Wine & Spirits - August 2018 - 48

YEAR'S BEST SUMMER SPARKLERS
LOIRE
227670

93 | Le Rocher
des Violettes

225239

90 | Lucien Albrecht

$24

90 | Dirler-Cadé

$25

Crémant d'Alsace Brut ^ The scent of freshcut apples rises off the bubbles of this wine,
a sleek, fragrant sparkler with youthful freshness and some salinity to cut the rich toastednut flavors. Serve it with a plate of nuts and
cheeses. (W&S 4/18) § Foley Family Artisan
Imports, Santa Rosa, CA
227729
2013 Crémant d'Alsace Brut Nature ^ This is
as cool and earthy as an apple orchard in the
fall, the last notes of autumn green melding
with the wine's creamy richness. It's clean,
dry and pleasantly bitter, a wine for fluke
sashimi. (W&S 4/18) § T. Edward Wines, NY
227730

90 | Dirler-Cadé

$28

2015 Crémant d'Alsace Brut Nature Rosé ^
Jean Dirler farms his pinot noir vines, planted
in 1973, under biodynamics, producing this
wine without adding yeasts or sugar. It's light
pink in color, brisk and dry in its attack, with
a lovely, rich pink-grapefruit freshness to balance the abrasion of the bubbles. Pour it with
gougères. (W&S 4/18) § T. Edward Wines, NY

BURGUNDY

90 | Louis Bouillot

$23

Crémant de Bourgogne Brut Perle de
Vigne ^ This is a blend of chardonnay, pinot
noir, aligoté and gamay, aged 12 months on
the lees in bottle. It's fragrant with notes of
toasty lees and chalk, a simple sparkler that
feels focused and clean. The bubbles are
ready to take on any raw shellfish. (W&S
4/18) § Saranty Imports, Stamford, CT

JURA

90 | Dom. Pierre Richard

$25

Crémant du Jura Brut Blanc Harmonie ^
This is a broad, rich chardonnay sparkler,
completely Jura in its pale limestone pedigree, with tart apple flavors and mouthwatering salinity. It has the tension and pleasing
bitterness of an extra brut Champagne, presented from a different perspective. (W&S
4/18) § Savio Soares Selections, NY

WINE & SPIRITS

$40

$24

2016 Vin de France Sotisse ^ Gamay, grolleau and cabernet franc come together in a
pale pink wine shot through with tiny bubbles, pumping flavors of tart raspberry and
the red juice of pomegranate seeds. The flavors might be simple and grapey, but this
has its share of sophistication; a generous,
dry refreshment with pork rillettes or country pâté. (W&S 4/18) § Selection Massale, San
Leandro, CA

SAVOIE

227653

93 | Dom. Vincent Carême

2014 Vouvray l'Ancestrale ^ This is Carême's
pétillant naturel, from chenin he farms
organically, ferments in vat without added
yeast, then bottles before the fermentation
is complete, when there's still enough sugar
left from the grapes to generate some fizz. As
such, it doesn't behave like most commercial sparkling wines, and while it's enjoyable
to drink right after the cork is popped, with
mild apple and jasmine rice scents, it's a completely different wine with air: The flavors
turn darker, with earthy depth and richness,
the texture silken. Decant it for the sake of
deliciousness. (W&S 4/18) § Cape Classics, NY
227860

90 | Le Sot de L'Ange

227901

$23

2014 Montlouis-sur-Loire Pétillant Originel ^ As a young oenologist working in Gigondas, Xavier Weisskopf was drawn to Touraine
for its chenin blanc and saw the opportunity
to buy undervalued land in Montlouis. He
founded his 22.2-acre domaine in 2005,
based on old-vine parcels, and converted
them to organic farming. His pétillant
naturel comes from chenin blanc vines that
are more than 40 years old, two-thirds of the
fruit fermented in stainless steel, the rest in
old wooden vats, all without added yeasts. It
transforms the richness of Montlouis chenin
into a bright, refreshing sparkler with ripe
golden-apple flavors that are both sumptuous and completely dry. (W&S 4/18) § Michael
Skurnik Wines, NY
228342

AUGUST 2018

227632

90 | Patrick Bottex

$23

Bugey-Cerdon La Cueille Rosé ^ This is
gamay and poulsard grown in limestone, fermented without additions and bottled before
it's finished, as a pétillant naturel. If you
haven't tasted Bugey-Cerdon, it may come
as a surprise, with sweet notes of candied rose
petals, fresh lingonberries, a little greenness
and some pink-grapefruit acidity. Asked what

she might serve with this wine, Tasting Director Sarah Looper suggested pouring it as an
aperitif, "or with Vietnamese food, Thai food
or light nut desserts like hazelnut cake or a
savory strawberry tart..." (W&S 4/18) § Kermit
Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA

GREEC E
231637

92 | Karanika

$34

90 | Domaine Spiropoulos

$28

85 | Cavino

$10

2015 Amyntaio Extra Cuvée de Réserve
Brut Nature ^ The owner of Karanika, Laurens Hartman, makes this sparkler in the
Champagne method, using xinomavro
grown in the cool heights of Amyndeon. It's
crisp with a green-apple crunch to the fruit,
filled out with a restrained yeastiness from 12
months on the lees. Dry and mineral, it's an
elegant interpretation of this high-acid red
grape, suited to oysters and King crab. § Verity Wine Partners, NY/WineWise, Oakland, CA
230771
2016 Mantinia Ode Panos ^ With orangeblossom scents and pink-grapefruit acidity,
this is a delicate sparkler. Some juicy apricot fruit enriches moschofilero's light, floral
herbal tones, making it a thirst-quenching
aperitif. § Athenee Importers & Distributors,
Hempstead, NY
231586
Achaia Deus Semi-Sparkling (Best Buy) ^
With its honeyed, floral fruit and soft bubbles, this is an easy alternative to Moscato
d'Asti. § Greek Boys Choice Foods, Tarpon
Springs, FL

ITALY
EMILIA-ROMAGNA
230115

92 | Cantina Paltrinieri

$18

2016 Lambrusco di Sorbara Radice (Best
Buy) ^ Third-generation grower Alberto Paltrinieri farms 42 acres of vines around his
estate on the outskirts of Sorbara. He makes
six wines based on lambrusco di Sorbara,
the lightest-hued member of the lambrusco
family, which thrives in the sandy soils of
Il Cristo, an area between the Secchia and
Panaro rivers. Radice is made in the metodo
ancestrale, by adding unfermented grape
must to the dry wine and letting a second
fermentation occur in the bottle. The result
is a lightly sparkling, deliciously complex dry
wine with racy flavors of tart strawberry and
scents of peach blossom and honeycomb. §
Domaine Select Wine & Spirits, NY
230116

https://www.lucien-albrecht.com/our-wines/cremants-alsace-lucien-albrecht/

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - August 2018