So, January 1st, day of beginnings and endings, looking forward and looking back, celebrated in many parts of the world with mummers’ parades and with wassailing, although after the indulgences of New Year’s Eve it’s probably best to go light on the good old wassail. Let’s celebrate this entry in “The Twelve Days of Christmas with Champagne and Sparkling Wine” by looking at two unusual French sparkling products, a Savoie Brut and a Clairette de Die Brut.

Imported by Kermit Lynch, Berkeley, Cal. Samples for review.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
There is some evidence that “méthode champenoise” sparkling wines were produced in Die — “dee” — long before they were made in Champagne. This tiny appellation nestles on the Drôme River, a tributary east of the Rhône, halfway between the Northern and the Southern Rhône regions. The Domaine Achard-Vincent Clairette de Die Brut, non-vintage, is made 100 percent from clairette grapes, a species that does not get a lot of love in wine and grape handbooks, though it is apparently an ancient variety in the south of France, praised by Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD). Whatever the case, the example made — on biodynamic practices — by Domaine Achard-Vincent is pleasantly effervescent, fresh, clean and lively, with appealing notes of ripe pears, melon, almond blossom, cloves and ginger; there is about it something a little wild and earthy and rustic, completely, it seems, a creature of its patch of geography. A terrific aperitif, and a wine your guests probably will not have encountered. 11.5 percent alcohol. Very Good. About $24.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Savoie is an Alpine region abutting Switzerland where the grapes are largely unfamiliar outside the area and where the wines are mostly consumed on their home ground by tourists and skiers. These wines, made on far-flung estates because of the rugged terrain, tend to be almost all white, clean and crisp, befitting their consumption in mountain valleys; a small amount of sparkling wine is produced. The André and Michel Quenard Savoie Brut, non-vintage, is made from the jacquère grape, in this case from 50-year-old vines. The first impression, after the teeming torrent of bubbles, is of green apples and steel, then hints of pear and quince and a touch of orange rind. Is it the high altitude that gives this sparkling wine such a deep foundation of limestone and shale, this slick-as-a-whistle, lace-like zestiness? It’s very dry, electric with fleet acidity, almost airy but nicely textured. Completely delightful, whether you’re lounging on a terrace overlooking a steep valley or sitting in your own living-room. 12 percent alcohol. Very Good+. About $19 to $25.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

… and of course New Year’s Eve means celebrating with Champagne or some other form of sparkling wine. I could make tons of recommendations for inexpensive sparkling wines to serve tonight, especially if you’re hosting a soiree with a cast of thousands, but since the emphasis in this sequence of “The Twelve Days of Christmas with Champagne and Sparkling Wine” is on France, I’ll put my money on the Simonnet-Febvre Brut Blanc, a Crémant de Bourgogne from Chablis. From Chablis? Mais oui, mes amis, Chablis is nominally considered part of Burgundy, though its climate is far different and it lies some distance to the northwest of the Côte d’Or. Simonnet-Febvre has been producing Champagne method sparkling wine in Chablis since it was founded in 1840 and is the only firm in Chablis still doing so. Simonnet-Febvre also makes excellent Chablis still wines at every level and sells them for reasonable prices. The company was acquired by Louis Latour in 2003. The Simonnet-Febvre Brut Blanc is a blend of 60 percent chardonnay and 40 percent pinot noir. The wine is exuberantly outfitted with bubbles and conveys a racy, nervy note of effervescent combined with fleet acidity and a keen limestone edge. This is clean and fresh, almost tangy with apple and slightly roasted citrus flavors ensconced in a crisp, lively texture. 12 percent alcohol. A crowd-pleaser. Very Good+. Prices countrywide range from about $14 to $19.

But say that your plans tonight include not teeming mobs drunkenly intoning the half-forgotten words of “Auld Lang Syne” but a more intimate gathering, perhaps even only one other person for whom you require something elegant and impressive. Turn, then, to the Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut, the label that defines the house style for Perrier-Jouët (the final “t” is prounounced). The company was founded in 1811 and achieved a high reputation in the 19th Century, especially for supplying Champagne to various royal courts of Europe. In 1959, Perrier-Jouët was acquired by the Mumm Group, which was later taken over by Seagram. In 1999, the latter sold Perrier-Jouët and Mumm to private investors who immediately turned around and, um, unloaded the house to Allied Domecq, which, of course, was subsumed by Pernod Ricard, the present owners. Sometimes you have to keep a score-card. Anyway, Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut, a blend of 40 percent pinot noir, 40 percent pinot meunier and 20 percent chardonnay, offers a bright golden-yellow color and a stately upward procession of tiny bubbles. I was, frankly, surprised at how robust and full-bodied this Champagne is; it’s the real deal when it comes to the toasty, bready fashion, and to match its generous dimension, the details of toffee, sea-salt, roasted lemon and hints of apples, almonds and almond blossom flesh it out considerably. This is quite dry, vibrant and resonant, almost chewy, and its chiming acidity (there are hints of grapefruit and lime peel) and elements of limestone tracery develop power — yet with finesse to match — through the finish. 12 percent alcohol. True class and breeding. Excellent. I paid $52, but realistically prices range from about $40 to $56.

Simonnet-Febvre Brut Blanc imported by Louis Latour Inc., San Rafael, Cal.; Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut imported by Pernod Ricard USA, Purchase, NY.

Remember, readers, that the focus of the 2011-2012 series of “The Twelve Days of Christmas …” is on Champagne and other French sparkling wines. Remember, also, that since this project began I have not repeated a label, so every sequence brings new recommendations. For this day, December 29 — also the Holy Day of Thomas Becket, murdered by Henry II’s knights in 1170 –our selection is the Gustave Lorentz Crémant d’Alsace, non-vintage, produced in the traditional Champagne method and a blend of one-third each chardonnay grapes, pinot blanc and pinot noir. The distinguished estate of Gustave Lorentz, founded in 1836, is still family-owned and in its seventh generation.

The color of the Gustave Lorentz Crémant d’Alsace is pale straw-gold; a dizzy fume of tiny bubbles surges upward. This sparkling wine is appealingly fresh, clean and brisk; hints of apples and pears are woven with roasted lemon and lemon balm and touches of quince and crystallized ginger. In the mouth, notably crisp acidity pairs with a scintillating mineral element; it feels as if you’re drinking liquid limestone. Naturally there’s considerable austerity through the finish, but this is primarily a completely delightful Cremant d’Alsace, high-toned and taut in structure but expansive in spicy citrus flavors. A terrific aperitif served with almonds and cashews or goat cheese and a great foil to charcuterie. 12 percent alcohol. Excellent. About $26.

Imported by Quintessential Wines, Napa, Cal. A sample for review.

Remember that this series in “The Twelve Days of Christmas with Champagne and Sparkling Wine” focuses on the diversity of bubbly products made in various regions of France, as well as Champagne. The Third Day of Christmas, by the way, is also the feast day of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist, author, according to legend, of the book of Revelations, and of the Gospel and the three Letters we find under his name, all composed, we are told, in the worst Greek of the New Testament. Shoulda stayed in school, right? Anyway, our sparkling wine today originates in the Loire Valley, as did the example on Christmas Day, but instead of coming from Vouvray, this was made in Chinon, southwest of Vouvray and still in the Central Loire region. You won’t find the name “Chinon” on the label, however, because the rules of the appellation do not allow for sparkling wine; you can make a sparkler if you want, you just can’t label it or market it as being from Chinon.

Couly-Dutheil is a distinguished house in Chinon, founded in 1921 and still owned by the family, that makes a roster of wines from the red cabernet franc grape — only about two percent of the region’s wines are white — as well as a fine rosé and, it turns out, this “forbidden” sparkling wine with which I recently became acquainted. The Couly-Dutheil Brut de Franc, non-vintage, is billed as the only sparkling wine in the world made completely from cabernet franc grapes, and for all I know, this claim may be, if St. John does not mind my saying so, gospel. I certainly can’t think of another one. Do, though, track this down. The color of the Couly-Dutheil Brut de Franc is shimmering pale gold, and the bead, as the British term the stream of bubbles, is fine, energetic and frothy; the bouquet, well, the bouquet is a seductive weaving of blood oranges, peaches, red currants and sweet Asian spices, with a hint of rose petals. The wine is ripe and almost soft in the mouth yet imbued with tremendously vibrant acidity and a resonant limestone element, the combination of which lends the finish marked dryness and some high-toned austerity; it’s quite appealing and frankly delicious but with a moderately serious edge. 12.5 percent alcohol. Very Good+. About $21, though you see higher and lower prices around the country.

Imported by Frank-Lin International, San Jose, Cal. Tasted at a wholesaler’s trade event.

Here we are, Boxing Day, which features (or used to), in the United Kingdom and related countries, the post Christmas distribution of largesse to servants, customarily not one’s own but the servants of one’s friends. This is also the Feast of Saint Stephen — when the snow lay all about, deep and crisp and even — who was the first Christian martyr, stoned circa 35 AD for preaching that Christ was the Messiah and fulminating, rather impolitely, against the Jews; see Acts 7:51. December 26 is the first day of Kwanzaa, an African-American end-of-the-year festival devised in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, at the time chairman of Black Studies at California State University in Long Beach.

So, for this day, we turn to actual Champagne in the guise of the Comte Audoin de Dampierre Brut Cuvée des Ambassadeurs, a non-vintage blend of 50 percent chardonnay from Grand Cru vineyards and 50 percent pinot noir from Premier Cru vineyards. What does that mean? The vineyards of Champagne are rated village by village on a quality percentage system. Only the vineyards rated 100 percent receive Grand Cru status; vineyards rated between 90 and 99 percent are granted Premier Cru status. There are 17 Grand Cru villages and 43 Premier Cru villages. Labels on bottles of Champagne will often advertise the fact that the product is Grand Cru or Premier Cru, though realistically most Champagnes are blends of many vineyards and several vintages (which is what “non-vintage” means). A classification by individual vineyard rather than overall village would more accurately reflect true quality.

The Comte Audoin de Dampierre Brut Cuvée des Ambassadeurs — there really is such a person, as well-known for his collection of antique automobiles as for his Champagne — offers a radiant pale medium gold color and a surging, twining fountain of tiny bubbles. This is a substantial Champagne, generously proportioned and authoritative, yet a scintillating nervy line of keen acidity runs through and energizes it. Aromas hint at pear, jasmine and toasted almonds, with touches of fresh bread, smoky toffee and sea-salt and underneath a foundation of limestone and steel. This Champagne is spicier in the mouth, with notes of slightly macerated and roasted citrus flavors, but primarily it’s a vessel for conveying intense minerality and a dense, almost chewy texture, all leading to a long, vibrant, limestone-laced finish. 12.5 percent alcohol. I tasted the Comte Audoin de Dampierre Brut Cuvée des Ambassadeurs at a trade event and was impressed enough to purchase a bottle later. We consumed it throughout Christmas Day. Excellent. Prices around the country range from about $36 to $50.

Imported by Frank-Lin International, San Jose, Cal.

… and that means I’m about to launch the annual “Twelve Days of Christmas with Champagne and Sparkling Wine” series. Traditionally, the twelve days of Christmas run from December 25, Christmas Day, to January 5, being Twelfth Night, the Eve of the Epiphany. Tomorrow, I will post the first sparkling, bubbly product and continue to post one each day, though I tend to include a wider selection on New Year’s Eve and Twelfth Night. This year’s series focuses on France, not only Champagne but such alternatives as Cremant de Bourgogne, Cremant de Loire and sparkling wines from other appellations. In the Champagne category, I’ll offer some choices from the established houses as well as from the smaller operations that grow the grapes and make artisan-style products, what we might call farmer Champagnes. As ever in this series, I do not repeat brands or labels from year to year; I have not written about any of the Champagnes or sparking wines included in this segment of “Twelve Days of Christmas” before. Now around the periphery, so to speak, of the “12 Days,” I’ll post about other sparkling wines and Champagnes, some of which I may have covered previously and some of which I have not; the point is, that from tomorrow through January 5, BTYH is all about bubbles.

Festive image from thebeehiveblog.net.

Here’s a terrific sparkling wine from France that will make your palate and your pocketbook happy. It’s the Marcel Martin Tête de Cuvée Crémant de Loire Brut. The requirements for the Crémant de Loire appellation include originating in the regions of Anjou-Saumur or Touraine, lower grape yields than go into the Loire’s other sparkling wines and a higher percentage of free-run juice, as well as one-year’s aging, as opposed to nine months for other local sparklers. Grapes tend to be chenin blanc and cabernet franc, though chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and some indigenous grapes are allowed. “Tête de Cuvée” on a label implies that the product is top (or “head”) of the line, but the term is not regulated in France, so consumers must depend on the honesty of the producer. These wines are made in the champagne method of second fermentation in the bottle.

Marcel Martin Tête de Cuvée Crémant de Loire Brut presents a medium straw-gold color such as Rapunzel’s hair might be; a tremendous fountain of tiny bubbles erupts from the bottom of the glass and surges upward to the surface. This is all roasted lemon, steel and limestone, with hints of winsome acacia and almond, straw and bracing sea-salt. This sparkling wine truly is full-bodied and creamy, though cleanly cut with rapier-like acidity and scintillating limestone and flint minerality. The finish is long, fervent, steely and spicy. 12.5 percent alcohol. Very Good+ (with a couple more +s if I could; it’s that close to Excellent). I paid $23, but I have seen prices as low as $17 around the country.

Imported by The Stacole Co., Boca Raton, Fla.

Oh, come on, of course there’s an occasion this week that demands a bottle of Champagne! The rumored indictment was not handed down, or at least the judge went easy on you; the auditors didn’t notice that the decimal point was four places to the right; the bills were unmarked — and no one died! Or maybe it’s just the right day and the right time, and the right person is present with whom sharing a bottle of Champagne makes absolute sense. We enjoyed immensely the Duval-Leroy Brut, which I bought as the major ingredient in the French 75 cocktail, but after that purpose you can bet that we didn’t let the rest of the bottle go to waste.

The house of Duval-Leroy has been owned by the same family since 1859. The winery is in the village of Vertus, a Premier Cru village — according to Champagne’s official and somewhat abstruse rating system — located deep in the south of the chardonnay-dominated Cote des Blancs where pinot noir vineyards come back into play. For what might be called a “basic” product, the Duval-Leroy Brut, non-vintage, displays wonderful character and depth to bolster its immediate appeal. Tom Stevenson, in his World Encyclopedia of Champagne & Sparkling Wine (Wine Appreciation Guild, revised edition, 2003), says that the blend is 75 percent chardonnay and 25 percent pinot noir. The color is pale blond-gold tremendously enlivened by a taut upward surge of frothing, glinting bubbles. The first aromas occur in the form of acacia, apple, cinnamon toast and chalky/limestone-like minerality; within a few moments notes of fresh biscuits, honeysuckle and ginger emerge. While exhibiting terrific substance and presence, the Duval-Leroy Brut is elegant and suave, yet surprisingly spicy for all its finesse; flavors of roasted lemon and baked pear are permeated by quince and ginger, a touch of toasted almond, a hint of candied grapefruit. The limestone element grows as moments elapse, and, of course, the effervescence and chiming acidity keep it invigorating and engaging. Works wonders with lightly salted popcorn (not buttered!) and a handful of cashews. 12 percent alcohol. Excellent. Prices around the country range from about $28 to $40; I paid $35 in Memphis.

Ummmm …… Probably not.

Not that I don’t enjoy a glass of Moscato, especially from the wine’s home-base around the city of Asti in Piedmont. When I was in that region last year, blogging for the Barbera 2010 conference, visits to wineries and estates often began with a glass of clean, crisp, slightly sweet Moscato d’Asti that went surprisingly well with the bountiful spreads of meats, cheeses and breads typically laid out for us. Moscato d’Asti is lightly sparkling, what the Italians call frizzante, as opposed to spumante, full sparkling, so it can be quite refreshing without being blatantly effervescent or filling. Moscato d’Asti also works well as a dessert wine, actually is mostly assumed to be a dessert wine, especially when served with simple confections like uncomplicated fruit tarts. Its low alcohol content — 5.5 percent — makes it easy to quaff. Moscato d’Asti is made from the moscato bianco grape, the Italian name for muscat blanc a petits grains, the best of the numerous muscat varieties. The hallmarks of Moscato d’Asti are its delicacy, its musky, floral aromas and a sensation of sweetness more implied than acted upon; crisp acidity is essential for balance, though it must not ruffle the wine’s innate softness.

Now, a great deal of Prosecco is fairly sweet, though it need not be, and a remarkable quantity of the wines are bland and innocuous, which they also need not be. The official expansion of Prosecco’s approved growing area in the Veneto will not bolster quality. Nonetheless, Prosecco is among the fastest growing segments in the imported wine market in the United States, and at the best it can be a fine and thoroughly enjoyable sparkling wine. (Prosecco is the name of the grape and the product.) Prosecco can be a still wine, though that manifestation is rare, and it can be both frizzante or spumante, with the latter type outnumbering the former three to one. My point is that as delightful and subtle as Moscato d’Asti can be — and I mean the best examples, not the vapid, sappy-sweet ones — it has limited utility in the diurnal round. Prosecco, on the other hand, especially those few models produced from superior zones in a dry, minerally style, can be not only versatile but engaging and elegant.

Many winemaking areas in Italy produce some version of a moscato wine, and you find it increasingly throughout the world; one of my favorite non-Italian versions, a true delight, is produced by Innocent Bystander in Australia’s Yarra Valley; here’s a link to a recent review. I have tasted a number of Italian Moscatos lately; I’ll mention the most gratifying. Those made outside Piedmont may have slightly more alcohol than 5.5 percent.

Image of Moscato in glass from spiritofwine.blogspot.com.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
First, three genuine Moscato d’Asti wines:

The Coppo Moncalvina Moscato d’Asti 2010 is a real classic. Apple, pear and melon on the nose, slightly spiced and honeyed, a little foxy, with almond and almond blossom, orange zest and orange blossom; very refined, very delicate, a softly sweet entry that quickly goes dry on the palate with lip-smacking acidity and a scintillating limestone element; despite the crisp acidity, though, a lovely cushiony texture that supports flavors of peach and pear with mild effervescence. Quite charming. 5 percent alcohol. Very Good +. About $17.
Imported by Folio Fine Wine Partners, Napa, Ca.

The Cascinetta Vietti Moscato d’Asti 2009 seems to offer more bubbles than Moscato d’Asti wines typically do. Pale straw-gold color; apple, peach and pear, almond and almond blossom, musk-rose; shimmering acidity tingles the tongue; sweet as biting into a ripe peach but tempered by acid and a very dry limestone-drenched finish that runs under the lushness of stone-fruit flavors; delicately married to an intriguing hint of earthiness. Lovely. 5.5 percent alcohol. Very Good+. About $16.
Imported by Dalla Terra Winery Direct, Napa, Ca.

A tad simpler than the preceding examples, the Saracco Moscato d’Asti 2010 is still quite tasty and tempting. Pale straw-gold color; a gentle froth of bubbles; melon bubble gum, peach, orange blossom, almond; seductively lush with a talc-like texture cut by keen acidity and limestone-like minerality. A nice quaff. 6 percent alcohol. Very Good. About $15.
Dalla Terra Winery Direct, Napa Ca.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The bubbles on the Seven Daughters Moscato n.v., Veneto I.G.T., offer barely a prickle; this is true subtlety, though a mildly pleasant sensation on the tongue; green apple, peach and pear, quite fresh and appealing, a little spicy; a burst of sweetness at the beginning but zippy acidity and a flush of damp limestone turn it pretty darned dry from mid-palate back; a bracing bit of bitterness on the finish. 7 percent alcohol. Very Good. About $15.
Terlato Wines International, Lake Bluff, Il.

The Cantine Maschio Cadoro Moscato n.v, Puglia, is a fascinating product, first because it derives from Apulia, down in the southeast, and second because of its heightened effervescence — it’d spumante rather than frizzante — and third because it is more substantial than delicate; call it a super-Moscato, perhaps. Amid this host of bubbles is a welter of apple and melon, peach and pear, all slightly spicy and honeyed and a little woodland wildness; a sweet entry moderated by swingeing acidity and a prominent limestone, shale element wrapped around lush stone fruit flavors, all devolving to a touch of apple peel/almond skin bitterness on the finish. Intriguing and delicious. 7.5 percent alcohol. Very Good+. About $15.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It’s only early July, but it feels as if the Dog Days are already biting at our heels. A good way to cool off is with a glass of The Postmistress Blanc de Blanc 2010, from Henry’s Drive Vignerons, the winery in South Australia’s Padthaway region that names its wines and clever, well-designed labels for aspects of the country’s 19th Century mail system. The Postmistress is made in the Charmat process of second fermentation in tank rather than in the bottle, but that fact doesn’t detract one whit from this sparkler’s charm. Made completely from chardonnay grapes, The Postmistress Blanc de Blanc 2010 — usually spelled blanc de blancs — offers a pale blonde color and a very pretty, frothing surge of tiny bubbles. The wine is clean and crisp, with lemony aromas highlighted by toasted hazelnuts, lime peel, freshly baked bread and cinnamon toast; a tide of limestone and a hint of jasmine emerge after a few minutes in the glass. Pert and sassy with sharply etched acidity, The Postmistress 2010 deliveres generalized citrus flavors permeated by quince and crystallized ginger and a yeasty touch; it’s quite dry, very minerally in the limestone and shale sense, and nicely rounded in texture amid the lithe crispness. Really attractive. Winemaker was Renae Hirsch. 12 percent alcohol. Production was 2,900 cases. Delightful as an aperitif, though I sipped it with spicy crab cakes at the restaurant Felicia Suzanne’s in Memphis. Very Good+. About $20.

Imported by Quintessential, Napa, Ca. A sample for review.