Tag Archives: Deligeroy

60 Second Wine Review — Réserve des Vignerons Saumur-Champigny

In honor of Cabernet Franc Day, here are a few quick thoughts on the 2015 Réserve des Vignerons Saumur-Champigny from the Loire Valley.

The Geekery
Réserve des Vignerons Saumur-Champigny Cabernet Franc from the Loire

Réserve des Vignerons is made by the co-operative Cave de Saumur that was founded in 1956 with 40 growers. Today it features 160 growers who tend to plantings around the village of Saumur. All members of the co-op must adhere to sustainable viticulture principles.

In 2000, construction was finished on a new modern winemaking facility. Master of Wine Sam Harrop was brought in to consult on a special “Cabernet Franc project”. Harrop’s project has not only increased the quality of the co-op’s wines but has also improved how Cabernet Franc is made throughout the Loire.

Additionally, the co-op produces sparkling Cremant de Loire under their Deligeroy label–including a Brut featuring Cabernet Franc in the blend.

The Saumur-Champigny is 100% Cabernet Franc that saw extended post-fermentation skin contact for 10 extra days. This is a technique more common with Cabernet Franc prior to fermentation (“cold soak”) when temperatures can be keep low and only color is extracted. In contrast, post-fermentation maceration extracts tannins (especially seed tannin) with no color benefit.

The Wine

Photo by Howcheng. Uploaded to Wikimedia Commons under CC-BY-SA-3.0

The savory fennel seed notes adds complexity to this wine.

Medium-intensity nose. A mix of red fruits–cherries and raspberries. Around the edges is a little bit of spicy tobacco.

On the palate, those red fruits carry through and are quite fresh and juicy tasting with medium-plus acidity. Medium tannins are present but not biting and are balanced well by the medium bodied fruit. The moderate finish brings back the tobacco spice as well as savory fennel notes.

The Verdict

At $12-15, this is a pretty classic Loire Cabernet Franc–though it is not as herbal as other examples can be. However, it is quite different compared to the more fruit-forward, floral and full-bodied Cabernet Francs from Washington & California.

While I’ve made my love of domestic Cabernet Franc well known, this is a nice change of pace and a solid food-pairing wine.

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Snooty or Flute-y?

Photo by Quinn Dombrowski. Release under CC-BY-SA-2.0 on Wikimedia CommonsDid you ring in the New Years with a flute of bubbles?

You uncouth swine!

Don’t you know that all the cool kids are ditching flutes in favor of regular wine glasses? As Margareth Henriquez, president of Champagne Krug, describes it, drinking your bubbly from flutes is like going to a concert with ear plugs and should only be used for “…bad Champagne, sorbet or gazpacho.”

Oh my!

A few folks had some dissenting opinions on this anti-flute craze, most notably Jameson Fink of Wine Enthusiast who wrote an impassioned defense of the unfashionable flute, bringing some scientific expertise for back-up.

It’s a good defense. The most persuasive argument comes from David Gire, assistant professor at the University of Washington’s psychology department. Gire notes how important visionary aesthetics are to our enjoyment. He also describes how these aesthetics can psychologically impact our perception of flavor.

As Fink points out, even the most ardent anti-flutists can’t discount the visual appeal that flutes have with their cascading beads of bubbles.

Now for me, I take a pragmatic approach. I’ll drink my bubbles from a variety of vessels and see what I like. So far, my runaway favorite has been the Luigi Bormioli Wine Styles Pink Wine Glass. You can see it in use for many of my sparkling wine reviews such as for the Paringa Sparkling Shiraz and Deligeroy Cremant de Loire.

I’ll also use a traditional flute as I did in my reviews of the Levert Freres Cremant de Bourgogne, Heidsieck Monopole Blue Top and Segura Viudas Cava. And I will do like the cool kids sometimes in using a regular ole wine glass such as with the De Venoge Princes Blanc de Noirs.

The Bormioli pink wine glass has become my go-to because it combines the best of both worlds. I get a wider opening that allows the aromatics to come out, but it is sufficiently narrow to showcase the bubbles.

You can see the difference in bubbles between the three types of glasses – the Bormioli pink wine glass, a flute and a regular wine glass.

For the most part, I agree with Fink that the visual spectacle of the bubbles is key to enjoyment.

There are advocates in the wine industry (such as Robert Walters in his book Bursting Bubbles) that argue that focusing on the “bubbles” in Champagne takes away from appreciation and evaluation of it as a “real wine.” In their opinion, a great Champagne is one that you could completely degas and it would stand on its own. The trend away from flutes (so they say) helps highlight the “realness” of great Champagne.

There may be truth to that but, dammit, I like my bubbles!

My go-to bubbles glass, the Luigi Bormioli pink wine glass

However, I can’t wholly join Fink on the dark side of Flute Apologetics. In my own anecdotal experience, I don’t get as much life and depth from my bubbles when I’m nosing them through the narrow opening of a flute.

In fact, a friend of mine of who read my lackluster reviews for the 2004 and 2006 vintages of Dom Perignon at Daniel’s Champagne Gala, urged me to try them again in a regular wine glass because, in his view, the “yeasty depth of Dom never shows well in a flute.” He probably has a point.

So I like my compromise Bormioli glasses but I’ll certainly keep on experimenting.

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60 Second Wine Reviews – Deligeroy Cremant de Loire

Some quick thoughts on the Deligeroy Cremant de Loire Brut.

The Geekery

Produced by the co-op of Cave des Vignerons de Saumur that was founded by 40 growers in 1956. Today, the co-op includes 160 growers based around the village of Saumur in the Loire Valley. The co-operative practices sustainable viticulture and has Master of Wine Sam Harrop as a consultant.

The wine is a blend of 65% Chenin blanc, 20% Chardonnay and 15% Cabernet Franc sourced from vines that average in age between 20-30 years. Like all Cremants, the wine was made in the traditional Champagne method of sparkling wine production with the Deligeroy Brut spending 12 months aging on the lees prior to being disgorged.

The Wine

Photo by Pilzi. Released on Wikimedia Commons under CC BY-SA 3.0

The fresh ginger aromas carries through to the palate.

Medium plus intensity nose with lots of tree fruit (pear and apples) and white flower notes. There is also a sharp edge of Asian spices like ginger and lemongrass.

The palate is very lively with the spice notes (particularly ginger) being more pronounced and adding to a sense of minerality. There is also a little bit of toastiness that give the pear tree fruit flavors a more pastry tart element. Even with the racy acidity and minerality, the mousse is smooth with enough weight to balance the crispness. While I couldn’t find an exact dosage, my best guess is that it is in the 6-8 g/l range.

The Verdict

This is definitely one for fans of drier and mineral driven bubbles. It’s a very pleasant and character-driven cremant that offers a great deal of value in the $15-18 range.

Even if this was in the $20-25 range, I would certainly still be quite pleased with the complexity it’s offering.

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