The Cellar: Sparkling Wines for New Year’s Eve
Saturday, December 31, 2011
In case you need inspiration for choosing a sparkling wine for tonight, here are three wonderful values for you to choose from. They are all top quality sparklers made the traditional “Champagne’ way where the secondary fermentation (the one that gives the wines the bubbles we all know and love) takes place inside the bottle. Seek, buy, enjoy... and Happy New Year.
Graham Beck Brut, Western Cape, South Africa
The Non-Vintage Brut Sparkling Wine from Graham Beck is an awesome sparkling wine widely available for under $20. This wine was recently rated 89 points by Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar for its
flavorful hints of tropical fruit and extraordinary depth. It is a 54% Pinot Noir / 46% Chardonnay blended sparkler which has spent 18 months resting on the lees before being bottled giving the wine a mouth filling medium body. Graham Beck is by no means a small producer, in that his 1,000 acres (spread over 4 farms) grows everything from Riesling to Syrah and makes sparkling wines, as well as still and dessert wines. This particular sparkling wine is probably one of the best under $20 sparkling wine values out there this holiday season, and is one I highly recommend you seek out.
2006 Westport Rivers RJR Brut, Massachusetts
The folks at Westport Rivers, located right here in Southern New England, are celebrating their 25th anniversary this year. If you haven’t tried their sparkling wines yet you don’t know what you are missing (i.e. make
this New Year’s Eve the occasion) Made from grapes grown right here in New England, their 2006 ‘RJR’ Brut is a delicious inexpensive sparkler filled with green fruits, subtle toast and mouthwatering acidity. Westport Rivers is a small, 80 acre family-owned business currently operated by the 4th generation. Over the past years their quality wines have been awarded with numerous medals and been raved about by local, national and international press. Should be available for around $25. GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST
Thierry Triolet Brut, Champagne, France
Thierry Triolet runs a small family House in the southernmost part of France’s Champagne region. While selling the majority of his grapes to the Champagne powerhouse Krug, Thierry keeps enough to himself to
make 40,000 bottles under his own brand from the 27 acres of vines he owns in Bethon. Triolet is a well-known and respected name in the region, with several family members running their own small vineyards; Thierry and his wife have been running their small House since the 1960’s. For around $35 the Thierry Triolet Non-Vintage Brut is probably the best value out of Champagne this season. Made from 65% Chardonnay and 35% Pinot Noir, its deliciously rich yeasty flavors are sure to win you over, especially when the hint of residual sugar creeps up on you before being taken over by a long, dry, yet mouthwatering finish. No wonder this wine was the crowd favorite in the recent “Evening with Wine” blind tasting event.
Enjoy & Happy New Year!
Steffen Rasch CSW is ready to answer any wine-related questions, comments or concerns you may have. Feel free to email him at [email protected]. And as always, don’t forget to follow GoLocalProv’s Wine Cellar on Facebook.
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