Some Late Summer Sparkling Wines

Bigger Than Your Head recommends a small selection of sparkling wines to enjoy on the porch and at socially-distanced end of summer picnics, including Langlois-Chateau Crémant de Loire and Crémant de Loire Brut Rosé. 

Writer Fredric Koeppel notes the Langlois-Chateau Crémant de Loire Rosé has “a beguiling pale onion skin hue and a shimmer of minute silver bubbles.” Adding, “this is a delightful yet delicate and elegant rosé that consists of 70 percent cabernet franc and 30 percent pinot noir, aged 18 months in bottle on the lees; the initial impression is of spare notes of strawberries and pears bolstered by limestone and flint minerality; a few moments in the glass bring out hints of apple skin, almond blossom and lime peel; at the core lurks a touch of red currant and lilac, every element etched by firm acidity and limestone minerality.”

As for the Langlois-Chateau Crémant de Loire Brut, he shares background on the grape varieties and its three years aging on the lees before noting that the wine’s color “is pale gold, enlivened by a exhilarating, foaming tide of tiny bubbles.” Being quite direct, he adds, “this one is about as spare, chiseled and elegant as sparkling wine gets; smoke and steel are wreathed with glimmers of spiced pear and roasted lemon, acacia, heather and sea-salt; there’s real heft in the mid-palate, though the overall effect through the finish is of something glancing, fleet and fine-honed; it practically glitters in the glass.” Read the rest of this story HERE.