Supple Sparkler Celebrates Site Centennial
It’s my 100th wine review on Notes From The Cellar.
I think it only fitting, then, that my 100th review is that of a celebratory wine. A real aperitif-style sparkling wine from the Napa outpost of one of Champagne’s greatest chateaux, Moët et Chandon.
The Domaine Chandon étoile Brut is DC’s prestige cuvée, and while it’s certainly no Dom Perignon, it’s a tasty little sucker. Aged for at least five years sur lees, it’s a wine they take very good care of.
In the glass, the wine is an extremely light yellow. Really, it’s off-white. The bubbles are tiny, and though there aren’t a ton of them, they move swiftly and put on a helluva show. On the nose, the wine shows off some pretty awesome notes of shortbread, lemon, apple, and vanilla.
The étoile is light bodied and crisp, with notes of honey and candied lemon zest joining a yeasty creaminess, and the apple and vanilla notes from the nose.
There’s a lot going on here, but don’t be scared off. The Domaine Chandon étoile is a wonderful way to toast a celebration—even one much, much more significant than a wine blog’s 100th wine review.
Verdict: A-
NV Domaine Chandon étoile Brut
Footnotes
2006 Chandon Yountville Vintage Brut
We’re doing family dinners with my wife’s family on Sundays these days. It’s a good time, as they’re fun people and the food is almost embarrassingly good. Also fun is my in-laws’ penchant for, and constant supply of, California sparkling wine.
This last Sunday we got together, ate some fantastic Asian-inspired chicken, and watched Team USA take it to the home-ice-advantaged Canadians in Olympic Ice Hockey. Was a great game either way, was made even better by Uncle Sam’s 5-3 triumph. We also drank some bubbly, including this vintage brut from one of Napa’s mainstay sparkling producers.
The wine is a pale yellow in the glass, and the bubbles are noticeably slow-moving. It’s like they deliberately stalk the top of the glass. The nose is yeasty and light, with a hint of sour apple.
The 2006 Yountville Brut is a light-bodied wine, sharp, with a medium-length finish that neither disappoints nor overwhelms. It tastes a bit of lemon, a bit more of sour (think Granny Smith) apple, and even more of sourdough bread. It’s not the crispest or cleanest brut I’ve had, the yeastiness weighs it down some, but it’s a very enjoyable drink.
An excellent wine for celebrating a major national hockey victory–or just another great Sunday with family.
Verdict: B+
2006 Chandon Yountville Vintage Brut
Burnt, Sour, Earthy, and Wonderful
Yesterday my sister-in-law and her husband came by the house because, well, they hadn’t seen it yet. They’re both sparkling fans, and specifically Chandon fans, so we decided to break out the Sparkling Red and the Pinot Noir Brut Reserve. They loved the Red, as does just about everyone who tastes it, but I took my notes on the PNB.
The nose is full with the smells of almonds, burnt honey, and wheat, but only if all of the above were smothered under a heaping pile of wet leaves. On the palate, you still get the honey, but it’s sweeter, less burnt. The nuts are there, and there is a sourness of citrus fruits you’re either going to love or hate. I, on the other hand, fell in the middle on it.
You won’t. You’ll love it or hate it.
All in all, a very good wine that paired well with aged gouda and gluten-free nut-based snack crackers (sis-in-law has Celiac), but I would say definitely an acquired taste.
Verdict: 87/100