RAISE A GLASS
I MAKE no apology for talking about fizz this week. I know, there isn’t any particular reason to celebrate, but if you can’t enjoy a glass of fizz now and again then life would be a bit dull.
My favourite wine of the summer has been Lidl’s Crémant de
Bourgogne (£7.99) which has picked up a few awards and lots of popular praise. Sadly it won’t be on the shelves after September as new seasonal wines will take its place, but I’ll be buying a few bottles before then!
I love crémant, which is a French sparkling wine made in the same traditional way as champagne; so you can sip a wonderful complex fizz but not at champagne prices. If you don’t know what I mean by “traditional” then this is what happens.
A base wine is made from the chosen grapes, then the wine is added to a bottle with yeast and sugar where a second fermentation takes place.
Carbon dioxide is produced by this fermentation, producing the bubbles we all love. The longer the yeast is left in contact with the wine after fermentation, the more complex flavours become. Crémant appears in various guises including Crémant de Loire, Crémant de Bourgogne, Crémant de Limoux and Crémant de Bordeaux. There’s a good selection of crémant wines in UK stores, but so many people I’ve spoken to just aren’t aware of them. Here’s a handful to seek out.
LaCheteau Crémant de Loire Rose (£14.99, Ocado, 12% abv) is a fizz delight with raspberry and red fruit aromas and flavours. It is made from cabernet franc grapes sourced from Anjou and Touraine in the Loire Valley. It’s lovely and dry too. Staying in Ocado, Arthur Metz Crémant d’Alsace (£14.99, 12%
abv) is created from pinot blanc grapes and delivers a flurry of fine bubbles with notes of fresh apples and pears and dried, crisp apples with fruity intensity. Exquisite Cremant du Jura (£7.99, Aldi, 12% abv) is a stalwart buy of mine. Made entirely from chardonnay, it has a good crispness of green apples with a steady flow of bubbles.
I’LL move away from crémant and suggest a couple of extra ways to put bubbles in your life. Pata Negra Vintage Cava (Aldi, 11.5% abv) is one of 24 wines newly arrived in Aldi and, just like crémant, cava is made in the traditional way.
This wine’s translation means ‘the best of the best’ and at £6.99 you can’t complain. It has notes of butter, honey, squidgy apples and has a creamy mouthfeel.
Finally, it was apt that I shared a couple of glasses of G.H. MUMM Le Rosé Champagne (RRP £45, widely available,
12% abv) with my daughter. It’s not often we share mummy time as we live so far apart and this champagne was a spot-on way to celebrate. Vanilla, red fruits, a subtlety of bramble fruits and a hint of toast combine in this elegant champagne blend of pinot noir (60%) chardonnay and pinot meunier.
Have a fizztastic week.