Category Archives: Sparkling

Hill of Content Sparkling Red NV

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I have a small confession to make: the first two bottles of this were so delicious that I didn’t bother to write about at them at the time: my apologies. Let’s try this again, shall we?A fine, persistent bead builds to a solid mousse, ringing the glass with faint cranberry, set off nicely by a dark, rich, deep crimson red. The nose offers up straightforward rich, creamy red fruit, with a hint of dusty library and book bindings: it smells like there’s some age on this bad boy, and yes, there was; the label mentions two and a half years in French oak, which shows itself again on the palate, which is (and I hate to use this word) hedonistic in the best possible way, beautifully tannic and supportive of the delicious rosy fruit. It all comes together as fresas con crema served in a cedar bowl might: wonderfully young, exuberant, and yet with hints of pedigree and age making it all seem somehow more serious than it really is.Absolutely delicious and a steal at this price, even the packaging makes me smile: it’s a wonderful thing buying sparkling wine under crown seal, I think; just as Chandon markets their high end New World sparklers this way, the effect is of industrial elegance; after all, the church key is far from a Laguiole corkscrew and reminds you that this is, after all, just another agricultural product and not a hedonistic lifestyle accessory. But still: wow, what a wine.Hill of Content
Price: $14
Closure: Other

Champbrulé Brut NV

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I flew to Mexico City yesterday for the first time in 25 years: I’m spending a week here on vacation with friends and family. Walking around after the afternoon thundershowers, I thought I’d see if I could buy some Mexican wine. Thankfully, the locals were incredibly friendly and pointed me towards a small wines and spirits only shop two blocks from my apartment that was filled to the roof (literally) with the kind of international wine selection you’d expect in any world class city: Champagne, Chablis, Rioja, Brunello, all of the world’s greatest hits. I was hoping to find some of Freixenet’s Mexican wines, but all they had was their Spanish wines. I asked in terrible Spanish if they had any Mexican sparkling wines… and yes, they found two wines in stock. They fetched it from the top shelf, dusted it off, sold it to me, and here’s what I remember about it from last night:

This appears to be traditionally vinified with second fermentation in the bottle. Beautifully packaged, with all of things you’d expect (perforated foil, custom printed cage, etc.), it appears to have been produced by something called Wine Products of Tijuana, which to my American ears isn’t appetizing. However, the wine itself is most definitely appetizing, with a fine, persistent bead and appealing yellow color. There’s not too much by way of smells, here, alas, but that’s no problem as the wine is eminently drinkable, full in the mouth, and (thankfully) no more residual sugar than any other wine in this class. This is a well crafted wine and can definitely hold its own with any American wine in this price range; to me, this is even slightly preferable to Korbel thanks to its restraint with regard to sweetness levels. I’d buy it again.

Alan McCorkindale Cuvée Rosé 2002

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There’s something about incredibly naff labels on fairly spendy bottles of wine that catches my eye, every time. This bottle is from a Glengarry wine shop in a snobby suburb of Auckland somewhere east of the harbor; I picked it up on the way back to the airport last month. Given that today is St Valentine’s day, pink sparkling wine is a categorical imperative, so here we are.Sure, the label looks like a near-sighted librarian threw it together in Microsoft Word after a hell of a bender the day before, but what’s in the bottle is impressive. A dark onionskin color with a somewhat anemic bead, the nose is very much that of a proper red wine and is at first somewhat jarring. However, paying careful attention reaps rewards: there is definitely a lessy note thanks to extended maturation on the lees, and there’s that telltale fine aroma of brioche that marks this as a superior wine.Rich and full in the mouth, balanced by wonderfully refreshing acidity, the first impression I get is of freshly sliced Bosc pears, which seems incongrous with the, well, pinkness of the wine. Stepping back for a minute, the effect is of crushed roses in a forgotten corner of a spice market; then again, roses do have a spiciness inherent to them, so I’m probably just being overly enthustiastic here. All put together, this wine is mesmerizing; the bead may not be noticeable, but it provides a certain fullness in the mouth which is charming and rare. Add the spices, fresh pears, and rosy notes and I’m certain that no person in the world would prefer a box of chocolates to this bottle of wine. Delicious.Alan McCorkindale
Price: NZ $50 (appx.)
Closure: Cork

Cloudy Bay Pelorus 2004

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Looks like I’m a day late to the party here, but what the heck: today’s my last day on the South Island before heading for home via Auckland and Nadi tomorrow.

Even in a dingy motel glass (not even a wine glass!), the bead is persistent and the wine’s making quite a noble effort at building up some resemblance of mousse. The aroma’s hard to pick out, but it seems to be largely of zwieback and Granny Smith apples. Fine and foamy in the mouth, the lush, ripe fruit, surprisingly more pinot than anything else, with hints of roses and wild strawberries, gives way enticingly slowly to a finely toasted end, tapering out into a beautiful finish like the light crust on just-baked bread.

To be honest, this wine is one of my favorite sparkling wines in the world; it walks the line very carefully and deliberately between a garish New World fruitfest and an Old World exercise in severe, elegant restraint. For my money, this is the best wine you can get from Marlborough.

Bonus points: I don’t know who designed the foil for this bottle, but it’s exceptionally easy to remove and just oozes sophistication and needless expense. I love it.

Cloudy Bay
Price: NZ $40.40 (cellar door)
Closure: Cork
Date tasted: January 2009

Cloudy Bay Pelorus 2004

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It’s sparkling night at Full Pour, and what better occasion? I believe Chris has a bottle of this same wine, possibly for consumption this evening (in New Zealand), so consider this note a sort of virtual drinking session.

Of course, it’s totally fabulous. Quite an aggressive mousse that settles into a moderately fine bead. On the nose, exuberantly bready like fresh baguettes, plus some mushroom. Full, fragrant and distinctive, though not especially complex or detailed. The palate is an explosion of flavour. There’s a deal of savoury complexity but what hits one here is a big dollop of round, delicious Marlborough fruit. Weight is relatively full. Thank goodness it’s all quite dry. Mouthfeel is lively, with a smooth-feeling effervescence and some creaminess caressing the tongue. Excellent presence in the mouth and impressive length. Very far from Champagne, and all the better for it.

Bloody delicious. Happy 2009!!

Cloudy Bay
Price: $A50
Closure: Cork
Date tasted: December 2008

Deutz Marlborough Cuvée Brut NV

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Compared to the Le Brun, this wine is visually a real disappointment; the color is approximately that of [yellow tail] chardonnay, and the bubbles are completely anemic; it’s as if there are two solitary glowworms in the bottom of the glass, casting their mucus nets upwards.

OK, that was gross. My apologies. I’ll continue:

On the nose, there’s a faint reek of sulfur and other than that, nothing at all. In the mouth, it’s strangely unpleasant, an initial sweetness completely obscured by something like whitebait pizza (with white sauce, not marinara).

This is either a bad bottle or simply a “do not put in mouth” wine. Ugh. Looks like I’ll be moving on to another bottle of this unless this magically improves after half an hour’s aeration. Damn.

Deutz
Price: $NZ31
Closure: Cork
Date tasted: December 2008

Daniel Le Brun Methode Traditionelle Brut NV

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OK, so let’s start with the nose, which is something akin to uncooked Bisquick mixed with water: it’s got a lovely, fresh biscuity biscuitness to it. It’s overlaid by fresh green apples, but time and time again, the biscuits come to the fore (and by biscuits, I don’t mean cookies, but rather proper American biscuits). Mmm biscuits.

Where was I? Right. Bead is exceptionally fine and vigorous (the fact that I can’t wash wineglasses worth a damn definitely helps: remember not to use soap and don’t be afraid of the odd bit of dust; it really does help with this kind of thing). The mousse is probably exceptional if you have proper flutes; I don’t at the moment, so what I’m getting is a bunch of random bubbling in a large red wine glass. Still, seriously, this is good looking stuff. The color is rather deeper than your typical sparkling wine, which means I’m suspecting some pinot noir in here as well… OK, I just cheated and looked at the back label and sure enough, this wine is 70% pinot (10% of that meunier). Check.

So how’s it taste? The fine bubble dominate at first, prickly and refreshing, and then it all goes a bit sour, fairly acidic, tasting largely of toast, sharp green apples, and fresh bread. Oh, yeah, and biscuits. Delicious biscuits. Mmmm.

This is a fairly exceptional New World sparkling wine; it reminds me of a somewhat less sweet Veuve Clicquot, brimming with yeasty breadiness and sharp, fresh apple-y acidity. I imagine what this wine really wants is minimally prepared seafood – OK, salt and pepper calamari would probably be great too – but all I have is the Chinese take-away from last night, so here’s hoping it’s a good match for cold nasi goreng as well. 🙂

I should probably also note that this is no longer made by M. de Brun, but by some faceless corporate winery. I don’t remember who this really is – Lion Nathan? I’ll have to research it further.

Bonus points: this is probably the most useless winery Web site I’ve ever seen. Check it out!

Daniel Le Brun
Price: $NZ32
Closure: Cork
Date tasted: December 2008

Mumm Napa Sparkling Pinot Noir NV

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Either I’m getting arthritic before my time or else Mumm Napa are using some amazingly tight corks, but as per usual I had a hell of a time getting the cork out of this bad boy.

I was surprised to see that this wine is a fairly dark red; it looks an awful lot like Honest Ade pomegranate blueberry drink (for you Aussies, this is an organic soft drink that’s something like a premixed cordial). Heck, it could just be pomegranate juice if we’re going by loks here. On top of the wine, there are some bubbles – lots of them – which somehow don’t look particularly elegant. They’re kind of like tiny color inverted cod roe, but I digress.

It smells of strawberries and unaired broom closets. It tastes like medium quality Moldovan pinot noir, which is to say fairly good in a musty direction. It comes across as fairly dry with a short finish that hits a fruit leather, somewhat tannic note and holds there; I like it, but it seems abrupt, inelegant.Honestly, I’m not sure what to make of this. It pales by comparison to good Aussie sparkling shiraz, and Moldovan sparkling reds (eg Cricova) are far more entertaining. On the other hand, it doesn’t taste like any other Californian sparkler I’ve had, which is I suppose a good thing, and yes, I would be happy to drink this at any time (I love sparkling red wine). But is it good value?

Mumm Napa
Price: $30 (wine club members: $21)
Closure: Cork
Date tasted: September 2008

Moët & Chandon Brut Impérial NV

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We’re celebrating tonight. Chris will know why. He will also, I hope, enjoy the fact that we’re using him as an excellent excuse to have some nice wines. The irony with wines such as this is that they are incredibly fun to drink but boring to write about, as the aim is consistency, year-on-year. I shall soldier on, though, no matter how arduous the task.

Lively mousse, moderately fine bead. A lovely, fresh aroma of mushroom, yeast, citrus and some rounder, strawberry-like notes. It’s all very refined and “just so”, but never difficult and certainly savoury enough to stimulate one’s appetite for more. Balance is the key word on the palate too, with a variety of dimensions showing just enough of themselves to add complexity without dominance. Flavour profile is refreshing, with citrus, some smokiness and an impression of clean, delicate fruit. Good complexity. Mouthfeel is clean and refreshing without undue coarseness or aggressive acidity. Certainly on the finer side, and appropriately so — it’s a wine clearly weighted for immediate, joyous consumption.

De Bortoli Windy Peak Pinot Noir Chardonnay NV

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I’m still on my “anything but Champagne” quest and last night saw me consume the most inexpensive sparkling wine I’ve had in years. Nowadays, $A8 buys you about half a bottle of Seppelt Fleur de Lys or a whole 750ml of this number from De Bortoli. Now, the Windy Peak range has a reputation for reliable quality at an excellent price, and even the Pinot Noir has been known to be quite drinkable — no mean feat for around $A10. Sparkling wine, though, accelerates the challenge somewhat, as it’s rare, in my experience anyway, to find true quality and interest at the lowest levels of price.A lively, coarse mousse that gives way to not much bead at all, but a pretty, rose-tinted wine of good clarity. The nose hints at a broad flavor profile, and shows slightly chunky strawberry and citrus notes, alongside some yeasty complexity. It’s kind of obvious and lacking in freshness. The palate offers a mouth full of fruit flavour, again mostly strawberry and citrus, quite full for the style, slightly effervescent, and easy to drink. There’s a slight mustiness that leads me to suspect a mild to moderate level of cork taint, so it’s hard for me to say this bottle is representative. The wine went well with light food.Keeping in mind possible cork taint, this wine is easy and full flavoured, but a little uninteresting too. I’d like to taste a fresher bottle, to see if the overall profile of the wine gains freshness and edge, as this would contribute greatly to enjoyment. De Bortoli Price: $A8Closure: CorkDate tasted: March 2008