CHAMPAGNE

CHAMPAGNE ALERT: ANDRE CLOUET

As we have mentioned on several occasions, there is a lot going on in Champagne, most of it not necessarily good. There has been a concerted effort on the part of the Champenois to push prices upward. We took a quick scan at wine-searcher for data to support our thesis. The average market prices on some of the ‘favorites’ don’t make a lot of sense to us and haven’t for a while.. Clicquot $64? Bollinger $66? Pol Roger is actually one of the better buys of that category at $57.

Our constant question is always the same…what exactly are you paying for? Bluntly, you’re paying for their promotional tools and infrastructure to tell you why you should pay more. Granted, we have the advantage of getting to taste a wide range of Champagne. Given that, what do you think we take home? Admittedly we have confessed our preference of grower Champagnes because the fact that they come from specific terroirs ( as opposed to the big houses that blend from across the region). The site specificity adds another dimension to the wine.

Not only that. Often the grower Champagnes come through small, passionate importers and, as such, miss a markup or two along the way because there are no ‘marketing intermediaries’ or traditional distributors to add to the cost. That’s to say nothing of the fact that we find the juice in the bottle to be more complex and interesting even at the same price. It’s the ultimate win-win.

Our latest edition to the lineup is the Andre Clouet Brut Grand Réserve Grand Cru NV. Jean-François Clouet, who was born and raised in Bouzy, still lives in the 18th century village house built by his ancestors. As his family was the official printer to Louis XV’s Royal Court at Versailles, Jean-Francois takes great pride in his lineage. He is also well aware of the influence his family has contributed to the grand and tumultuous history of the region.

The domaine’s 8ha (20 acres) of Grand Cru vineyards are situated in the coveted middle slopes of Ambonnay and Bouzy. They make a full range of Champagnes but their ‘entry level’ made an impression on us, particularly for the fare. Made from 100% Grand Cru Pinot Noir, the nose is a fresh expression of appley Pinot Noir fruit with subtle hints of hazelnut and brioche. The bead is fine and not overly aggressive, and the combination of low dosage and long aging with this Grand Cru fruit creates a Champagne of supreme elegance and charm.

As to the process, 70% of the vintage juice spends 36 months on the lees with the other 30% coming from 2-5 year old reserve wines. We found a particularly interesting quote from a review source we didn’t know called Loibenberg who wrote, “No branded champagne can achieve this extremely good substance in terms of quality. Fantastically creamy apple note, nuts and pear in the aftertaste, infinitely charming and everybody’s darling.”

We have very nice notes from more familiar sources as well. From Wine Advocate, “The NV Brut Grand Réserve Grand Cru is a pure Pinot Noir from Bouzy. It’s pure, fresh, fine and aromatic on the nose and round and delicate on the palate. The fruit-intense finish is chalky-mineral and stimulatingly fresh in its salty finesse and elegant yeastiness. Nice lemon juice flavors give an extra kick of refreshment. This is a picture-book NV Brut… 91 points.

Stacy Slinkard, Decanter Magazine had this to say, “Incredible value for a blanc de noirs (100% Pinot Noir) grower Champagne from the grand cru vineyards of Bouzy. It shows gorgeous aromas of stone fruit, citrus and strawberry, with complex brioche nuances, remarkable balance, ongoing elegance and a rich, refined, persistent finish…92 Points.“

Finally, , JamesSuckling.com, “The effusive nose of candied citrus, ripe pear and brioche pulls you into this fresh and creamy champagne that hits all the pleasure buttons for a non-vintage Brut. Then the chalky freshness at the finish pulls you back for another sip. Excellent balance! 100% pinot noir. Drink now…93 Points.”

All that and only $41.98 per bottle? With all do respect to ‘marketing’, this is how you Champagne.

SIZE DOES MATTER: JEAN LAURENT 2008 MAGNUMS

Years ago (like the 80s and 90s), there was a publication called Connoisseurs’ Guide had significant influence on people’s tastes. Besides being a pretty good source for finding obscure California gems, they also wrote some of the best pans when they didn’t like something. More to the point, every so often they would do a tasting of California sparklers and one particular quirk of theirs was that incumbent in those reviews they would have notes on the same bubbly in regular bottles and also in magnums. The magnums consistently scored higher. After much of our own ‘research’, we came to accept their axiom. While it is difficult to verbalize why exactly (and you know we’re not usually ‘lost for words’), somehow magnums seemed to present more layers of flavor and more refinement. We can’t explain the science of it, but we are believers.

We tell that story to tell this one. We have found a modest cache of magnum bottles from a long-time house favorite Jean Laurent. The estate is situated south of Epernay, in the outlying Côte des Bar region of Champagne. We’ve talked about the Bar recently as an emerging source for serious boutique producers but these guys were out in the market long before ‘the Bar’ had the cool kid vibe it has today.

Their vineyards are in the village of Celles‐sur‐Ource, with a few parcels in the neighboring village Landreville. They total 39 acres (30 of Pinot Noir, 6+ of Chardonnay, 3 of Pinot Blanc (a legal but not widespread grape in Champagne), and small plantings of Arbane (a historic grape in this Aube region but there is little remaining). The vines are planted in distinctive chalky soils, part of a band that stretches from Champagne to Chablis and all the way to the White Cliffs of Dover (where the Brits are making some sparklers of their own).

The vineyards average 25 to 30 years in age, with the oldest parcels at more than 60 years old. Jean Laurent was one of the earliest RMs we were exposed to (“Recoltant Manipulant” – the French term for Grower Producer) and we have since followed this genre of Champagne producers with great enthusiasm. Like the title says, Jean makes Champagnes exclusively from his own vineyards. You’ve heard us yammer on about the terroir aspect that grower Champagne has over the big houses and this is one of those special places where the juice comes from small, distinctive patches of vines farmed sustainably and is produced in a limited batch.

There are a number of other key points but the most important are that this is large format bottle from, according to the Wine Advocate vintage chart, the highest rated vintage in Champagne in the last quarter century. The Jean Laurent Brut Blanc de Blanc La Griffe de l’Ource 2008 Magnum is 100% Chardonnay from this legendary vintage aged 30 months in tank prior to bottling (no oak) and then seeing 8 years on the lees sur latte (on their sides) and 2 years on the lees sur point (cork down) prior to disgorgement.

Given the vintage and what we have referred to in past pieces as the riper, richer character of ‘the Bar’, this is an ample Champagne with notes of citrus, yellow melon, cherry, brioche, and honeylike flecks in the nose and finish. The mousse is refined, no doubt in part due to the bottle age, and the palate is both lifted and creamy. This is a fine and expressive bottle of Champagne to plan something around and, yes, the extra nuance that the ‘big bottle’ provides appears to be in full effect.

The Magnum format itself ostensibly adds a point or two to the review here that was done by Wine Spectator on the 750 ml bottle in December, 2019, “Creamy and well-knit, with good focus to the baked white cherry, honeycomb and ginger biscuit flavors. A harmonious version, framed by sleek acidity and a chalky underpinning, this is long and mouthwatering on the lightly spiced finish. Disgorged July 2019. Drink now through 2028. 375 cases made…93 points.”

Large format, epic vintage, this is a very special holiday treat. Only 20 magnums available at this writing.

FINE BUBBLY BUY: CHARLES LE BEL 1818 FROM BILLECART-SALMON

Where has this been all our lives? We have been selling Billecart Salmon wines for a very long time but never got a whiff of this one until several months ago. One curiosity was that this was coming through a different wholesale source than the folks that have been Billecart’s market representative for well over a decade. Still, the prospect of a Champagne this good for the kind of price we were going to be able to sell it for with a connection to an elite and well-respected house was an exciting development. You can imagine our disappointment when the anticipated rollout of this wine didn’t happen because there were only a couple of cases at the wholesaler that vaporized instantly at kickoff time.

We never forgot about it though, and the first load of Champagne Charles Le Bel “Inspiration 1818” has finally arrived. The story is that this is the ‘second label’ of Billecart Salmon Brut Reserve NV. Billecart-Salmon vinifies base wines from a greater number of parcels than it actually needs for the production of its core cuvees. The winery has very specific ideas about the style and consistency of the sparklers that bear their label. The tasting committee tastes each of these base wines and selects only the ones that match the house palate to go into the Billecart bottlings. Those cuvees that don’t make the Billecart cut are then eligible for second wine. Bear in mind that they were grown and produced to Billecart’s standards, so this is not second tier juice.

Again according to testimony (we couldn’t find any mention of Charles Le Bec on the Billecart website though 1818 was the year that Billecart was founded) the vinification is done at Billecart’s facility in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. The grapes come from vineyards with younger vines. The entire operation from start to finish takes place in the Billecart-Salmon cellars. That makes it a surety with respect to originality and character. The cepage is 37% Chardonnay, 33% Pinot Noir and 30% Pinot Meunier with 70% of the blend originating from reserve wines.

Of course, it’s ultimately about the juice and the Charles Le Bel Inspiration “1818” Brut NV is a delicious, classic Champagne with fine bead, aromas of baked bread, almond skins, apples, berries and pears. It is clear the winemaking aspect was done by talented cellar masters, with a refined, creamy palate feel, round mid-palate and a crisp but metered finish with touches of minerality and citrus. It’s arrival is perfect timing as, in a market where a number of Champagne producers are pushing up prices even as the euro is at a historic low, we are presenting a new value Champagne option from an unimpeachable source at a great price.

SPARKLING NEWS

We’ve been fans of the unique Champagne styles of Henri Giraud and mentioned their reappearance after a long absence from the marketplace as we talked about their delicious entry-level Henri Giraud Brut Esprit Nature. They put a couple of really interesting higher end efforts on the table this week that deserved their own attention.

The Henri Giraud Brut Hommage Au Pinot Noir NV is 100% Pinot Noir done in an unusual style that sees eleven months in oak followed by six months in tank, an approach that is much more common for white Burgundy. According to Antonio Galloni, “In fact, I have never seen this élevage in Champagne. No matter, though, it all works.” That it does. There’s plenty of savory red fruit to behold, ripe plum skin and dark cherry, and plenty going on with the weight on the palate, silky mousse, and notes of spice. Lifted and fresh, it also gives you some of that vinous character that suggest this could play nicely with a number of dishes. We took an immediate liking to it and thought the style, flair, and distinctiveness of this bubbly more than justified the tab.

Speaking of Champagnes with oak, we had the great fortune to revisit the wine that started it all with us all those years ago. The Henri Giraud Brut Grand Cru Fut de Chene MV 16 gets plenty of attention from the wine media with this version garnering a James Suckling 97, Antonio Galloni 97 and Wine Advocate 95. But it really is ‘all that’ with the 70% new oak creaming out the mid-palate in such a seductive way, the mousse so fine and silky and the finish a bit longer and more complex thanks to the process. A lot of folks don’t know this distinctive bubbly yet because it hasn’t been on the market that long and doesn’t have a ‘marketing team’ behind it like the ‘big brands’. There’s a few folks out there trying to marketing expensive, not that great Champagne with gimmicks and over the top packaging. This, however, is the real deal and we’ll put it up against any Grande Marque. Delicious.

On the other end of the price spectrum, we’ve gotten the newest version of the ‘who says you can’t buy French Champagne for under $20?’, the
Champagne Gouet-Henry Brut NV . It’s a blend of 50% Pinot Meunier, 30% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay done in a clean, fruit-driven style. You’ll probably be seeing an email on this in short order but here’s an early warning. Yes, real Champagne, that tastes like real Champagne, for $19.98.

‘OBLIGATORY’ VALENTINE ROSE CHAMPAGNE’

It’s always interesting to us how the industry not only pushes Champagne during the winter holidays but for Valentine’s Day and June (wedding season, as if there are a lot of people that are going to pour $50-60 French Champagne at a reception). So we’re going tell you upfront that, yeah, it may be a little late to hear about a potential Valentine selection but we are just taking the opportunity to talk about a Champagne we happen to like and is a little something different.

Domaine Jean Vesselle was established in the 1800s and has been cultivating Pinot Noir (mostly) and Chardonnay in the premier area for Pinot in Champagne, Bouzy. They craft “grower” Champagne here, a récoltant-manipulant house that grows its own grapes and makes its own wine all on site. This qualitative difference is crucial for those seeking the ultimate in Champagne flavor and character.

The family’s vineyards are planted to 90% Pinot Noir and 10% Chardonnay, a fidelity to Pinot Noir that’s much greater than other houses in the region. Vines are cared for according to lutte raisonée principles, concentrating mostly on organic practices and avoiding chemical treatments. Vineyard rows are plowed to avoid the use of herbicides. The estate too uses solar energy and recycles rainwater to reduce its energy footprint.

To be up front, the Jean Vesselle Brut Rosé de Saignée NV is not your typical pink sparkler. It is not like the gushingly fruit-forward style of something like Laurent Perrier. It is rather a rose for a more experienced Champagne aficionado and has a wider range of food applications. The difference is the process.

Most pink Champagnes are made by taking still red wine and blending it back into the cuvee to add the color. A rose de saignee gets its color from skin contact. It doesn’t sound like a big deal but it makes a difference in that the finished Champagne has a somewhat more savory streak and more of a red wine aspect to the flavors. The difference is subtle but important, and in this case quite delicious.

The Jean Vesselle Rose de Saignee Brut is made from 100% Pinot Noir with the juice macerated from 24-48 hours on the skins after which the juice is ‘bled off’. It then sees a minimum of three years in the bottle. We’ll finish with a quote from Antonio Galloni on a prior vintage as we believe it tells the story nicely, “The NV Brut Rosé de Saignée is phenomenally beautiful. Crushed flowers, mint, lavender, red berries and cinnamon abound in a rich, vinous Champagne endowed with magnificent depth and intensity. The flavors are deep and resonant, but it is the wine’s bold fruit and supporting minerality that I find absolutely compelling.”

It isn’t rose for occasional sippers, but it is a serious effort that will really push some people’s buttons.

HENRI GIRAUD CHAMPAGNE IS BACK

Well over a decade ago, when we were still producing our written newsletter, there were a lot of folks (including industry people) that read it. It had surprising reach (we even got a report that someone found it in a port-o-poddy in Cabo). In any case we got a call one day from an importer back east, a former customer if memory serves, who wanted to know if we were interested in a limited production Champagne call Henri Giraud, specifically in that case their ‘Fut de Chene’. It was expensive, but it was also glorious and it was fun having it for a time. Unfortunately, thanks to shipping and licensing realities, long distance relationships can be tenuous in this business and we subsequently lost touch with the purveyor. But w never forgot the bubbles.

A year or two, pre-Covid, we were at a restaurant in Las Vegas that had the entry level Henri Giraud on their list. Remembering how good the ‘big dog’ was those years before, we ordered it figuring it was probably worth a look. It was gorgeous and even in a busting restaurant setting it made a big impression…out of a half bottle no less! We remembered and were thrilled when we were presented with the line by a local supplier recently.

Tasting the Henri Girad Brut Nature Esprit here brought back fond memories of what we tasted in the restaurant. This had a beautiful, refined mousse, fresh and dried stone fruit nuance and a biscuit-y edge to the flavors. Lovely stuff. The short story is that the house located in Ay is under the direction of Claude Giraud, the twelfth generation at the helm (the ‘origens’ go back to 1625). The vineyards are farmed sustainably and this cuvee is 80% Pinot Nor and 20% Chardonnay raised in 3-5 year old barrels with “50% of reserve wine in perpetual reserve. Aged for at least 2 years on lees.”

This from Wine Advocate’s William Kelley, ” The latest release of Giraud’s NV Brut Esprit Nature opens in the glass with a lovely bouquet of citrus oil, mandarin, crisp yellow pears, pastry cream and blanched almonds. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, broad and vinous, with racy acids, fine concentration and a compelling sense of integration and harmony. This is a charming, elegant bottling that’s very hard to resist. It comes warmly recommended…92 Points.” Amen to that.

We also have limited stock of the big dogs at present if you are so inclined, the ‘terrific’ Henri Giraud Brut Grand Cru Fut de Chene MV 15 (WA 96) and the ‘extraordinary’ Henri Giraud Brut Grand Cru Aÿ Argonne 2012 (JS 99, WA 98, VM 96+).

ANOTHER GREAT UNDER-THE -RADAR CHAMPAGNE

We’re always open to new faces in Champagne, and this one caught our fancy. Jean-Paul Lancelot gives the appearance of being just a simple vigneron, a man of the earth, a French grower harkening back a couple of generations. That part is true. He is, however the proud owner of 4 hectares of the some of the greatest vines in Champagne. All four of his hectares are in Grand Cru villages Cramant, Avize, Oger and Chouilly.

All of his vines are old, and the Lancelot-Curtois Cuvée Traditionelle is comprised of his two oldest sites. One parcel in Oger, named “Les Monts Chenevaux,” was planted in 1953. The other in Grand Cru Chouilly, named “Les Monts Aigous,” was planted in 1957 and adjoins one of Moet’s principal parcels for Dom Perignon.

Thus this 100% Chardonnay cuvee comes from 60+ year old vines, rather a unique situation in this part of the wine world. This cuvée carried the reference “Vieilles Vignes.” Besides having some very serious dirt, Jean-Paul’s yields are very, very low for Champagne. Given the low yields and important vineyard sources, this Champagne is very attractively priced ($49.98). It costs as much as the mass marketed ‘bruts’ of a number of big name Champagne houses, but clearly the pedigree is much more impressive.

Stylistically this is a crowd pleaser. There’s a big nose of baked apples, brioche, and baking spices. Creamy and polished in the mouth, with a fine bead, this has a round, open texture and plenty of apple, pear, spice, and toast on the palate, delivering lots of forward fruit without an overt amount of sugar. Simply put, this is a round, juicy, imminently likeable Champagne pleases by flashing plenty of aristocratic, classy yet clearly very friendly fruit. A special and very tasty find.

TASTY, NEW ‘GRAND CRU’ BUBBLES

We haven’t changed our view of Champagne which is to seek out small, terroir-centric producers. Why? Well while blending Champagne like the big houses do creates a pleasing, and more consistent bubbly, the blending tends to negate the element of place. In our minds, if a Champagne can give you the desired personality and flash an element of terroir, we feel the entire experience is elevated.

Soutiran is a family producer located in Ambonnay. It began in the 1950s when Gerard Soutiran, after retiring from his military career, created this Champagne label based on lands of his wife, Solange. The third generation, in the form of Gerard’s granddaughter Valerie and her husband Patrick Renaux joined the company in 1999 and ultimately took the helm of the company. The family owns six hectares of vines primarily in the elite village of Ambonnay. The vines are cultivated sustainably and harvested by hand.

We’re always looking for distinctive bubbly and this property’s Soutiran Champagne Grand Cru Signature really caught our attention. It is interesting to note that only 17 of the 320 villages in Champagne are entitled to use the term Grand Cru, which makes them pretty rare by definition. Ambonnay is great terroir for Pinot Noir and, as designated, the grapes here all come from Grand Cru sites. The blend is 45% Pinot Noir and 55% Chardonnay, with 10% of the cuvee seeing time in barrel. This blend is 56% from the outstanding 2012 vintage and 44% is from prior reserve cuvees. It was bottled in 2015 and disgorged in 2020, giving it five years on the lees.

In their notes among the 10 cuvees they produce it states that this is their best seller. We can see why. The nose offers up plenty of generous apple and peach fruit highlighted with notes of toasted brioche. The palate is creamy and the bead is fine, the round, layered apple, pear, peach and toast across the palate is round and engaging while still maintaining the requisite brightness. There is a creaminess and opulence to the fruit that is driven by the Pinot Noir and, certainly to an extent, by the fruit-driven nature of the 2012 vintage.

Lovely, creamy, classy bubbles from a house we weren’t intimately familiar with, this will find many friends. With all the specificity with Champagne reviews (right down to the lot number), we couldn’t find anything on this specific bottling. Others have been well-reviewed, however, and a good bit of this cuvee came from an excellent vintage in 2012. Delish.

A WORD ON BARGAIN CHAMPAGNE

Of all the categories, Champagne (actually sparkling wine in general) is the most difficult to promote on a consistent basis. First off, it is the most ‘brand oriented’ because people feel the need to have the recipient of a gift or the guest know the status of the item. So the marketing is done with that is mind. High profile, non-vintage Champagnes are particularly poor sources of value because the big houses have an orientation to build their prestige via higher pricing (warranted or not) in conjunction with a more significant promotional infrastructure (boots on the ground, tchotchkes, etc.).

Also, because they are non-vintage, the opportunity to talk about this or that bubbly is reduced. Most are blended to achieve a consistent profile via the use of a series of reserve cuvees that can be varied to hit a particular style. This gives the consumer more confidence of course, but offers little in the way of ‘news’ as nothing visibly changes year to year since there are no vintages. It also can be confusing with respect to reviews since there is no vintage. If a Champagne got a 93-point review in 2011, is that review good forever? Of course not, but some people treat it that way.

Some writers try to eliminate the confusion by publishing the disgorgement date they reviewed. Often by the time the review hits the market, usually several months later, that date is no longer available or not in a particular market. So that additional information doesn’t necessarily help most would-be buyers as trying to find that specific bottling is suddenly a source of angst.

There’s plenty of angst in the world already, and Champagne is supposed to be fun. As people who don’t need a holiday, celebration, or any other excuse to pop a bottle of bubbles, and enjoy it in a wide variety of situations like, say, Wednesday night, we’re solely in it for the juice and always on the lookout for bargains in the category. We have talked about Monthuys Brut Reserve before. But it has been a while and we recently tasted it and decided it was time to talk about it again. After all, tasty, legit Champagne for under $25 is always newsworthy whether the vintage changes or not.

Monthuys has been around a long time by our standards. The Baron family itself has been managing vineyards in Champagne since the 17^th Century. They began as grape growers, and transitioned to Champagne producers in 1966 when Gabriel Baron decided to vinify his fruit by himself. The bottles were initially only sold to private customers and local restaurants. The estate developed into 20 hectares of vines nestled in the village of Charly-Sur-Marne, on the west side of Marne Valley.

The cuvee of 60% Pinot Meunier, 30% Chardonnay, and 10% Pinot Noir is selected from the best plots in the region, chalk and clay soils from along the Marne River, and the finished wine is given additional time in the bottle. There’s not a lot of techno-geek fodder as the cellar work is pretty straight forward and they riddle by gyro-pallet. That may not be ‘romantic’ to some but this one delivers plenty for the fare and that ultimately Is the point.

We found it a very pleasing mouthful of apple, peach and pear with a certain ‘biscuit’ aspect to the nose and hints of honey and toast as it finishes. Clean lines, fresh flavors, and a certain roundness in the mouth without being sweet, it hits all of the notes. It’s tasty, real Champagne without the pretense or the price tag ($24.98). Obviously, something like this is worth mentioning again and again.

SLEEK, STYLISH SPARKLERS FROM ITALY

When you sit where we sit, you see all kinds of things that are somewhat off the beaten path for most folks, and you have to occasionally be political because the wines that some people present you are their passion or life’s work. That comes up often with some things, notably the Italian higher-end sparkling wine area known as Franciacorta. Italians love sparkling wine and are very proud of the wines from this region.

Frankly, they are a cut above typical Italian bubbles like Prosecco. But, as a quick generalization, they mainly perform at a compulsory level and typically don’t offer the nuances of terroir aspects of ‘real’ Champagne, but are mostly priced to compete at the same level. When someone pulls a Franciacorta out of their bag, we kind of silently think to ourselves “another OK sparkler that is priced beyond performance.” We don’t usually buy into the Franciacorta is like Champagne rhetoric. We are telling you that because, to our surprise, this time it was different.

The Monte Rossa wines are the complete package. Both of these have the classic fine bead one expects in a premier bubbly, and exceptional balance. But they don’t stop there. There are exciting, fun drinks that show personality and that we can honestly recommend as something to consider as an alternative to real Champagne, something we have rare occasion to do.

The Monte Rossa Franciacorta Brut Blanc de Blancs P.R. NV is produced from 100% Chardonnay, 35% of which is reserve wine, from manually harvested grapes. The grapes are gently pressed and then partially raised in controlled stainless steel, the rest in barrels, after which they see a minimum of 2 years in bottle. Small, energetic bead, insistent apple/pear fruit on the palate with some underlying minerality from the soils, this was a surprise.

Nice notes from Vinous’ Ian D’Igata, “Bright straw. Refined aromas of peach, quince and savory herbs. Then rich, dense and multilayered, offering precise flavors of fresh citrus and orchard fruit. Finishes long and creamy, but bright, and with above-average complexity. Well done…92 Points.”

The Blnc de Blanc really got our attention but, truth be told, it was the rose that got sealed the deal for us. The Monte Rossa Franciacorta Rosé Flamingo NV is a blend of 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir with all of the other components being handled the same. Lots of joyous ripe strawberry here both in the nose and flavor, fine bubbles and a rather gregarious personality. They refer to it as Flamingo and the ‘rose that never sleeps’ as there is a story where the proprietors of the winery spent time in Las Vegas with Frank Sinatra.

That’s the end of our ‘People Magazine’ edge to the story. For us it’s always about the juice, which is pleasing stuff. From Ian d’Igata of Vinous, “Luminous salmon-pink. Strawberry and violet on the enticing nose. Enters saline and fleshy, offering small red berry and cherry flavors that turn slightly austere on the long finish, which features repeating violet and raspberry nuances. Very pretty wine complicated by a lingering mineral element...92 points.”

As the opening paragraph might indicate, it is pretty unusual for us to recommend Franciacortas because the price/performance interplays are typically not quite what we are looking for. These, however, are really fun beverages, with kind of ‘party in a bottle’ personalities, and really deliver vis-a-vis other sparkling wine alternative at these prices.