Nicholas Francois Billecart. This champagne had a wonderfully big flavour, lots of rich, ripe apple, with some carmelised nuts at the finish. While we enjoyed first glasses on their own, this champagne stood up to our dinner, too.

The second was the 1999 vintage of the Brut Blanc de Blancs. I have always thought that the Brut Reserve was my favourite Billecart-Salmon offering. I'm not so sure anymore. Firstly, I couldn't believe the bubbles in this champagne, especially considering its age. They were amazing, the best bubbles I've had in a long time. The flavour was also fantastic, lemony-goodness, with just a touch of chalky dryness. The finish lasted forever. While you could probably serve this with food, I just wanted to savor it on its own, it was THAT good. I love it when a maker can surprise me with something even better than I was already expecting!!

March round-up

We tried a few new things in March:

Two of them were British sparklers, both from The Wine Pantry. One wasn't so much totally new; rather, a new variety of something we like - the 2003 Blanc de Blancs from Nyetimber. This was very good, not surprising as we like this maker. It smelled very yeasty, with my husband saying it smelled heavily of the must of the grapes. It was very clean and fresh, though, with a lingering, lemony finish and lots of bubbles. As always with Nyetimber, it was a bit pricey for what it was (mid £30s), but worth drinking.

On the other end of the British taste spectrum, we also had the Herbert Hall 2010 Brut, predominantly chardonnay mixed with pinot noir and pinot meunier. I was not a fan, despite the plentiful bubbles, as this wine was very unpolished and very raw tasting, much like a light cider. It gets good reviews against other English wines, but don't let this fool you. It doesn't compare to a French champagne the way Nyetimber does.

The third wine was a bit of a surprise - wait for it - a 2008 vintage brut German sparkling red pinot noir from Vaux, which my husband picked up at The Winery. What was he thinking, this had the potential for absolute disaster!? German red wine? And German brut, which is never really brut? And German bubbles? Well, don't tell him I wrote this, but my husband is a genius, this wine was a lovely surprise. It was bruter than brut, not a speck of sugary-ness to it despite its strawberry start and ripe apple finish. The bubbles were fine, lasting through both the glass and the bottle. As for the redness...this wine held up to food, but was equally good being sipped on its own. At just shy of £30 a bottle, this is definitely one to try if you can find it.

Surprisingly good

I can't believe I haven't blogged since November. We've been drinking lots of reruns, things that are very nice (Maison Lenique, Billecart-Salmon), and a vintage(2001?)S Anderson from America that was excellent and had loads of bubbles despite its age. But life overtakes me, and I don't get a chance to write them up properly.

But recently, we had a British sparkler that I want to remember, and if I don't blog about it, I might not remember it. It was surprisingly good - the 2009 Cuvee Noir from Bolney Estate. It is supposedly a red wine made from dornfelder grapes, but it is light enough to drink like a rose. It had excellent bubbles, loads of deep summer fruit flavours, and despite the berry-goodness, was dry on the finish. I think my husband picked this up at The Wine Pantry. I would highly recommend it, and will definitely drink it again.

A Varied November

We drank a few new things in November.

For date night, I splurged and bought a bottle of Taittinger Brut Reserve that was on special offer at my new local wine shop. I have a soft spot for Taittinger, as it was the first champagne house I ever visited, well worth the tour! This champagne is a 40/60 blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, extremely well balanced and flavorful. It had loads of apple and vanilla and just a touch of honey, but no sweetness. The bubbles were very good and lasted. This was a nice champagne, and to get it around the £20 price point was well worth it.

Next up, a bottle of champagne that I bought on special offer from Waitrose, Bertrand de Bessac Cuvée du Marquis Brut. It won a silver award from Decanter in 2012, and I can see why. Again a Chardonnay/Pinot Noir blend, this was less well balanced than the Taittinger, but had rich apple flavor with a touch of citrus zest. The bubbles were OK, not great, but good enough for a wine I bought from the supermarket.

To shake things up a bit, I moved down market with an under £10 bottle of Codorniu cava. This maker is really good value, I think they make a pretty good cava. This one was the three traditional cava varieties, macabeo, xarel-lo, and parellada grapes. It had a very grape-y flavor, just a touch of sour at the finish, and decent bubbles. Not the best wine ever, but very drinkable and nothing to complain about.

Finally, I found myself in Prague at the end of the month and was tempted by their Bohemia Sekt Brut. I bought a half bottle at the airport to drink with my husband, who found it far too acidic for his liking. I didn't half mind its very dry and fruity flavor combined with surprisingly good bubbles. But I couldn't drink a lot of it. Honestly, it was far better by the glass at the restaurant in Prague where I first encountered it, served alongside the hefty, saucy, meaty food.