Champagne Gardet

Champagne Gardet 

In the search for all things fizzy, I waltzed over to the Gardet stand at the London Wine Fair to be informed that they had just won a "Decanter. Gold. Medal" for their Brut NV. In this case the speech marks were for the excitement this information was conveyed with!

Situated in Chigny Les Roses just up the road from hip-hop favourites Cattier and their Ace of Spades, Gardet is a small  house in the village which was initially started up in the nineteenth century in Epernay. It was Georges Gardet who moved the business into Chigny Les Roses in the 1930's.

Brut NV

Well I know why this won a medal. This is a little belter of a champagne, a blend of 45% Pinot Noir, 45% Pinot Meunier and 10% Chardonnay this has all the richness one would imagine but the added raciness of some fresh acidity and citrus characteristics. Indulgent baked apple, brioche, vanilla this was delicious on a hot and sunny day but this would be a great winter champagne as the weightiness on the palate is exactly what is required in front of a roaring fire. Superb!

Blanc de Noirs 1er Cru

An equal proportion of Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier this has around 5 to 6 years ageing before release. Again that richness and complexity is apparent from the first sip. Brioche, toast, crunchy brulee topping, vanilla, concentrated candied peel, quince and stone fruits are balanced out with that racy acidity adding zip at the vital moment. The mousse is creamy and rich with a finish that lingers and lingers. Delicious.

Charles Gardet 2002

aka the birthday champagne that was schlepped across the globe to share with my Aussie friends. I tried this beauty when I went to visit them in Champagne as they didn't have it on the Decanter stand but it was well worth the visit. A 50/50 split between Chardonnay & Pinot Noir this wine sees no malolactic fermentation and had at least 8 years ageing before they released it. This is just scrumptious, the richness that seems to run through the different wines of the house is there and hints of honey and nougat blend seamlessly with ripe stone fruits, candied peel and a nutty characteristic. As delicious as it is there is still room to grow as one would expect from a top quality 2002 but it I just couldn't resist drinking it now, fabulous and a pleasure to share with friends.

London Wine fair in bubbles-Brazil

On my trip back to the UK in November I had my first foray into Brazilian sparkling wine with the Miolo Brut Millesime 2008 which didn't set my world alight but was interesting enough for me to keep a sneaky eye on what else was happening in the Brazilian sparkling market.

I am going to ignore the Moscato's that people continually tried to force on me as the rest of this page would just be me writing "tastes like crushed up Love Hearts" over and over again.  

On trying the Miolo again, I will say that my first assessment still stands but there were a couple of other sparkling wines that really stood out from the pack. Both made in Serra Gaucha which has the only two certified wine production areas in the country Vale dos Vinhedos and Pinto Bandeira. 

130 Brut, NV, Casa Valduga   
75% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay traditional method sparkling wine which has spent 36 months on its lees. After trying the Miolo this felt alive in the glass. Vibrant, fresh and fruity this was a real pleasure to drink. At the moment it is pretty fruit driven with passion fruit, green apple, peach and lemon dominating. With a hint of toastiness the 130 is also creamy and soft in the mouth with some weightiness showing it has more to offer in the future. Very enjoyable glass of bubbles, it would be tough not to go back for a second glass.  


Espumante Nature, Salton Geracoes, Antonio Domenico Salton Vinicola Salton
Another traditional method, three years on lees sparkling wine, this time a 50/50 split Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. A much richer nose on this one with a fabulous leatherwood honey and beeswax approach nestling happily with fresh apples and ripe lemons. On the palate apples, lemons and stone fruits combined with brioche and leatherwood honey to create an interesting and complex sparkling wine that lingers on the palate. Delicious.

 

London Wine Fair in bubbles-England

I started tasting at the London Wine Fair the only decent way. With some English sparkling.

 Nyetimber http://www.nyetimber.com/ 

Classic cuvée 2007 A blend of 56% Chardonnay and the remainder an equal split of Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, it spends three years on its lees before release. This was a belter of a way to get back into English wine, a wee slip of a thing it has many years ahead of it but it is bright, zippy and as racy as you would expect. Green apple, fresh citrus notes and hints of honey and candied peel on the nose this is one I would drink half the case and hide the other half. Delicious!

 Rose 2007 Officially new and indeed exciting. A blend of 75% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Noir I was slightly disappointed when I tried this that I wasn't sat in the glorious sunshine with my favourite people sipping bubbles and gossipping. A slightly savoury nose with ripe, plump red berry flavours it is enticing from the start. Like the Classic cuvée it is taut and racy with crisp redcurrants, ripe red cherries and crunchy red apples coming through on the palate. Fresh and lively this has many years left in it, if one happened to be getting married this summer it would be worth getting a case of this to have one on each anniversary to celebrate.

Blanc de Blancs 2003 I loved this. I am a relatively new convert to the joy that is Blanc de Blancs. I love my Pinot dominant sparklers but over the years some really smart Chardonnay heavy wines have turned my head and this is no exception. Fresh apples and yoghurt on the nose with subtle toasty notes starting to come through this wine shows real vibrancy for its nine years in age. A very stylish wine, soft and fresh with almonds, apple and stone fruit one to get your hands on while you can.

 Ridgeview www.ridgeview.co.uk

Ridgeview only make sparkling wine and lots of it. Being the dedicated nerd that I am, I tried the entire range and here are my Top 3.  

Grosvenor Blanc de Blancs 2009 Told you I'm a sucker for a decent Blanc de Blancs. Much bolder and richer than the Nyetimber despite being several years younger it has a stone fruit and honeyed nose which follows through onto the palate with a slight nuttiness which is counter balanced by the fresh apple and lemon flavours. Complex and interesting, this really hit the spot.

 Bloomsbury 2009 A blend of 58% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir and 12% Pinot meunièr this was ripe and almost juicy on the palate with stone fruits and apples mingling with brioche and a hint of dairy. Very, very drinkable.  

Victoria 2009 A saignee Pinot Meunier dominant rose with the remainder made up of Pinot Noir, this was delicious, soft and savoury. On the nose red berries and fresh cherry blossom delicately balanced with some savoury, rich notes. I know it isn't terribly English but I really wanted some Iberico ham to match with the pomegranate , red berries and blossom. The Victoria still has a youthful edge to it making it a perfect choice with friends, sunshine, laughter and not very English ham!  

Chapel Down http://www.chapeldown.com/

Based down in Tenterden, Kent Chapel Down make both sparkling and still wines. Here are two they were showing on the Bibendum stand.  

Primrose Hill NV This is a wine we unanimously decided, in our tasting group in Tasmania, that we would be happy to drink a comfortable amount of and on trying it again at the fair, my decision stands. It's a cheeky little number with a fresh and fruity black currant and hedgerow nose. The palate is sprightly with red and black currants, berries and spice lifted by some crisp acidity to produce a dry and very appealing white sparkling wine.  

Rose NV Made from 100% Pinot Noir this is a delicate salmon pink with an equally delicate red cherry and rosehip nose. I thoroughly enjoy the variety of dry sparkling rose wines that are currently knocking around and this is no exception. Delicately complex with red fruits, citrus and a slight floral note all comfortably enlivened by a crisp, fresh acidity. A very elegant glass of fizz indeed.  

Hush Heath http://www.hushheath.com/home

Having a very quick chat and some cheery banter on Twitter with the folks from Hush Heath I was thrilled that their approach to wine is not too dissimilar to mine. Wine should be fun, especially good wine. They make good wine and it is most definitely fun.  

Balfour Rose 2008 Rose that one has fun with doesn't need to be some glow in the dark, sticky, catastrophe. The Balfour Rose is a pale salmon in colour and tastes vibrant, fresh, fruity and crisp. Red cherries, raspberries, redcurrants and quince all sit happily with a touch of spice and I can guarantee that a glass of this will make you realise that stylish and fun are very happy bedfellows. Delicious!

Jansz LD 2002

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside, oh I do like to be beside the sea.....This afternoon I left town in a summer dress on a balmy autumn morning, by the time I got to the seaside it was 15 degrees and lashing it down. The weather is changing and for me that means it's time for the bubbles to get a little older and a little more serious, so when Nat thrust the rest of the LD 2002 at me this afternoon it was very much a moment of serendipity.Time for the summer dresses to be retired and in their place a heavier knit and in my glass a weightier sparkling.

I really should write an actual tasting note here but after writing my note the old fashioned way, in a book with a pen, I am now enjoying a glass and I feel transported elsewhere. I'm feeling reflective and whimsical and if I close my eyes I can visualise myself staring out at the sea on a winters day listening to the crash of the waves and I am sat warm and cosy by a roaring fire with a good book on the go.

Anyway enough of my daydreaming, the LD 2002 is sublime. Good wine is like good art, it communicates in more ways than the medium it is presented on. At ten years old the colour is not especially deep at medium lemon and the liveliness of the bubbles is impressive, their tiny forms racing to the surface in the glass.

Stone fruits, particularly nectarine, hints of spice and nashi pears on the nose with a velvety smooth mousse, soft and rich in the mouth. Fresh with mere hints of maturity, the palate is ripe but has much development still to come and is soft without being flabby. Sometimes the hardest reviews to write are those for cracking wines and there has been a lot of thought put into this wine with its whole bunch pressing of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir that has been hand rather than machine picked. Along with seven years ageing in bottle pre-disgorging, this wine is elegant, beautiful and somewhat reminiscent of drinking Pol Roger.

So if anyone has a beach house with spectacular views of the ocean and a real fire, I'll bring the wine if you let me come and visit for a couple of days, I'll even cook...

Chapel Down Brut Vintage Reserve

Kent, the garden of England. The best thing to do in a garden on a hot day is to crack open a bottle of bubbles and see where the conversation takes you and with a bottle of Chapel Down Brut on the go you can be sure of happy free-wheeling chat that will put the world to rights.

I have enjoyed many a bottle of Chapel Down Brut over the years and when i nipped back to England late last year I picked up a bottle to taste with friends back home in Tassie. To have two such different English bubbles in our first tasting group was a treat and the response to the Chapel Down was actually more accordant than the Nyetimber. In the most affectionate way, this is a great session sparkler.

Lemon in colour with many small, fast moving bubbles the nose presents an unusual blend of blackcurrant, rose, violet, rosehip and apple. The palate continues with many flavours that are unexpected in a white sparkling with red fruits such as redcurrants and strawberries adding to the mix of flavours found on the nose. 

With a crisp and refreshing acidity these red and floral flavours really work to create a flavoursome and very drinkable wine. Best enjoyed young the Chapel Down Brut really hits the spot and I look forward to popping the cork on a bottle one sunny day when I'm back in the UK.

Nyetimber Classic Blend 1995

Back in the 90's I first tasted English sparkling wine at a bistro I was working at. We had a visiting winemaker from Australia over and my boss pulled out a bottle of bubbles to have at the end of the winemakers dinner once the customers had left.

None of us knew what it was and we were all remarking on its tasty goodness when we were told it was English and it was produced by Nyetimber. I am a bit hazy on the details of vintage and the like but that first taste of Nyetimber piqued an interest that has not faded away over the years.

Thanks to Ricky at Bay of Fires who worked a harvest in the UK last year, one of the wines in our inaugural tasting meet-up was a Nyetimber 1995.

A deep golden wine with small but not overly effervescent bubbles. A rich and heady nose full of caramelised walnuts, baked apple, honey, sweet spice and candied orange peel led through to an equally flavoursome palate.

Dry with refreshing acidity with some real weight and intensity. Orange peel, brioche, nuts, candied peel, honey, nutmeg, baked apple and a hint of vanilla and mushrooms all combine with a very creamy mousse and a delightful long length. 

There was a mixed reaction from the group; for some the intensity of the flavours and the savoury earthiness were too much but there were several of us that loved its rich and concentrated complexity. All in all a good result for England on Australian soil. First the cricket, now the wine.....

Muse Brut Rose, 2004, Moorilla

I love pink bubbles.  Being also a fan of sparkly dresses, sometimes I think there is much fun in being a cliche when it involves good frocks and tasty sparkling!  There is still something of a stigma attached to sparkling rose and if people have only ever tried the horror that is Jacob's Creek Moscato Rose I can completely understand why they think it is hen-night lady-fuel.

Krug Rose or Taittinger Comtes de Champagnes rose couldn't be further from L-plated veils and perma-tanned strippers gyrating to Sex Bomb but if your budget doesn't quite stretch to that then there are plenty of great options in between.

The Muse Brut Rose 2004 is older and I'm tempted to say slightly more interesting than the Brut 06. A complex nose of redcurrant jelly, honey, figs, raspberries and baked strawberries intrigued me and the palate delivered. A very creamy mousse with plenty of refreshing acidity, hibiscus and soft red fruits and a long length.

A delicious and refreshing rose with complex maturity and I think teamed with a glamorous dress the awesome Bruny Island 'Otto', the one wrapped in ham, a few hours could be quite cheerfully wasted away.

Muse Brut 2006, Moorilla

There are so many jokes about Craig Mclachlan that I shall leave them unsaid and let the meme transfer the song into your head all on its own! 

Ex-Neighbours stars aside, if you haven't made the journey to Mona I would highly recommend it, some really confronting art and awesome food can be found on the same site as a very swanky Cellar Door for Moorilla wines.

With fruit sourced from the Tamar Valley the 2006 is as stylish as its surroundings. Pale lemon-green with a fine persistence in the glass the nose is clean and crisp with fresh lemons, biscuits, green apple and a hint of crab apple coming through. This is one crisp and refreshing glass of bubbles with plenty of clean acidity, a really creamy mousse and a long finish. The zingy green apple and lemon combine beautifully with honey, yeast and a complex biscuitty finish in a classy glass of bubbles. 

The Muse vintage Brut is definitely one to enjoy with some tapas from the bar before you head off to view the naked folk, light bulbs and coolest shower around.

Salute Sparkling, Spring Vale, 2008

Produced by Rod and Lyn Lyne out on the east coast of Tassie in Freycinet, the Spring Vale "Salute" sparkling is a blend of 87% Chardonnay, 9% Pinot Noir and 4% Pinot Meunier. Freycinet isn't always at the top of people's minds when one thinks of Tasmanian sparkling wine but it is worth remembering that Spring Vale are in the same neighbourhood as Claudio Radenti who makes some very smart bubbles indeed.

A delicate, pale, lemon-green wine with small fast moving bubbles the Salute is very fresh on the nose with green apple, lemons, white blossoms and biscuits finding their way through. The palate is yeasty and relatively intense with flavours of nectarines, apples, lemons, peach and biscuit. Salute spends 27  months on its lees before release and I would be interested to see how this wine develops as the bottle that I had showed something of a short finish to what was quite the pleasant glass of bubbles, one to re-visit in the future I think.

Pommery, 1981

So Christmas eh? T'was most definitely the season to be merry this year as there has been a cheerful amount of good bubbles knocking around, not least the Pommery 1981 we enjoyed on Christmas morning. A tricky vintage with a reduction in harvest size due to frosts in  the Spring, the 1981's are definitely ready to show us how they have turned out.

I am very much of the opinion that 30 is a lovely age and the Pommery did not disprove my theory. When Pommery is young I find it a little hard going, not quite at the 'a face only a mother could love' stage, more gangly youth, all knees, elbows and funny hair.

Age, however, does wonderful things and the Pommery has emerged from slightly awkward teenage years to be a stylish and slick adult. The maturity is obvious from the start with a rich golden hue which had far more sprightly bubbles than anticipated. The nose had an intensely rich, mushroomy scent with candied peel and some oxidised flavours coming through.

Rich and truffley on the palate, the Pommery was toasty, concentrated and vary satisfying. Intense baked apple, candied peel, brioche and a refreshing tang this was a classy little Champagne which really shows how well Pommery delivers the goods when tucked away to grow up a little.

Tamar Ridge, Vintage Cuvee, 2006

Unless you have been asleep, or merely fixated on the gold dress, it is impossible to skim over my weakness for Tassie bubbles. It has brought me to the other side of the world and although the 100 Aussie sparkling wines  has a pretty strong Tassie bias, this is one that isn't on the initial list.   

This omission isn't for any other reason than there was already way over 100 on the initial list and it needed slimming down a little. 2006 has provided some very smart wines from Tasmania and the Tamar Ridge vintage Cuvee is no exception, it is a cracker of a wine.

Medium lemon with a fine persistence, the nose is yeasty and autolytic with an almost oxidised approach combined with honey, brioche, apple and apricot. On the palate the mousse is rich and creamy which sets off a sparkling that is elegant but firm and flavoursome. Baked apples and stone fruits give way to leave the wine with a combination of citrus, honey and biscuits at the end. 


It will be interesting to watch this one develop as it is still very much developing rather than being fully mature but it is already an absolute belter. One to get a case of and pull out a bottle every now and then just to see how it is doing.

No:49 Bay of Fires Pinot Noir Chardonnay 2003

Tasmania produces some great sparkling wine all over the state but there is definitely a corner of sparkling wine dreams that is inhabited by Jansz, Delamere, Kreglinger and the glorious Bay of Fires.

Everything from the Bay of Fires sparkling range is great drinking and the 2003 is no exception. Inviting from the get-go, the 2003 is sprightly in the glass the small, fast moving, bubbles settling to some fine beading on the rim.

On the nose the maturity is obvious and complex, rich and toasty flavours, stone fruits, baked apple, biscuits and a very pleasant autolytic aroma. These all follow through on the palate to show what a cracking sparkling wine this is. A perfect balance of development married with fresh acidity, a creamy mousse and rich and complex flavours, this is a really stylish glass of bubbles. 

My 100 Australian sparkling wines to try is a little heavy on the Tasmanian sparklers but when they are like this, who am I to argue?

No:96 Knappstein Sparkling Shiraz

There are certain things that are very Australian; Vegemite, freakish animals and sparkling red wine. A little while ago I asked the Twitterverse if Australian sparkling red was pointless filth or Australian speciality and the answer was a healthy enthusiasm for red bubbles.

I have a few sparkling reds to try on my 100 Australian Sparkling wines and this is the first one I have reviewed so far. Apparently it's big over the festive season so I'm bang on the money reviewing it now!

Deep ruby with small fast moving bubbles and lots of fine beading on the rim the nose had as intense and spicy a nose as a still Shiraz. Dark chocolate, coffee, blackberry, pepper, star anise and black cherry all combining in a complex aroma. On the palate it is off-dry but with a refreshing acidity and the dark cherry, chocolate and spice flavours found on the nose all follow through with a hint of eucalyptus and star anise. 

Produced with fruit grown in the Chainsaw Vineyard of the Clare Valley the grapes are hand picked and after two weeks fermentation on skins the wine is transferred into oak barrels for ageing.  Not a traditional method but this has been made with some love and it shows. For my first foray into sparkling Shiraz, I'm kinda liking this, it's like hot Christmas. Weird but not necessarily wrong.

The Rhona, NV, Graham Beck

Returning to the UK and no longer being a Majestic staff member meant that I ended up buying wines from other establishments.This is fine when one knows the area and can find the decent little wine merchants but is as depressing as country music if one doesn't.


After the epic sparkling lunch, my next old friend to visit was in Oxshott, only a hop and  a skip on the train from Wimbledon so I swung by M&S to see what was worth my holiday money. Luckily Marks and Spencer's seems to have stopped spending all their money on Take That adverts (money well spent by the way, superb eye-candy!) and have either paid their buyers a bit more or got them out and about a bit more to try some new wines.


 I was very happy with the selection, bubbles from England, Spain, Italy, South Africa and France all winking cheekily at me like enthusiastic speed daters.

Being in the UK for such a short time I picked the one that would be hardest to find in Tas-vegas. Wise choice. A cracker of a sparkler from Graham Beck's sparkling winemaker Pieter Ferreira, The Rhona is a Methode Cap Classique full of soft, plumptious, red fruits with a hint of something a little more serious and savoury rounding off the palate.


A fairly even split of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir sourced from Robertson, Franschoek and Stellenbosch, whole bunch pressed with some time on lees to bring a rich, yeasty characteristic through this is a smash hit. If I was still in the UK I'd have a comfortable amount of this to see me through the party season and beyond. In fact, friend I went to see knows someone on the inside and she's done just that. Hopefully there will be some left when I head back in May....

Cuvee TJ NV, Szigeti

Sometimes it's important to do things just because you want to. I have huge respect for Peter Szigeti for two reasons. Firstly because he sparkles whatever he wants to. Secondly he isn't a mad man with a soda stream more a man with a passion for traditional method sparkling wine using the varietals around him.

Being of Austro-Hungarian descent the family have vineyards in both countries and produce Gruner Veltliner, Welschriesling, Zwiegelt and many more sparkling wines from their winery an hour south of Vienna. Their Hungarian wine cellar is one of the oldest in the country at 650 years.

A blend of 55% Furmint, 25% Harslevelu and 15% Yellow muscat it is a beautiful gold colour and the nose is the enticing mix of spice and dried fruit that one would hope it offered. Honey, marmalade, orange peel, sultana and spiced apricots all pop up. The palate is dry and fresh with lemon and apple bringing a crisp,  citrussy zing to the party. The finish is spicy, nutty and very pleasant.

This was the final wine to our epic sparkling lunch and all agreed it was a cracking end to the day. This isn't the easiest wine to get hold of but if you are in Vienna it would be criminal not to pop down to Neusiedl am See and see Peter or if you're only in Vienna briefly then a trip to one of their sparkling wine bars is an absolute must. Szigeti info

Bollinger R.D 1995

1995 was the year I was legally allowed to buy alcohol. I say legally as if you've ever met me, I've looked like this since I was 14 so my love of bubbles and access to it may have started slightly earlier than it should have done.

Paintings in the attic aside, when it comes to Bollinger I do ever so slightly turn into an awkward teenage girl gibbering in front of Take That.  I'm constantly impressed with the wines of Bollinger and the RD 1995 was no exception.

Disgorged a dogs age ago, the bottle was kept by a friend of mine for a 'big occasion' weddings, birth of child, that kind of thing and as that hasn't occurred just yet then 'friend returning from Australia' would just have to do.

Aside from being a stonker of a year, the R.D 95 spends at least eight years on its lees before being disgorged which gives it a real freshness on release. This bottle was disgorged quite a while ago so there was a real maturity to the champagne with nutty, earthy, mushroomy characteristics coming through.

The fruit was rich and intense with baked apple, stone fruit, honey and nuts and a clean acidity which complimented the mature flavours. The RD was definitely 'at peak, drink now' and it was a real treat to enjoy the wine at its peak instead of tasting its potential.

Another hit for Bollinger and just to balance out the universe I retained my teenage girl idiocy that evening when I ran into a very handsome friend of mine  and being a little tired and emotional by then promptly turned into a gibbering teenager again. Sorry Reg, blame the Bollinger, one day I'll be as classically elegant as my favourite beverage.

No:54 Arras Grand Vintage 2003

Just over a year ago I started the 'Living The Dream' phase of my life and moved to Tasmania. For those of you that have never visited Tas-vegas....Tanzania is the place in Africa, no it isn't that cold and the bubbles are the best non-Champagne sparkling wines on the planet.

When faced with the long journey back to the UK, the biggest question is always which wine to take with me. Most of my friends aren't massively amused that I've moved away to the actual other side of the world so I was planning on appeasing them with quality beverages on my return.

The choice of bubbles was a nightmare, I'm surrounded by awesome fizz everywhere I turn. In the end I decided to go for a classic, Arras Grand Vintage 2003 made by sparkling wine maestro Ed Carr. Produced from fruit sourced from the Derwent, Huon and Glenora Valley the wine is Chardonnay dominated with a very specific 38.7% being Pinot Noir.

Arras did me proud. Golden and vibrant in the glass with a lively bubble and very creamy mousse. On the nose the richness came through with candied fruits and a yeasty characteristics which followed through to the palate where it was met with a surprisingly youthful palate. The acidity is still pretty lively, the palate almost tight and very well constructed with the mushroomy notes of development mingling comfortably with honey and baked apple. 

We started off our epic sparkling-a-thon with this wine which was perfect for a reunion and the bringing together of my new home and the place where I grew up but presented me with another problem. What the hell should I take back next time?

For the full list of 100 Australian Sparkling wines to try click here

Les Sarments d'Ay, Moet et Chandon

One of my favourite things about being in the wine industry is that I know I will never get to the end of the story. There will be wines I haven't drunk, places I haven't visited and things I will never learn but the upside of that is being able to retain my sense of childish glee. There will always be new discoveries and mysteries to unravel, which is never a bad thing.

On my whirlwind trip back to the UK my new discovery was a bottle that my champagne guru Pete brought to lunch. He wasn't too sure about it's heritage beyond it being a special that Moet et Chandon made but apparently it had been sat around and he felt it was about time it got drunk.

After abandoning the Moet website in a fit of frustration, I stumbled across some actual information from the always interesting Andrew Jefford, which managed to provide me with a few crumbs of knowledge. Les Sarments d'Ay was part of a release of three Grand Cru wines from Moet in 2001, each designed to show the expression of their grape variety and region. Les Vignes de Saran is made from Chardonnay grown in Chouilly and  Les Champs de Romont is made from Pinot Meunier in Sillery.

Pete is my champagne guru for a reason. Les Sarments d'Ay was a real unexpected treat and it has managed to capture the elements of its variety and location. The produce of several vintages this champagne is the epitome of fine balance; the fruit, richness and acidity sitting in harmony.

Stone fruits, baked apple and bready notes combine with hints of creaminess and the maturity of the wine is evident in a slight mushroomy characteristic but there is still a youthful vibrancy to the wine.

Justerini & Brooks are in possession of some of this wine so if you haven't organised something for Christmas morning then this would be a blinder with a breakfast of scrambled eggs, freshly baked bread and Christmas ham.

Miolo Brut Millesime 2008

Brazilian sparkling wine. That comment is one punctuation mark away from a WAG's to-do list but Brazil does indeed produce traditional method sparkling wines.

Located in the Vale dos Vinhedos, a sub-region of the Serra Gaucha, an area in the south-east of Brazil not too far from the coast.  Serra Gaucha isn't ridiculously hot with an average maximum temperature of 22.9 degrees and a minimum of 12.9 I don't know too much about Brazilian wines having forgotten almost everything I crammed into my mind during the WSET Diploma revision but Wines of Brazil have a cracking website to get you up to speed www.winesofbrasil.com

Miolo have 450 hectares in the Vale and their website (click here) touts a slightly terrifying corporate spiel involving Miolo being part of their 'project' plan and having only been set up in 2006; this juggernaut is definitely motoring along.

Now to the wine, the big question....Is the wine any good? Weeeeeell, kind of. A traditional method blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir it has been very well executed. Small, persistent bubbles, well balanced acidity, baked apple, stone fruit and toasty notes it is nicely put together and goes down nicely.

Overseen by Michel Rolland, flying winemaker extraordinaire, Miolo Millesime is competently made but lacks a certain something. Despite being perfectly pleasant the finish was a little short and left me wanting more. Tasted with two wine friends we all enjoyed the wine but the lack of passion left us thinking it was a little over-priced at just shy of £20 when for that price there are so many other really enjoyable new world sparklers like Green Point, Pelorus, Gloria Ferrer, Mumm Napa available at the same kind of price point.

The difference between a good wine and a great wine is often that little bit of magic. The strange witches brew of passion, good grapes and some (to quote the youth) mad winemaking skills. I think in time this wine will improve as someone who just has to make wine sparkle will find themselves at the helm and push this wine into some very interesting waters. One to keep a sneaky eye on...

Bertrand Devavry Gisele NV

You know the drill folks, if you are in the trade and talking about Champagne then one must diss the big houses and talk only about smaller and grower Champagnes. After trying the Bollinger Grande Annee 2002, the growers needed to deliver the goods with the assistance of Brad Pitt gliding in on a unicorn to impress me.

Bertrand Devavry are located in Champillon, north of Epernay with vineyards in several villages including Haut Villers, Sermiers and Romery with a Chardonnay dominance to their blends.

Apple, hawthorns and lemon on the nose the palate follows through with a similar flavour profile and a crisp, fresh acidity but a limited complexity. The wine is well put together with a creamy mousse and a balanced acidity but it isn't very interesting and doesn't have much of a finish. 

Slow start for the growers, there's better from Devavry to come but for the moment it's Big houses-1, Growers-nil*

*Bring me Brad Pitt on a unicorn and I'll say whatever you want me to about your wine...