TASTING GROUP SPOUSE NIGHT - BUBBLES - Mark E’s. (7/26/2017)
Last night was our annual spouse night with my tasting group. Last year the theme was “Trader Joe’s Favorites”. It was a poor attempt to show our wives that we can control our wine spending. Needless to say, some wives were not impressed, so this year, we upped it to “Favorite Sparklers $20 to $40”. Everyone brought two bottles. Our host provided lots of apps, cheeses, sandwiches and sushi to go along with the wines. There was a wide range of wines but for the most part, the quality correlated with price. In this price range, it turned out to be $18 to $53, that is not surprising. All of the wines were drinkable to great, but nothing really stole the show as a great value either. Luckily the weather cooperated as temps were in the upper 60’s and we hung out on the back patio and enjoyed the wines, non blind, over 3 hours.
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2010 Brice Champagne Grand Cru Brut Bouzy - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Our host opened with this and it was the WOTN. $53. Light gold in color. The nose is slight biscuit, slight seltzer with a creamy kind of mineral quality (yes, to the nose). A bit of slight red fruit as well.
All of these slight qualities actually add up to a pretty intense nose.
Lots of tiny bubbles/froth. On the palate, this is more mineral driven than fruit. It has good cut. There are some faint cherries. The finish is long. It does turn ever so sweet on the finish. Someone said they found a bitterness in this. I didn’t agree unless they were talking about the minerality. (93 pts.) -
2013 Argyle Vintage Brut - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Pale green/gold in color. The nose is interesting and very different from the Bouzy. Floral notes and apples on the nose. Nice froth with a lot of tiny bubbles. On the palate, this has a nice refreshing acidity. Some apples carry thru and also some seltzer. Not a ton of depth but some. Lingering finish. A sample at the end of the night was better so this may need some air. $25 is a good value for this. (90 pts.) -
NV Domaine de l’Ecu (Guy Bossard) Crémant de Loire La Divina Brut - France, Loire Valley, Crémant de Loire
A couple people seemed to really like this for being different. Others felt there was nothing here. I was in sort of a middle ground. Not great and for $20, there is a lot better, but it was ok and worth drinking IMO. Made from Melon de Bourgogne. White gold in color. The nose has lanolin and slight peach. A fair amount of smallish bubbles. A bit flabby on the palate. Some minerals, some peach, mostly nondescript. $20. (86 pts.) -
NV Charles Mignon Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée Comte de Marne - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
This was quite good as well. Silvery gold in color. The nose was interesting. Cinnamon at the attack followed by red apples and then minerals. On the palate this is both chalky and some light strawberries. Nice body. Very clean wine. Good acidity. Nice crispness. Long finish. Not sure of the Lot No., but this was drinking very well. Good value at $39. (91 pts.) -
NV Roederer Estate Brut Rosé Anderson Valley - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley
Always a pretty solid wine. Pink/orange in color. The nose has peaches and a slight strawberry. A nice mousse with a lot of smallish bubbles. On the palate, tart red berries. This is actually quite tart and really begged for some food. Long finish. (88 pts.) -
NV L’exeption d’Aimery Crémant de Limoux - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Crémant de Limoux
Very pale pink in color (I think, it was getting dark outside). The nose has some peaches on it. On the palate, slightly bitter. A bit of orange citrus. This is more about fruit than minerals. I believe someone said it was Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Chenin Blanc. Interesting for the Languedoc. I didn’t get the pricing but suspect it is at most $20. (88 pts.) -
NV Mionetto Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore - Italy, Veneto, Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG
Solid Prosecco. In retrospect, I might have bumped this up in the order. It came off as light and fruity which was probably accurate but accentuated by coming after some more mineral driven wines. Silvery gold in color. The nose has pears, and a slight saline quality to it. On the palate, pears, apples but not much depth. Refreshing and easy. Clean finish. $18. (87 pts.) -
2011 Gramona Cava La Cuvee Gran Reserva Brut - Spain, Cava
This seemed a bit old to me. Light gold in color. The nose had pears but a slight oxidized/bitter note. Not a ton of bubbles. On the palate, the pears carry thru slightly but not a lot. There is also a bit of oxidation. Its is certainly still worth drinking but I would drink these sooner than later. Finishes flat. (86 pts.) -
NV Shingleback Shiraz Black Bubbles - Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale
Trent brought this as somewhere between a joke and let’s see if this is any good. Yeah, I don’t really like sparkling shiraz and this one was in line with that. I think others liked it more although most of the positive comments had to do with its appearance and not taste. Inky purple with a electric purple froth of smallish bubbles. On the nose, its ok with black raspberries and a bit of leather/roasted meats. On the palate, this was vile to me. Undrinkable. A bitter mess. I hate to score this as others may like it, but it would get a failing grade from me. I dumped mine (sorry Trent), luckily it was a small pour.
Thanks to Mark and Marilyn for hosting. A good time was had by all.
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