I didn't know what to expect when I headed over to Solano Cellars for their winter sparkling wine extravaganza, but when the host greeted me with a cravat made out of bubble wrap, I was sure it was going to be a good time. A far broader range than I would have expected, including sparklers from France (both Champagne and not), Spain, Italy, and Portugal, and most notably from a variety of grapes, not just the normal suspects of pinot noir, chardonnay, pinot meunier, macabeo, parellada, and xarello, and even the welcome chenin blanc, but grapes I've never had before such as durello, marcia gomes, and mauzac. And lots of useful info from the folks pouring the wines. Very cool time.
A fantastic start was the importer pouring the N.V. Domaine de Labarthe Gaillac Brut (Gaillac, France) which he informed me was not only from the Mauzac grape (with which I was unacquainted) but that it was produced by the Méthode Gaillacoise. Which, if I understood it right, means that rather than completing two fermentations, the wine's primary fermentation is artificially halted (by cooling it down) before it is bottled and allowed to continue fermenting in bottle. Evidently a similar process is used to make Clairette de Die from the Rhône Valley, which should be interesting as I happened to pick up a bottle of that earlier in the week. As for the wine, it had a funky interesting nose, sweaty socks and gasoline and tasted heavy, fruity sweet. This indeed was a very different wine. Some crisp mineral elements as well, it was bizarre but very likable. An interesting start. $20 makes it a worthy experiment. The importer then poured the N.V. A. R. Lenoble Champagne Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru which had a tight focused nose with quite a mineral focus and tasted creamy, delicious and stony. Grand, grand stuff. Some were surprised to learn no barrel fermentation was involved. I just found it to be wow and ideal. $38 is not a bad deal for such a wine.
Onto pourer number two (who happened to be an acquaintance) for a pour of the N.V. Luis Pato Espumante Maria Gomes Bruto which might well be the first sparkling wine I've had from Portugal. The grapes are 95 percent Maria Gomes (which I've never had before) and 5 percent Arinto, and though there is no vintage listed, the producer explains on the back label that all the grapes were harvested in 2007 and the wine doesn't list a vintage 'to observe the legal norm.' What's up with that? Portuguese experts? Anyway, the nose on this one was fascinatingly different as well. Creamy and carrots. It was delicious. Deluxe layering of tastes, cranberry, tartness, thanksgiving dinner, soft and rounded with bare bubble presence, finish of rocks/cranberry/stones/saltwater. This wine was rocking and it was only $17. Bravo! Then onto the 2005 Josep Maria Raventós i Blanc Cava L'Hereu Brut with the usual blending suspects of Macabeo-Xarel-lo-Parellada. Pretty basic nose here and tasted flatter rounded faded honey. Lacked freshness for me, but it was shocking how different it was from most Cava I've had in the past. It was more integrated and less sharp at points, which was nice, but not my thing for $23.
Onto France, but not quite Champagne with the 2006 Jean-Marc Brocard Crémant de Bourgogne Blanc de Noirs Brut. The nose here was heavier and a bit candied and the taste was heavier, saltier (which I liked), and with a nice fade and light rocks at moments. Nice, but not screaming anything particular to me for $28. The 2006 Vincent Carême Vouvray Brut, on the other hand, was quite a Chenin Blanc from the Loire. A nose of a hummus and honey sandwich with just a few leafs of greens for a crunch and tasting delicate and fantastic, multilayered. If a really nice bed-and-breakfast were to make you lunch, they would make you a sandwich and this wine is exactly what that sandwich would taste like—a touch of heaven here, and only $24. Go Chenin!
Quite a bit of good conversation with the next pourer laying out the Champagne for the hardy. First was the N.V. L. Aubry Fils Champagne Brut 1er Cru (Jouey Les Reims) which was a blend of 40 percent Chardonnay, 40 percent Pinot Meunier, and 20 percent Pinot Noir. (This might have been the one that included a field blend of the other local grapes still allowed, but rarely used, in Champagne—can't tell from my notes.) Lots of hard core apple on the nose and though there were crisp and yeasty elements, this was basically an apple in a bottle. Too green and too narrow for my tastes, so a pass at $47. The N.V. H. Billiot Champagne Brut Reserve Grand Cru (Ambonnay) had a base of 80 percent Pinot Noir and a blend of 50 percent from 2005 and 25 percent each for 2004 and 2003. A bit tight and slightly sweet on the nose, the mousse stood out as incredibly light and delicate—very impressive mouthfeel. It tasted crisp, yeasty, and delicious. I really liked the balance on this one, but $62 is steep for my tastes. Even steeper was the N.V. Vilmart Champagne Premier Cru Rosé Brut, with a nose that didn't capture my interest, but tasted delicate, structured, light and crisp. Like drinking delicate rose petals. A kiss of deliciousness--$75, but oh what a kiss! Barrel-fermented on that one.
Onto the next pourer and the familiar N.V. Lucien Albrecht Crémant d'Alsace Brut Rosé which I agreed made a great food wine as I had it with salmon once before. This time I noticed the strawberry nose, the delicate/foamy and light approach which meshed nicely with the acid. Sweeter and delicate. A simpler wine for $23, oh were it cheaper! More yeast on the nose of the N.V. Bollinger Champagne Special Cuvée Brut which was a blend of 60 percent Pinot Noir and 20 percent each of Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. Delicate is overused in these notes, but, yeah it was delicate. Moreso it had an incredible tart background that played off of the yeasty foreground beautifully. This was my kind of wine. Evidently low dosage among the big Champagne producers and they own about 60 to 70 percent of the vineyards they source their grapes from. Talk then shifted to a prephylloxera vines-sourced version that folks talk about in hushed tones (well, okay, not really, as nobody had ever tasted it). I think the total amount allocated to the state of California was in the single digits. Well, gives folks with dough something to spend it on, I suppose. The $55 for this version, however, was not a bad deal at all.
Onto the next pourer and the N.V. Germain Gilabert Cava Brut Nature from the usual suspects of Macabeo-Xarel-lo-Parellada. Meh. Not the best order for this poor wine, but still it seemed to have an offputting metallic nose, and tasted tart, green and overly powerful. It might be okay, but I won't be seeking it out, even for $16. I realized I had missed the Italian and before I moved onto the sweet finale, I sought out the N.V. Cantina di Montecchia di Crosara Lessini Durello Spumante Brut (Veneto). New grape again, with Durello (which someone told me had once been confused with the Nosiola of Trentino, but, no, it's its own grape. Light nose, wafting mineral and steel and it has my interest. Tasting delicate stones, acid, crispness. There seems to be a bit more of that apple acid, but also something very different which I found intriguing Pretty tasty stuff. For $15, it certainly seems worth a roll. Finally back to the end for the N.V. Reymos Valencia Espumoso de Moscatel (Valencia, Spain) which totally reminded me of a Moscato d'Asti or some such. Low alcohol of 7.5% and plenty of sweetness but also some slight layering of flavors that made me reconsider my initial suspicion. Not my favorite, but certainly not without interest, even for those whose tastes don't lean so sweet. Which may not have been many, as many seemed to pick up a few at $16 on the way out. An interesting line up all around.