This tasting was hosted by the fabulous Melody Jones in her lovely courtyard. The spread was devine, the group was jovial, and the wines were super fun, as sparkling wines always are. Note that this tasting did not include champagne. I did this for 2 reasons: 1) champagne is expensive, and by leaving it out completely, no one spent too much for 1 bottle; 2) champagne deserves its own tasting, which I'm working on fitting in one of these days. Below is a wrap up of the various bottles we tried and what we thought of them. Enjoy!
1. Piper Sonoma, Blanc de Noir. Piper and Piper Heidsick are well-known champagne producers who bought some primo real estate in Sonoma County, Ca to make this new brand of sparkling wine. The "Blanc de Noir" or "white from black" literally means that all of the juice was from Pinot Noir grapes. This means that the flavor will have more berry notes than your typical champagne style blend.
I found this wine much too fruity and unbalanced, or lacking a mineral quality that would have made the finish much more crisp. $15: not a bad price for the name, but ultimately I would not recommend this.
2. Mumm Napa, Brut Prestige. Another famous champagne producer (Mumm) who bought US land and now makes a less expensive line of sparkling wines. However, they did it much better than Piper. A strong mineral presence really balances this wine. I don't know if it's the Napa land, but this bottle definitely compared with real champagnes and was the hit of the party. For $17, totally worth the $$, especially if you're planning on subbing for the real thing. Note the "Brut" designation means "bone dry." No sweetness here. It also paired well with everything, from the rich triple cream cheese, to the smoked salmon, to the shrimp curry. Delish!
3. Sofia, Francis Coppola, Blanc de blanc, 2004, California. This is the second selection from the famed filmaker we've tried this year, and I am still waiting to be impressed. This bottling, named after his director daughter, Sofia, is made from the juice of "blanc de blanc" or "white from white." You can then guess that all of the grapes used were white wine grapes, which impart more apple/pear/peach/citrus flavors, depending on which grapes were used. Chardonnay is usually the best bet since they are easy to grow and harvest and make for nice sparklers. The pear and apple flavors were there, but the finish was rather bitter, then just abruptly ends. For $22, forget it. The bottle is pretty tho...
4. Zardetto, Prosecco, Brut. Off to Italy. This popular drink (especially in mixers like the Bellini) did not win any fans here. In fact, the overly herbaceous and highly chlorine-like wine was the dog of the tasting. Yuk...go for a more expensive brand I assume.
5. Henkel, Trocken Sekt. In World War II, the Germain Kaiser named this as superior to French Champagne. However, that didn't stop German soldiers from pillaging and drinking most of what they found in the underground caves in Epernay and Reims, France. A notable citrus quality, kinda sweet, not a super winner. But, not bad for $10. Think of this when having grandma over for brunch. About $10.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)