Tasting Notes - Stellar sparklers for the Spring Carnival
Taste Food and Wine 2009 by Matthew Jukes and Tyson Stelzer
Spring Carnival is here and it wouldn't be racing without bubbles. With the help of the lads from Taste Food and Wine 2009 we've selected 11 stellar sparklers and champagnes across the price spectrum, which are guaranteed to bring some delicious fizz to your day at the races.
Jacob’s Creek Sparkling Shiraz NV $14.00
This finely-tuned leviathan of a company has done it again, this time with a wine that every bloody person has a go at, but so few companies can actually, truly, make well. Over the last few years we have always managed to find a handful of JC wines worthy of inclusion in this imperial list and this inexpensive red sprinted into place without so much as a glance over its shoulder at the flagging competition.
The stunning, briary, beautifully balanced, dry-but-not-tannic, themes here work so well. We have virtually no other sparkling reds in our list this year and this wine is one of the reasons why. When you can buy JCSS for $14 bucks, why would you spend twice as much on a wine that’s half as good? Black plums, pepper and spice abound and the juiciness is cut with savoury spice – WOW.
Taltarni Brut 2006 $20.00
It’s unlikely that a bargain bubbles could compete with the big boys when it’s made by a small, boutique producer more famous for big, robust red wines. But Taltarni is fast becoming the bubbles to be seen with. This clean, fresh, citrus-accented style is just the thing as an aperitif and it will also see you right through the night when you're out on the razz.
Jansz Tasmania Premium Non vintage Cuvée NV $24.00
You would expect a company that makes such brilliant rosé bubbles as Jansz to be able to nail the white, too. And, guess what, they did! While many of its rivals are blends from everywhere, this wine is made purely from Tasmanian fruit, giving it a zest that edges it further into consumate elegance than the pack.
Jansz Tasmania Premium Non Vintage Rosé NV $26.00
Jansz is one of the best producers of sparkling wines outside of Champagne itself and trying to nail the rosé style is always going to be a challenge – even the big boys in Champs struggle, save for a few true experts (see below). So when this firm, buttock-tighteningly fresh, yet ever so elegant pink elixir hits our glasses we did a treble-take, and proceeded not to spit it out, unlike several thousand other samples! C’mon Tassie.
What a superb wine and it even has space for some cracking sweet spice notes and an uncommon length to add to its alluring red flavours, too.
Pierre Gimonnet & Fils Cuis 1er Cru Cuis Brut NV $50.00
While Dumangin is the made of equal thirds of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier (the classic Champagne recipe), it’s great to see a pure Chardonnay wine in the shape of this Blanc de Blancs from the village of Cuis. There are no red grapes in the Gimonnet building, and this means that the style of wine here is rapier sharp, nervy, cleansing and epic with posh canapés.
Bay of Fires Arras 2002 $57.00
As elegant as Jean-Claude Van Damme in a nightie, this is a massive mouthful of seriously decadent fruit and there is staggering power here, too. The only reason that this wine works is that there is sensational acidity, tightly coiled, Cobra-like, at its core.
In the same way that Krug is as subtle as a brass band, but somehow manages to captivate your entire olfactory system, Arras pulls off the same trick, but at an earlier moment in its timeline. This is a truly world class sparkler – that successfully turns the world upside down.
Louis Roederer Brut Premier NV $81.00
So highly sought after are the wines of Louis Roederer that even this non-vintage cuvée is on limited allocation to retailers worldwide. Ripe, creamy, succulent and sexy, Brut Premier is a hedonistic NV which delivers an enormous amount of flavour at a reasonable price.
One glimpse of this label before a dinner party and you know that your host has impeccable taste and that you are set for a superb evening.
Jacquesson Cuvée No 732 NV $84.00
An intellectual offering from a very small Champagne house where each and every cuvée is given its own consecutive number, making this the 732nd blend ever made at this house since their centenary wine made in 1898. The attention to detail here is extraordinary. M. Jacquesson quite rightly believes that no two NV blends are the same, so you will see both 731 and 732 on the shelves this year.
The great majority of Jacquesson wines are vinified in oak and they have minimal dosage. Cuvée number 732 was produced from a blend based on the 2004 harvest. If you know anyone who is 732 years old this year, this is the perfect present.
Bollinger Rosé NV $175.00
Madame Lily Bollinger, the old battleaxe who, eons ago, made this formidable House a staple part of every Champagne lover’s wine diet said that she would never allow a rosé to be made at Bolly. Just before she died she relented and allowed a vintage wine to be made - La Grande Année Rosé. But she never witnessed the production of a non-vintage rosé during her incredible time at Bollinger. Just a few months ago, however, an N.V. Bollinger Rosé was made for the very first time.
Drinking La Grande Année Rosé is like having Rachmaninov himself play his Piano Concerto No.2 in a private performance for you on a Steinway. I suppose the only question is - how does this non-vintage wine differ from this outlandish image? It is very simple, Rachmaninov becomes Chris Martin (the Steinway stays), and oh, the price more than halves.
Dom Pérignon 2000 $270.00
After the elegance and immediacy of the 1998 vintage Dom, it was inevitable that we would return to what made this brand so famous, and that is a big, structured vintage like this 2000. The flavour waltzes around your palate like the ‘talent’ on (Italics) So You Think You Can Dance and the aromas cover every single example of patisserie from the finest French bakers. Once again, this is a huge style of sparkling wine, but unlike Krug, it is more suited to main course fish dishes. So drop the anchor and get those lines out.
Krug Grande Cuvée NV $295.00
For those of you familiar with Krug, skip this tasting note and go to the next wine, because you do not need a note on this iconic creation. If you are new to this mighty Champagne house, then let us first say congratulations on your lottery win. You cannot spend it anywhere else as wisely as you can here. The baffling thing about Krug is that it is very much a sparkling wine but it has the intensity and length of a red.
Celebratory and desperately exciting, this wine transcends its type and lives in a world of its own. Please drink it with main course food rather than as an aperitif because, in spite of its bubbles, this is more vinous than any other Champagne. Pray you don’t get hooked (resistance if futile) because this wine is the lowest rung on the Krug ladder. And with the vintage and Clos du Mesnil above it you will need another win on the scratch cards immediately to finance this passion.
Reproduced with permission. © Copyright Matthew Jukes and Tyson Stelzer 2008
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