Kategoriarkiv: Sparkling wines

Sparkling wines

Riesling Sekt with honey and stone fruit

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Delicious yellow stone fruit, honeydew melon, minerals and moist earth combined with lingering bubbels – an organic sparkling Sekt from the Mosel producer Stafetter Hof in Germany, vintage 2019.

Sekt is a German word for Sparkling wine, and this wine is produced in the same way as Champagne through the traditional method. This means that the bubbles are created in a second fermentation in each bottle, creating very integrated mousse and the wine is then left on its lees after the second fermentation (in this case at least 9 months).

On the nose I get elegant hints of honey, yellow stone fruit and melon as well as moist earth and some automatic toasty notes. On the palate I get brisk acidity and on top of the aromas also notes of mirabelle plum and peach rounded off with mineral impressions. It has a long finish and a balanced rounded body with fruit concentration matching the high acidity level. Slightly sweet finish in the Brut style, meaning a maximum of 12 g/l – for this wine the sweetness is 9,2 g/l. The alcohol level is 12,5 % abv.

The Mosel producer Stafetter Hof Winery in Kröv has produced wine since 862, so the tradition goes a long way back! Now they are very involved in sustainability issues and the biodiversity in their soils and vineyards. They can already produce 80% of the energy they need and plan to buy sheep to integrate in their soils management, among other things.

This wine, with its integrated mousse combined with its honey and steely notes is very pleasant both on the nose and the palate – so it gets 92 points! In Sweden it can be bought at Systembolaget at the price of 242 SEK, and the nr is 73484.

This Riesling Sekt, with concentrated fruit notes and its elegant high acidity goes very well with many food dishes. Try it with leak cream soup, fish fillet with creamy sauce or veal ragout – as well as creamy cheeses and salads with cheese and herbs!

Sparkling wines

Portuguese rosé Pet Nat with herbal notes

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Portugal is a fantastic wine country, producing everything from light white frizzy wines to powerful Port wines. Often the grape varieties used are indigenous grapes, that many people do not recognize so well. We have tried Aphros Phaunus Pet Nat Rosé 2021, with nr 94229 at Swedish Systembolaget and at the price 235 SEK.

This sparkling wine, made in the traditional style called Méthode ancestral or Pétillant Naturel – Pet Nat, comes from the northwestern district in Minho called Vinho Verde. It is made from 50% Alvarelhão and 50% Vinhão. The production method means that partly fermented must is put into bottles and the remaining sugar is converted into alcohol and CO2 , providing the effervescence in the bottle (no extra addition of yeast and sugar). The residual sugar in this wine was 12 g/l when it was bottled, and it was kept on the lees for three months. The final alcohol level is 11 % abv, and the wine has a nice effervescence and is dry.

The producer is Adega Aphros Wine, who was started in 2002 by Vasco Croft and the vineyards are kept according to biodynamic principles.

The wine has a pale pink-orange colour, with a fine mousse. On the nose there are notes of roses, red apples, peach, blood orange and wild strawberries. On the palate we also find herbal and mineral notes, fresh high acidity and with a well-balanced and salty finish.

We find this rosé very pleasant and easy to pair with buffets, salads, fish, light meat dishes as well as Asian food! It is also very nice as an apéritif and well worth its price – we give this interesting Portuguese rosé Pet Nat 89 points!

Sparkling wines

Organic Champagne Premier Cru with superb chalky freshness

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Since 8 generations the Larmandier family has been cultivating vines in the heart of the region of Côte des Blancs in Champagne, France. The sparkling wine that I tasted is the Larmandier-Bernier Longitude Premier Cru Blanc de Blancs, non-vintage (nr 91313 Systembolaget) which has a both crisp orchard fruitiness, brioche with fabulous mineral finish.

The appellation of Champagne is situated in the north-eastern part of France, just south of the 50th parallel, with a cool continental climate. This makes it more vulnerable to problems like fungal disease, meaning that organic viticulture can be more difficult. However, already in 1992 Pierre Larmandier abandoned herbicides, and since 1999 Biodynamic viticulture is used on the entire estate as well as indigenous yeasts for the fermentations.

“Longitude” is made of 100 % Chardonnay, and gets its name from the fact that the Chardonnay grapes are grown on the Côte des Blancs: Vertus, Oger, Avize, Cramant, which form a line close to the 4th meridian. This non-vintage cuvée also contains 40% of wines coming from the perpetual reserve of reserve wines, begun in 2004. This adds fantastic complexity to the palate, with notes of citrus, pastry cream, crisp plum fruit, nuts and freshly baked bread. It has a long salty mineral finish, and the dosage is only 3 g/l giving a pure freshness and the label of ”extra brut”. It has a vibrant acidity and the mousse is exquisitely long-lasting.

The base wines are matured in wood and on the natural lees, with no filtering – adding texture and complexity. Then the blending and tirage takes place, according to the traditional method of producing sparkling wine. This means that the second fermentation takes place in the bottles, which are resting in the cool cellars for at least two more years. Then each bottle is disgorged by hand.

For me this is a pure and terroir-driven Champagne, ready to really enjoy now but it could also be kept for some years to show more nutty and nougat flavors. I truly enjoy this Champagne, which is perfect to serve as it is or with cheese, salads, seafood, fish and lighter meat dishes! It gets 95 points!