sparkling

NEW ‘FRENCH’ BUBBLY IN AMERICA

It has been a very long time since the first invasion of California by a French Champagne house, Chandon, way back in the 70s. Many more have come since. But over time a lot of the prices have edged up to the point where one can find actual French Champagne for the same kind of prices. This new offering from Pommery serves as an exciting new and well priced option for the genre.

We have sold the French Pommery Champagne off and on for years. But we saw the Louis Pommery Reserve Brut NV California bottling for the first time just recently, and it fills a niche that, at present, isn’t really being addressed…a good California sparkler under $20. As we know with the French, that value factor could change tomorrow. But for the time being this is a find and is definitely made to be a fruit forward, crowd pleasing, easy style.

Maybe we are picky but, while the French Pommery announces their founding in 1857, there is no specific statement on when this program began (there is also an English version in the UK) or where the grapes come from. One can presume that ‘grapes carefully selected across California vineyards’ is about as much info as they are going to provide. They did make the point that this cuvee is 100% Chardonnay and that the production was overseen by Clement Pierlot, the current chef de caves at Champagne Pommery. But, you know us, in the end it’s about the juice and this French inspired domestic sparkler is pretty appealing on that score.

The bubbles are refined and the mousse is creamy. The nose offers bright scent of green apples and citrus tones with a whiff of minerality. The palate is fairly generous while still bright and lifted and it finishes with notes of yellow stone fruits. You wouldn’t necessarily guess domestic at first and, once you get into it, you likely won’t care. It fills the bill nicely for a good price ($19.98).

NEW, FUN BUBBLES FROM AN OLD ‘FRIEND’

One could spend time debating what makes for the best bubbly, but on most days for most of us, something that is clean, interesting, and not prohibitively expensive is never a bad choice. Sometimes you just want some good fizz or even just make a cocktail. With that in mind, we are always looking for some thing new, different, and moderately priced for the selection. A new surprise from a old label handed us one of the more interesting options we have seen in quite a while.

Chateau Moncontour Sparkling Vouvray Cuvee Prediliction 2016 struck a really nice balance between lift, bright flavors, refined bubbles, and palate interest. Made from 100% Chenin Blanc, it manages to show varietal nuance of citrus and peach, with some underlying chalky terroir notes, with fine bubbles, clarity of flavors, and a clean finish.

If you were fortunate enough to have the stunning Huet sparkler we had last year, this one shows a lot of the same nuance at close to half the price. Don’t confuse this one with their non-vintage, regular cuvee as this one much brighter and more focused and only a couple bucks more. It’s clean, crisp, and dry, and at a perfect tab for much more casual applications. We find it a bit more defined than most similarly priced domestic bubblies. You don’t have to tell folks it wasn’t expensive.

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.

A NEW ‘OLD’ NAME IN CALIFORNIA BUBBLY

PAULA KORNELL BRUT

It has been a long time since we have found anything new and interesting to talk about regarding domestic bubbly.

This particular item comes along at just the right time in the marketplace. Part of the problem with domestic sparklers is that the players never change, the quality doesn’t seem to get much better and the prices keep edging up. For that reason the success of this launch is important for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to add a interesting new option to a somewhat unexciting cast of characters, and maybe a little quality improvement and price reductions to potentially liven up a static category.

That’s a lot of pent up hope to lay on one producer. We have chronicled a precious few new domestic sparkling wine sources over the years that have done a fine job with the bubbles themselves, but have priced themselves into competition with top French Champagne houses with the predictable result of not getting much lasting traction in the marketplace. Paula Kornell has the right idea in taking her talents to the public with a tasty, affordable sparkler.

As a number of you have figured out, Paula Kornell herself is something of an insider in the wine business. Hans Kornell, who’s sparkling wine cellar was highly visible in the Napa Valley until its closure in 1992, was her father. Paula herself spent time in both retail and hospitality before returning to the family estate in 1982. After a number of years on winery, and vintners boards, world traveling, and charitable work, she opened a consulting firm in 2014. Subsequently, the first sparkler was made in 2017 and the Paula Kornell brand was launched two years later.

As we often say, you never know if a label will stand the test of time. But she is off to one heck of a start. There are two bottlings, this one and a more ‘reserve’ level Napa Valley Blanc de Noir. It was this Paula Kornell California Brut that got our attention for a number of reasons, mostly for value performance in the category. Fine bead, the fruit component was fresh and engaging, and the wine was impeccably clean from start to finish and showed a bit of personality.

The hard part will be getting the word out that there’s a potentially important new player in the game if this first effort is any indication of where this project is going. Most of the reviewers don’t talk about California bubblies because there is little in the way of ‘news’. In all fairness, it’s the same producers making non-vintage ‘house style’ sparklers year in and year out. Someone new coming into this section of the marketplace, particularly with the kind of family history that Paula Kornell has, is definitely worth a few lines.

We did find some nice words in the Wine Enthusiast that did hit the key points here, “This inaugural release is stunning and incredibly impressive—a wine well worth stocking up on for the price and quality. A beautiful jasmine aroma leads to marzipan, peach and cherry flavors as lively acidity envelopes the palate. It’s a blend of 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir…94 Points.” A wine like this has a large potential audience available to them if subsequent efforts hit the same quality level. As to this one, if you are buying one of those ubiquitous California sparklers or widely distributed Spanish cavas, you definitely need to give this one a spin.