Loire sparklers

[Scoop]

I recently went to an interesting tasting of Loire sparklers, the "Fines Bulles" (fine bubbles), as the Loire Valley folks like to call them, covering six AOCs: Samur Brut, Vouvray, Montloius sur Loire, Cremant de Loire (the most rigorous of the AOCs, which covers all the regions), Touraine Mousseux and Anjou Mousseux.

Made in the "traditional (i.e. Champagne) method", these sparklers are not just Champagne knock-offs or wannabees: they have character and qualities all their own, much of it coming from Chenin Blanc (the dominant white grape) and Cabernet Franc, as well as the tufa-laced soils.

To generalize, these wines tend to be less rich and complex, and more fruit-driven, than Champagne, with interesting minerality and even some woodsy, mushroomy notes. It is also hard to find any of these over $20, with most in the $10-18 range, making them nice, relatively inexpensive bubbles for the holidays.

A few of the highlights:

Domaine de la Haute Borne
Vouvray Cuvee Ancestrale NV
100% Chenin Blanc

Made in a pre-Traditional Method process (no unfermented juice is added for the second fermentation), this sparkler is lightly carbonated and bone dry, with a wonderful lemon/citrus quality on the palate. Sushi anyone?

Domaine des Baumard
Cremant de Loire "Cuvee Millesime" 2000
60% Chenin, 40% Chardonnay

A vintage product from a famous Savennieres producer, this was the belle of the ball: brut style, clean, full, balanced, green fruits, long finish. Really elegant, and a bargain at $18 retail. The most Champagne-like of the bunch, I guess -- no surprise given the Chard percentage -- but that's not a fault.

Domaine de las Taille au Loups
Montlouis sur Loire, NV
100% Chenin Blanc

Beautifully mineral, like walking into a limestone cave. Long finish. At $21 retail, this was the most expensive of the tasting.

Domaine Allias
Vouvray Demi-Sec, NV
100% Chenin

A true demi-sec, this biodynamic, off-dry version had a pronounced gunpowder nose, followed by a nice peachy palate. Great food wine here.

Chateau de Moncontour
Vouvray "Predilection" 2001
100% Chenin

Most unique of the tasting: Leesy, mushroomy nose, amplified on the palate, but clean and very long, with a lemony finish. Where's the mushroom tart!?

Langlois-Chateau
Cremant de Loire Rose Brut, NV
100% Cabernet Franc

Nice Cab Franc character; faint red Zinger and rasberry on the nose; rasberries and herbs on the palate. Very clean finish. Superb food wine. Tea-smoked duck please.

So, a nice tour it was. It's a very low risk/high return prospect to try some of these wines -- hope you can come across a few.

Cheers,

Scoop