WANTED: Your Sweet Champagne and Sparkler Recommendations Please

WINE TALK
1

Berserkers,

Berserkers,

Picking your brains and palates for sweeter Champagnes and other quality sparklers. A while back at a sparkling wine get-together which was posted about here, I tried a fabulous Moet & Chandon Nectar Imperial semi-sweet champagne. I loved it. It was real champagne with a touch of sweetness but not too sweet. Further research shows the Veuve Cliquot Demi-Sec is also out there which is just as sweet.

Is there any other sweeter genuine Champagnes I should look for out there? While I enjoy a decent sweet sparkler like a Moscato D’Asti or Brachetto D’Acqui – heck, I even enjoy the very commercial The Beachhouse sparkling Chenin Blanc – I am starting to find them a touch one-dimensional as they obviously lack the complexity of a true Champagne. Man, I can still taste the toasty goodness from the lees of that Nectar Imperial even as I write this…


I am also interested in any other sweeter styled sparklers you may all have to recommend that would actually be of quality and have some complexity to them. So what are your recommends? Looking forward to the responses. [cheers.gif]

2

Margaine Demi Sec Champagne is very good and only a touch sweet
Brun FRV is sweeter but delicious and inexpensive
Rendardat Fache Bugey - ditto

Though I’ll admit my thoughts usually turn to Bera Moscato d’Asti when I’m looking for sweet and sparkling.

3

Try a Sparkling Shiraz. I’ve had the E&E and it was unique. I don’t like Shiraz as a genre, but this was a wine that I really enjoyed with a cheese course. I don’t think it’s high in RS, but has an element of sweetness from the fruit and alcohol and lower acidity than a Champagne (that’s my guess).

Cheers,
fred

4

Jean Milan Cuvée Tendresse…Grand Cru Blanc de Blanc with significant dosage.

5

Also, might be hard to find but DOc Recioto di Soave Spumante does exist. INSANE!

6

If I want my Champagne sweetened up I usually just throw in a little Cassis or Limoncello.

7

Though Demi-Sec is not my favorite category of Champagne, several years ago I had a credible Billecart-Salmon Demi-Sec NV.

As for sweet sparklers, the first of the dessert-course-wine-pairings at Alinea, two years ago, was Elio Perrone Bigaro: a fruity, sweet, frizzante rose blend of Moscato and Brachetto. It was a big hit at the table.

8

Saracco Moscato d’Asti (inexpensive sweet sparking wine from Piedmont, Italy)
Braida (Giacomo Bologna) Brachetto d’Acqui (rose colored sparkling wine from Piedmont, Italy)

9

From the Loire: Jean Francois Merieau Touraine “Bulles” is a terrific Sparkler. The 2002 is only $23.

10

Domaine Huet in Loire has a number of sweet sparklers.

11

NV Billecart-Salmon Demi-Sec: reasonably priced and delicious.

12

We need to bring back MOET & CHANDON PETITE LIQUOR !!! I emailed M & C last night
and got this;
“We are sorry to inform you that the"Petite Liquorelle/Petite Liqueur” is not produced anymore (andthus, since several years, at least 15 years) and will not be reintroduced."

This was some great little stuff, brandy & champagne combined, LOVED IT !

Let’s see the POWER OF WB ??
SIC 'EM !
CONTACT/FR-EPERNAY-M​OET/MOET@acacia.lvmh​.com

13

In the non Champagne category:

Bera Vittorio E. Figli Moscato d’Asti Canelli: Complex Moscato d’Asti may sound like an oxymoron, but this is the real deal.

Huët Vouvray Pétillant Brut: World class. It’s not Champagne, and it’s chenin blanc, but unless you’re drinking the label instead of the wine this stacks up against the best.

Renardat-Fâche Vin du Bugey-Cerdon Méthode Ancestrale Demi-Sec: This is absolutely delightful. If you can find it, grab a bottle and give it a try.

-1 on the Petite Liqueur.

M @ r k

14

Jacques Selosse Exquise is truly exquisite but its more of a sec than a demi-sec but certainly off dry.

15

Thanks for all the recommendations, everyone. Interestingly, as if in seeming answer to my prayers at the altar of WIne Berserkers, the Queen’s Quay today put in four champagnes in their tasting bar machine… including both the Nectar Imperiale and the Veuve Cliquot Demi-Sec! flirtysmile

So of course I tried them. The Moet was just as good as I remember but the Cliquot was a slight tad better! For comparison, I also tried the dry Rosé and Brut champagnes as well which also happened to be from Moet and Cliquot. A brilliant choice to put them all together for sampling.

The interesting thing I found is that side by side I found the added residual sugar really brought out the earthiness and lees/toasty flavors more while in the dry champagnes I could taste much more crispness and acidity. The “sweet” champagnes really weren’t that sweet but I could definitely tell the difference the RS made on the final product. Huge props and respect for both styles.

Regarding complex Moscato D’Astis, I am also a believer in them as I have found the Bera Su Reimond single vineyard and Enrico Serafino Moscatos to be above and beyond.

I would have loved to have tried the Moet Petite Liquor as I just got into Ratafia myself.

16

Surprised by multiple recommendations of Huet Petillant. Sweet, really? I’ve drunk cases without noticing. I guess I’ll just have to open one to test. Yippee! :slight_smile:

I’d second Moscato from Bera or Marcarini, or Cerdon de Bugey from Renardat-Fache (or Kermit’s guy)