Let’s try a Champagne with a different emphasis from the three we’ve looked at in this “12 Days of Christmas” countdown with Champagne and sparkling wine. Those models, the A.R. Lenoble Brut Nature (4th Day of Christmas), Taittinger Brut 2002 (7th Day of Christmas) and Roland Champion Brut Blanc de Blancs (8th Day of Christmas), are notable for elevating elegance and high-toned, scintillating minerality.

The non-vintage Mumm Carte Classique, on the other hand, offers a sense of weight and dignity as well as abundant fruit.

The house of G.H. Mumm, founded in 1827, is among the most famous and prolific producers of Champagne. It’s fine, old reputation was marred in the 1980s and early to mid 1990s by a series of misjudgments in the winery and by a spreading of thinning resources. With a new cellarmaster, quality began to show a turn-around in 1995 and ‘96, and while Mumm champagnes will probably never possess the racy excitement and verve offered by some of the other venerable houses (not to mention many small artisan producers), they deliver on the promise of traditional virtues of freshness, structure and balance.

Mumm’s Carte Classique has always been my favorite of the firm’s non-vintage roster, and opening a bottle last night confirmed my bias. First produced in 1879, the Carte Classique retains its aura of 19th Century robustness and joie de vivre.

Dominated by pinot meunier grapes — 50 percent, to 35 percent pinot noir and 15 percent chardonnay — this Champagne is a burnished tawny gold color; tiny bubbles surge relentlessly upward. There’s a real fermented yeasty, bready quality in the bouquet, highlighted by scents of apple, guava and quince, etched with spice and caramel. The slight tension in the mouth between ripe sweetness and crisp dryness makes this product Mumm’s most appealing Champagne; notes of orange rind and crystallized ginger underscore elements of biscuits, wheatmeal and limestone, while the finish is long, dry, minerally and substantial. Excellent. About $35 is right, but you can find the Carte Classique anywhere from $26 to $45.

Mumm was acquired in 1999 by Allied Domecq, which in turn was bought by Pernod Ricard in 2005.

Usually I cook a Southern breakfast — eggs, grits, country ham and red-eye gravy, biscuits — on Christmas morning, but this year there was some confusion about Christmas Eve dinner or Christmas Day and going to visit people Christmas afternoon, so I postponed the Big Breakfast until this morning. Before doing that, however, I got up early, fed the dogs, read the newspapers and cooked the black-eyed peas with hog jowl and greens for good luck in 2009.

Later, though, we sat down to breakfast, brunch, I guess, since it was 11:30, with a bottle of the sublime Roland Champion Blanc de Blancs Brut Grand Cru Champagne. Yes, we always have Champagne with the Big Southern Breakfast, with orange juice and coffee, too.

Roland Champion is a small family-owned producer, now with the fourth generation, in the village of Chouilly (“shoo-ee”), which has only Grand Cru vineyards. Made from 100 percent chardonnay grapes, this Champagne offers ethereal grace and poise and harmony; if I were fighting a duel tonight, I would ask for this Champagne as my last beverage. The nose here is about the richness of warm biscuits and hazelnuts, dried fruit and spice, like a Platonic, ineffably light fruitcake; in the mouth, however, it’s about a structure that encompasses an incredible marriage of power and elegance, like the delicacy and strength of the finest bone china. And there’s something porcelain-like about this Champagne, in its notable crisp, lively character, its transparency and its slightly chalky, shale-like mineral elements. Forget the Champagnes that come on with heavy toasty, caramel qualities; here, instead, is a wealth of subtlety and nuance touched with a racy, dynamic edge. Exceptional. About $65.

Imported by Kysela Pere et Fils, Winchester, Va.

Numerous people, perhaps millions, will rush out tonight in a mad abandoned attempt to bring a dismal year to a close and welcome a year that has so many expectations attached to it that if it had any sense it would stay in its cave and never come out. If ever a year was required to be All Things to All People, 2009 is it. So good luck.

New Year’s Eve requires bubbles, and assuming that you’re not going to go out and get so drunk in your search for oblivion that you don’t give a good goddamn about what you slosh into your mouth, here are some recommendations.
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Say you’re hosting a party the size of which would accommodate the complete cast of The Wire (including Snoop, Chris and Omar), what you want is something decent, tasty and affordable to purchase by the case. Turn to the non-vintage Domaine Laurier Brut which, despite its French name, is from California and one of the better products of Fred Franzia’s Bronco Wine Corp. This sparkling wine, made in the traditional champagne method, is a medium gold color and offers a consistent and satisfying up-rush of tiny bubbles. Aromas of wheatmeal, lime and almond blossom presage a wine that is spare, clean, lively, citrusy and close to elegant. Very Good and a bargain at about $12. That’s the suggested retail price, but you find this sparkler discounted as low as $9.
Image from insidebayarea.com.
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Looking for more character at a higher but still reasonable price? Try the delightful “metodo classico” non-vintage Rotari Rosé, a blend of 75 percent pinot noir and 25 percent chardonnay from Italy’s northeastern Trento region. The color is an entrancing pale copper-salmon; the bubbles insist on pin-point persistence. The wine is unexpectedly (for the price) rich, meaty and earthy, with a bouquet of spiced apple, melon, blood orange and almond skin. The effervescence is giddy; the acidity clean and crisp; flavors tend toward fresh bread, lime and limestone, with the stony aspect increasing on the finish. Very Good+ and a Great Bargain at about $14.
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O.K., well, let’s forget all the freaking fiscal austerity and pretend that, as the old song from the Depression goes (you know, the other Depression), we’re in the money, and that maybe tonight’s festivity is aimed at a small group or even just two. It would be fitting, then, to open a bottle of the Taittinger Brut Millésimé 2002, a cool, elegant Champagne — half and half pinot noir and chardonnay –that will leave you feeling optimistic and (fleetingly) wealthy. The color is pale gold with a shimmer of silver; the bubbles are classically tiny, like seething flecks of celestial ore. Aromas of warm bread, dried spice, lemon pie and meadow honey draw you in. The texture is exquisitely poised between crisp nervosity and creamy lushness, with flavors packing hints of baked apple, lemon curd, crystallized ginger and orange rind wrapped in toasty bread, all of this subdued to the resonance of liquid limestone. A Champagne of tremendous breeding and finesse. Excellent. About $90.
Imported by Kobrand Corp., Purchase, N.Y.
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Since New Year’s Eve is the biggest champagne and sparkling wine night of the year, let me append some tips on proper serving.

1. Champagne and sparkling wine should be served chilled, straight from the refrigerator.

2. They should be consumed in tall “flute” glasses, not the shallow “coupe” glasses said to have been modeled on one of Marie Antoinette’s breasts. I wonder which one.

3. Never try to open a bottle of champagne or sparkling wine with a cork-screw. Strip off the foil capsule and untwist the wire cage that surrounds the cork. With a dish towel or napkin over the bottle, grasp the cork in one hand and the bottom of the bottle in the other. Extract the cork by twisting the bottle, not the cork.

4. Now matter how plastered you are or how much hilarity you anticipate, NEVER push the cork out with your thumbs, hoping for a loud POP, a gush of foam and a cork careening about the room. The pressure inside a bottle of champagne or sparkling wine is enormous, and the cork will rush out at great speed and force, enough to damage an eye.

5. Champagne and sparkling wines are versatile enough to be served with all sorts of party foods and dinner courses, but the best beverage to go with caviar is chilled vodka.

… and I don’t know if it’s because today is Sunday or what, but I’m in the mood to offer, as today’s “12 Days of Christmas” countdown in sparkling wine and Champagne, an example of the real stuff, the A.R Lenoble Brut Nature.

The house of A.R. Lenoble goes back to 1915, when Armand-Raphael Graser, a native of Alsace, fled the region, then in German hands, and settled with his family in Champagne. By 1920, he was producing and selling Champagne under the A.R. Lenoble name. The house is still in family hands, operated now by the founder’s great-granddaughter and great-grandson.

A classic blend of 40 percent chardonnay, 30 percent pinot noir and 30 percent pinot meunier, the A.R. Lenoble Brut Nature is a matter of infinite tinsels bound into a vibrant tensile whole, like a Chopin Nocturne whose traceries barely conceal its powerful structure and inevitable harmonic relationships. The color is palest gold; the seething, twisting bubbles race like mad to the surface. This bone-dry Champagne is clean, light, fresh and delicate, a connoisseur’s Champagne. First come aromas of pears, biscuits, wet stones and a touch of citrus, and then a few moments in the glass bring notes of spiced apple, melon and limestone. It’s remarkably crisp and refreshing, with brisk acidity that sets the palate tingling, yet delivering a texture that’s smooth and slightly creamy. The finish leans on chalk and limestone for a touch of elegant austerity. I opened this bottle while cooking Christmas Eve dinner, and, oops, it was gone. Excellent. About $35 to $40.

Opici Import Co., Glen Rock, N.J.

Join me tomorrow, Christmas Day, readers, as I begin what to me is the most fun I have all year on Bigger Than Your Head, the “12 Days of Christmas with Champagne and Sparkling Wine” countdown. These bottles, generally one each day, take us from the day of Christmas itself to Twelfth Night, when the Yuletide season traditionally ends. I say “one each day,” but I tend to offer three or four on New Year’s, just for the hell of it. The examples in this segment of “12 Days of Christmas” will not duplicate the Champagnes and sparkling wines I mentioned last time.

And in keeping with the straitened economic situation we find ourselves in at the end of 2008, I’m going to keep prices lower and direct you to more alternatives than actual Champagnes from that region of France, though I promise that there will be a few, if I can keep them under $50.

Tonight LL and I have our usual Christmas Eve dinner: rib roast, Yorkshire pudding, roasted potatoes, Brussels sprouts in brown butter and a selection of cheeses to finish. A bottle of Renaissance Cabernet Sauvignon 1996 from the Sierra Foothills. As soon as I post this entry, I’ll start cooking. I finished my last story of the year for the newspaper this afternoon about 2 o’clock, and I’m off until January 5.

Have a great night, friends, and a Merry Christmas.

Image from pro.corbis.com.

The announcement was made this month that the INAO, the institute that governs the appellation controlee system of vineyards and vine-growing in France, has authorized the expansion of the areas that may legitimately call themselves part of Champagne.

You must understand: This is a HUGE BIG DEAL. This NEVER HAPPENS.

The region in north-central France where the world’s best and best-known sparkling wines are made — and which alone should be entitled to the name “champagne” — was rigorously limited to 319 villages by the INAO in 1927. This recent addition of 38 villages or communes is unprecedented. The motivation lies in the increasing demand for champagne all over the world, but especially in Russia and China, those wondrous realms of new wealth. Between 2006 and 2007, sales of champagne increased 41 percent in Russian; in five years, sales of champagne have increased in China by 30 percent. There’s not enough to go around.

The INAO tentatively addressed the problem of supply and demand in 2006 by allowing, on an experimental basis, for the grape yield per hectare (about 2.47 acres) to increase from 13,000 kilos to 15,500 kilos, though the increase is supposed to be held in grower’s tanks in reserve in the event of disease, hail, frost or bad harvests. Still, evidence both historical and contemporary shows that in many cases increasing yields in vineyards (taking into account such factors as density of vines and canopy management) can result in lower quality wine.

As “TimesOnLine,” the website of The London Times said on March 14, “Permission to make champagne is almost a license to print money,” and not only because the luxurious effervescent beverage is so much in demand. Land that was previously outside the allowed areas of Champagne may increase in value as much as 200 times. Gilles Flutet, who is in charge of demarcation at INAO, was quoted in many sources as saying: “If your vines fall on the wrong side of the divide, they will be worth 5,000 euros a hectare. On the other side they will be worth a million euros.” License to print money indeed. We understand why communes have petitioned and filed law suits for years in their attempts to join the Magic Circle of Real Champagne Farmers or at least for the chance to sell their land. The fact that new law suits are being filed by land-owners and communes not admitted in the expansion — in other words, the losers — emphasizes how serious the fiduciary aspects of the situation are.

I hate to sound cynical. Obviously the INAO has spent a great deal of time researching the quality of the soil and the character of the land in the newly permitted communes, as well as the history and traditions and micro-climates of the anointed areas. In the United States, however, we have seen too often how political and commercial is the system that grants official American Viticultural Area status to regions that seem to have no real viticultural value other than the exigencies of local geography and the influence of local growers, winemakers and legislators. It would be a miracle if the INAO were immune to similar pressure. In all the stories I have read about the decision, no one is quoted as saying, “We’re doing this for the glory of our beloved Champagne region.”

It will be 10 years before grapes and juice from the 38 communes make their slow way through the traditional champagne method into bottles and thence onto the world’s retail shelves. By then, we might not care. Go ahead, throw a few more villages into the mix. Will the Russians and Chinese be able to tell the difference?

Image from istockphoto.com.

Now we come to the end of our champagne and sparkling wine celebration of The Twelve Days of Christmas. In Merry Old England, at least, Twelfth Night was a night of bonfires and wassailing. In fact, according to the Julian Calendar, which was used in England until 1752 (though abandoned by the rest of Europe in 1582), January 5 was the Old Christmas Day. In any case, from Roman times, this was a day of revels, and appropriately, Shakespeare’s pay Twelfth Night, or What You Will, one of his most engaging and romantic comedies of misadventure, mistaken identity and crossed love, was written to be performed during Twelfth Night festivities.

Our concern, however, is with the effervescence providing by champagne and sparkling wine, and for this, our final post in this series, I’m going to provide six choices of bubbly products (in order of ascending price) for your own festivities (this eve or any time), so, with no further ado — and much ado about something — here ’tis, though with briefer descriptions than previous entries

*Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs 2004, California. The B de B is always Schramsberg’s most delightful, lilting sparkling wine. For 2004, this 100 percent chardonnay sparkler is notably fresh, clean and attractive; it offers notes of green apple, orange zest and roasted lemon with touches of fresh biscuits, toast and almond skin. It’s full-bodied and lush but energized by crisp acid and limestone elements. Great as an aperitif and with light appetizers. Excellent. About $35.

*Pierre Gimonnet & Fils Premier Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut. Wow, this is great! Made from 100% chardonnay grapes, the Gimmonet B de B Brut is unusually ripe and fleshy, spicy, macerated, bursting with pear and lemon, almond blossom and acacia flower; it’s incredibly fresh and clean and crisp, scintillating with acid and minerals. Tremendously appealing. Excellent. About $45 to $55. A Terry Theise Estate Selection for Michael Skurnick Wines, Syosset, N.Y.

*Gosset Grande Reserve Brut. Made from 54 percent red grapes (pinot noir and pinot meunier) and 46 percent chardonnay, all from Grand and Premier Cru vineyards, Gosset’s Grande Reserve is an elegant and luscious blond beauty, subtle yet zesty, tremendously appealing and impeccably balanced among mandarin orange and Meyer lemon flavors; toasty, yeasty elements; limestone qualities; and crystalline acid. Excellent. About $63. Palm Bay Imports, Boca Raton, Florida.

*Bruno Paillard Premiere Cuvée Rosé Brut. This rose is a blend of 85 percent pinot noir and 15 percent chardonnay. The style here balances touches of macerated dried red fruit with tremendous energy, power and weight. The champagne is very dry and crisp, full-bodied, quite toasty and yeasty, packed with dried spice and roasted hazelnuts and limestone. A great effort. Excellent. About $75. Martin Scott Wines, Lake Success, N.Y.

*Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé Brut. All pinot noir, all verve and steel and flaring bubbles in a pale gold color with a ruddy sheen that LL called “cold fireworks.” This is quite dry and austere but rounded out with a trace — I mean a trace — of macerated peach and strawberry and spiced almonds. Mainly, this is about elegance and hauteur and star-power. Excellent. About $80. Laurent-Perrier US, Sausalito, Ca.

*Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle Brut. “This is almost like food,” said LL, and indeed Laurent-Perrier’s Grand Siècle Brut, made from half and half chardonnay and pinot noir from Grand Cru vineyards, is amazingly deep and complex and substantial; no delightful aperitif sparkler, this is a champagne that demands attention and really needs to be consumed with dinner, I mean macaroni and cheese, veal Prince Orloff, lobster thermidor, quenelles of pike, old-fashioned decadent fare. Wheatmeal, almond and apple skin, cinnamon toast, roasted lemon, monumental amounts of toasty bread and limestone, but with a delicate tracery of jasmine and candied lime: All of these qualities add up to a package of wonderful elegance and power. Exceptional. About $110. Laurent-Perrier US, Sausalito, Ca.

Image credit for the costume design of Feste the clown from Twelfth Night: ocw.mit.edu.

One of the world’s most unusual wines is Inniskillin’s Vidal Sparkling Ice Wine, from Ontario’s Niagara Peninsula. Inniskillin, now owned by Constellation Brands, specializes in beautifully-made ice wines made primarily from vidal or riesling grapes, though there’s also a highly unusual ice wine made from cabernet franc that’s deliriously delicious, I mean shiver-inducing, with a piece of dark chocolate.

The Inniskillin Vidal Sparkling Ice Wine 2005 sports a medium gold color with a tinge of brassy-green. The bubbles come not from the traditional champagne method but through the Charmat process of fermentation in a closed chamber to retain carbon dioxide, though you shouldn’t let that worry your pretty little head because the bubbles are constant and lively and true. The wine opens with a burst of pure apple and pear and nectarine, followed by spiced and buttered peaches. Flavors lean toward roasted peaches and apricots with hints of apple skin and orange rind steeped in cloves and cinnamon. The texture is amazing, because for all the crisp acidity and balletic effervescence this is dense, nectar-like, almost viscous from start to finish. Sip this on its own at the end of a meal or with the simplest and least sweet desserts like a plain apple tart or a shortbread cookie. This certainly merits an Excellent rating. Prices range from about $70 to $85 for a half-bottle.

OMIGOD, tomorrow is Twelfth Night, and thus the last entry in our champagne and sparkling wine countdown of The Twelve Days of Christmas! Check back to see how we handle the situation.

Established in 1584, the house of Gosset is the oldest wine producer in Champagne. In those days, however, the wine wasn’t the sparkling product that we know and love today; that process didn’t begin until the late 17th Century, and for 125 years or so the practice of producing a sparkling wine by a second fermentation in the bottle was an inexact and accident-prone science. In any case, the Gosset family was certainly there at the creation of the champagne wine industry.

In 1994, after 410 years of ownership by the same family, Gosset was purchased by the Remy-Cointreau company and Beatrice Cointreau was put in charge, wisely keeping to the same regime of grapes purchased primarily from Grand Cru and Premier Cru vineyards, barrel fermentation and no malolactic, so the Gosset champagnes retain more than usual vivacity.

Most commentators describe the non-vintage Gosset Brut Excellence as “simple” and insist that the rest of the house’s line-up is something like light-years better, but I found the G.B.E to be not only charming and delightful but edging over into the realm of the truly characterful. The blend of grapes is 45% pinot nor, 42% chardonnay — these chosen from Grand Cru, Premier Cru and other vineyards — and 13% pinot meunier. The color is medium gold; a fountain of tiny bubbles surges upward in a constant stream. The bouquet offers fresh baked biscuits and toast, spiced and roasted lemon and lemon curd and an intriguing touch of candied grapefruit. In the mouth, this champagne is crisp and lively but also not merely minerally with limestone and chalk but earthy and so dense that the texture is almost viscous; you feel an uncommon sense of presence. The finish is long, packed with limestone and spice, and notably austere. This gets an Excellent rating from me. Suggested retail price is about $46, but I have seen the Gosset Brut Excellent discounted on the Internet to $25.

Palm Bay Imports, Boca Raton, Florida.

By the way, the company’s website (here) recommends that the Gosset Brut Excellence would be appropriate for “late morning cocktails,” to which I say, “Right on!” How much better life and work would be if we could take a champagne break at late morning. In fact, the world would probably be a far better place if everybody would drink a glass of champagne at 11:30 a.m.

Tomorrow is the Eleventh Day of Christmas… check back.

Damnit, I love this champagne. “This” is the José Dhondt “Mes Vieilles Vignes” Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut, non-vintage, another of the small houses, the “grower” champagnes, that are earning a great deal of attention now, as opposed to the large major houses whose champagnes often seem to lack individuality. “Mes Vieilles Vignes” means that the vines are old (how old we don’t know); “Grand Cru” means that the grapes came from a very small regulated selection of communes at the top of the vineyard hierarchy in Champagne; “Blanc de Blancs” means that the champagne is made from 100 percent chardonnay grapes.

This medium-gold colored champagne is spectacular, elegant and sleek yet rich and impressively substantial in weight and tone. The bouquet offers baked apple, roasted lemon and lime peel with notes of fresh biscuits and bread. It feels wonderful, suave, supple, resonant and lively with crisp acid; intense and concentrated citrus flavors and dried spice, like cloves and cinnamon toast, are subdued in the face of a monumental tide of limestone and chalk for a finish that’s dry, austere and scintillating. Wonderful stuff. I have seen prices as low as the mid $50s but about $70 is more realistic.

This is a “Champagnes et Villages” selection by Becky Wasserman and The Miller Portfolio, for USA Wine Imports, New York.