Two very good New World offerings

[tomstevenson]

Hi everyone. Great welcome, thanks.
Bucko, you have me typed, I am indeed a Champagne tart. I don't mind barrel-fermented fruit, providing the accent is on fruit rather than barrel. And barrel-fermented aromas are by definition finer and more complex than simple oak characteristics. Le Reve is in fact 100% barrel-fermented and 100% malolactic. Just done with a lighter hand. Butterscotch can come exclusively from malolactic, but you're right of course, it is more often caused by a combination of diacetyl and caramelised oak characteristics. I know that you did not state the wine was dominated by butterscotch, I merely said that in my opinion you should not be able pick up a malolactic "aroma or flavour, particularly one as dominant as butterscotch" on a sparkling wine. Even as "underlying hints" butterscotch is simply too obvious. There are occasions when I have recommended a sparkling wine with hints of butterscotch (and oak, butter or other overt signs of malolactic), but I think that in all such cases I have qualified this with the fact that it would have scored higher without these characteristics, which merely distract from the wine's potential finesse.

[This message has been edited by tomstevenson (edited 07-15-2001).]