Brilliant Bubbles
SPARKLING WINE
IS TERRIFIC
EVERYDAY:
Even for the Holidays…
(That’s our Ocean along with the “approaching debonair” Pascal Doquet - in Champagne)
spell·bind·ing
/ˈspelˌbīndiNG/
adjective
holding one's attention completely as though by magic; fascinating.
————————————————————————————————-
NO NEWSFLASH in these parts: (good) sparkling wine is versatile enough and is an everyday wine.
Still, holidays bring out the best in many a table.
Our bubbly crew selected four sparkling sparkling wines - take your pick, though one of each would be quite brilliant.
SPARKLING SUGGESTIONS:
A QUARTET
ALESSANDRA DIVELLA,
GUSSAGO, ITALY
Few winemakers who have been making very fine wines, have then made such an additional leap - like Alessandra has - in overall quality as they grow and learn. Alessandra Divella (her winery in photo above) impressed the heck out of us when we first met her many years ago. Over several visits in the last three years, the quality and vision of her work has blossomed. There is no question she is making some of Italy’s best sparkling wines.
Divella Blanc de Blancs Dosaggio Zero NV 2018
Alessandra Divella’s flagship wine, a dazzler, is one to clear away all preconceptions about sparkling wine from Italy. Hyperbole? Well not from our tastings in the hills outside the little village of Gussago where Alessandra makes her gorgeous wines. Alessandra harvests the grapes in one pass and presses using a basket press this 100% chardonnay fermented and aged in neutral oak. It's aged on lees for 33 months. No sulfur added at any point. 12% alcohol, clean, driven, long and alive. Absurd value. $45.00
Click here to see our producer portrait on Alessandra and all her available wines.
DOMINIQUE BELLUARD,
SAVOIE, FRANCE
In the mighty heights of the alpine environs of Savoie with the ever present Alps in view, the late Dominique Belluard set the zone on a path of startlingly fine wines - eye-openers of quality unknown in those parts. His Les Perles is a preeminent example.
Domaine Belluard “Les Perles du Mont Blanc”
What a great wine - it knocked us all out earlier this week! A beautiful sparkling wine, dry and perfectly balanced and with great length. One of the finest wines with bubbles we’ve had from France. Made from finely tended vines - all of the local gringet grape - with a clean, alive essence, captivating for sure. Highly recommended. $44.00
BENOIT MARGUET,
AMBONNAY, FRANCE
PASCAL DOQUET,
VERTUS, FRANCE
That stuff about a dynamic duo - energy and excitement! Then add wine words like quality, tension, complexity, long finish, terroir and the like, as all apply here with these two fabulous growers in Champagne. For more on each, click here:
“Hey, Ocean was
just here!”
(Benoit Marguet on his visit from Ocean)
Champagne Marguet 'Yuman' Blanc de Blancs NV
100% chardonnay from the 1er cru zones of Villeneuve, Rennville and Villers Marmery, Yuman is racy and vibrant, a superb bottle of champagne for the money. Zero dosage, smoky, crisp and mouth-filling. Value++. 0 mg/l total SO2. 7,686 bottles produced. $63.00
Pascal Doquet Arpege Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature 1er Cru NV
Extraordinary wine, knock-out value — looking to add a six pack or case to the home cellar for when you want something special and don't want to break the bank? Pascal's newly released Arpège - from Vertus and Le Mont-Aimé - is an intense, mineral driven Chardonnay. 3 g/L dosage, all organically farmed - and put into the bottle in March 2015. It is not a vintage wine because it is a blend of 2012, 2013 and 2014! It is ready to go now. Impress your guests (and yourself). $66.00