{"id":75,"date":"2010-12-16T00:27:11","date_gmt":"2010-12-16T00:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kenswineguide.com\/blog\/?p=75"},"modified":"2010-12-23T16:34:12","modified_gmt":"2010-12-23T16:34:12","slug":"some-terrific-sparklers-and-champagnes-to-welcome-in-the-new-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/?p=75","title":{"rendered":"Some Terrific Sparklers And Champagnes To Welcome In The New Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Champagne\"We like to welcome in the New Year<\/strong> with a little bubbly.\u00c2\u00a0 So each year we collect and review several Champagnes<\/strong> and Sparkling Wines<\/strong> to recommend to our readers.\u00c2\u00a0 In our big blind tasting I put together a panel of Bubbleheads<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 What are Bubbleheads?\u00c2\u00a0 They are folks that would rather drink Champagne\u00c2\u00a0than any other\u00c2\u00a0wine\u201d\u201dthey are better judges of this festive drink.\u00c2\u00a0 This report includes the winners from the panel tasting and my other recommended sparklers as well.\u00c2\u00a0 Let’s begin with our big winner.<\/p>\n

\"Gloria-Ferrer-1999-Late-Disgorged-Carneros-Cuvee-Brut\"The 1999 Gloria Ferrer “Late Disgorged Carneros Cuvee Brut” <\/a><\/strong>was our top scoring sparkler this year.\u00c2\u00a0 It only costs $50<\/strong> and received 93 points<\/strong> from the panel.\u00c2\u00a0 If you want to spend a little extra this New Year’s Eve or a have a special anniversary coming up, this Sparkler will make that evening extra special.\u00c2\u00a0 It is medium-bodied and balanced and displays very tasty almond and green apple flavors blended with just a hint of honey.\u00c2\u00a0 The finish was dry, elegant, and graceful.\u00c2\u00a0 The panel suggested pairing it with Coquille St. Jacques.\u00c2\u00a0 Boy, it was good!<\/p>\n

\"Schramsberg-2007-Brut-Rose\"Our favorite Schramsberg<\/strong> offering this year was their 2007 “Brut Rose”<\/a><\/strong> for $41<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 This sparkler consists of 60% Pinot Noir<\/strong> & 40% Chardonnay<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 I scored this sparkler 92 points<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 It was medium-bodied, well balanced, and slightly crispy.\u00c2\u00a0 It displayed mineral-infused mild red-raspberry flavors with notes of strawberry.\u00c2\u00a0 It finished quite dry and was refreshing.\u00c2\u00a0 I suggested it would be perfect with bacon-wrapped scallops.<\/p>\n

\"Nicolas-Feuillatte-2003-Cuvee-225\"Nicolas Feuillatte<\/strong> submitted our second place sparkler in our blind tasting.\u00c2\u00a0 It was our top scoring Champagne. The “Cuvee 225 Brut” Champagne<\/a><\/strong> for $90<\/strong> scored 91 points<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 It opens with an attractive green melon bouquet and with a hint of Good and Plenty and toast.\u00c2\u00a0 The panel really enjoyed its mineral-infused green apple and almond flavors with a hint of honey.\u00c2\u00a0 This easy going and elegant Champagne would be perfect with lobster, caviar, or gruyere tart appetizers.<\/p>\n

\"Louis-Roederer-NV-Brut-Premier-Nov-2010\"Louis Roederer’s<\/strong> non vintage “Brut Premier” Champagne<\/a><\/strong> for $45<\/strong> always finishes near the top of our results.\u00c2\u00a0 This year it was medium-bodied, nicely balanced, and had a pleasant crispiness and effervescence as well.\u00c2\u00a0 It combines mineral and green apple flavors with a hint of ripe grapefruit mixed in.\u00c2\u00a0 The panel suggested pairing this Champagne with several different foods.\u00c2\u00a0 Broiled bay scallops in a melted butter sauce, and lobster bisque topped the list<\/p>\n

Gloria Ferrer’s<\/strong> second top 5 sparkler is the 2006 “Brut Rose”<\/a><\/strong> for $42<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0This offering is 92% Pinot Noir with the remaining 8% being Chardonnay.\u00c2\u00a0 It opens with a mild tangerine bouquet with a hint of wet stone.\u00c2\u00a0 It is easy going with mild apple flavors with gentle minerality and a hint lemon.\u00c2\u00a0 It would be perfect with ham.<\/p>\n

\"J-Vineyards-Cuvee-20-Nov-2010\"J Wine Company<\/strong> returns to our winner's circle with its non vintage “Cuvee 20.”<\/a><\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0 This offering is Very Good<\/strong> and we awarded it with 89 points<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 For $20<\/strong> it is the best deal in terms of our highest recommended sparklers.\u00c2\u00a0 The other good news is they make over 22,000 cases, so it is readily available.\u00c2\u00a0 This year's Cuvee\u00c2\u00a0has a fresh cut apple bouquet with a hint of lemon.\u00c2\u00a0 It is crisp and effervescent with apple and mineral flavors.\u00c2\u00a0 There are notes of grapefruit in the background and I thought it would be a perfect opener to an evening.\u00c2\u00a0 Serve it with bacon-wrapped scallops.<\/p>\n

\"Gloria-Ferrer-NV-Va-de-Vi\"Our last highlighted sparkler is the Gloria Ferrer<\/strong> non vintage “Va de Vi Ultra Cuvee”<\/strong><\/a> for $24<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 It is my understanding that this is the inaugural year for this offering.\u00c2\u00a0 Well it made a very good first impression.\u00c2\u00a0 We scored it 89 points<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 It is crisp and effervescent with mineral-infused tart lemon flavors with an interesting hint of strawberry.\u00c2\u00a0 The finish is dry and refreshing.\u00c2\u00a0 You will find this sparkler to be a pleasant aperitif.<\/p>\n

Other Recommended Sparklers or Champagne:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1)\u00c2\u00a0Maschio dei Cavalieri\u00c2\u00a0(NV) “Prosecco di Valdobbiadene”<\/a><\/strong> (Veneto, Italy) $19<\/strong> (88<\/strong>)
\n2)J Vineyards NV\u00c2\u00a0“Brut Rose”<\/strong><\/a>\u00c2\u00a0(Russian River Valley, CA)\u00c2\u00a0$35<\/strong> (88<\/strong>)
\n3) Schramsberg 2007 “Blanc de Noirs Brut”<\/strong><\/a> (North Coast, CA) $38<\/strong> (88<\/strong>)
\n4) Schramsberg 2007\u00c2\u00a0“Blanc de Blancs Brut”<\/a><\/strong> (North Coast, CA) $36<\/strong> (88<\/strong>)
\n5) Deutz NV “Brut Classic”<\/a><\/strong> (Champagne, FR) $40<\/strong> (88<\/strong>)
\n6) Nicolas Feuillatte 2004 “Brut Vintage”<\/a><\/strong> (Chouilly Epernay, FR) $46<\/strong> (88<\/strong>)
\n7) Nicolas Feuillatte NV “Brut Rose”<\/a><\/strong> (Champagne, FR) $48<\/strong> (88<\/strong>)
\n8) Riondo NV “Pink Prosecco”<\/a><\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0(Veneto, Italy) $9 (87<\/strong>)
\n9) Villa Sandi NV “Extra Dry Prosecco di Valdobbiadene”<\/a><\/strong> (Veneto, Italy) $16<\/strong> (87<\/strong>)
\n10) Roederer Estate NV “Brut”<\/a><\/strong> (Anderson Valley, CA) $23<\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0(87<\/strong>)
\n11) Gloria Ferrer 2002 “Royal Cuvee”<\/a><\/strong> (Carneros, CA) $35<\/strong> (87<\/strong>)
\n12) Nicolas Feuillatte 2004 “Chardonnay Blanc de Blanc Brut”<\/a><\/strong> (Champagne, FR) $46<\/strong> (87<\/strong>)
\n13) Jaume Serra Cristalino NV “Brut Traditional Cava”<\/a><\/strong> (Spain) $10<\/strong> (86<\/strong>)
\n14) Riondo NV “Prosecco Spago”<\/a><\/strong> (Veneto, Italy) $11<\/strong> (86<\/strong>)
\n15) Domaine Ste. Michelle NV “Blanc de Noirs”<\/strong><\/a> (Columbia Valley, WA) $12<\/strong> (86<\/strong>)
\n16) Villa Sandi NV “Il Fresco Prosecco”<\/a><\/strong> (Veneto, Italy) $13<\/strong> (86<\/strong>)
\n17) Elyssia NV “Grand Cuvee Brut Cava”<\/a><\/strong> (Spain) $18<\/strong> (86<\/strong>)
\n18) Elyssia NV “Pinot Noir Brut Cava”<\/strong><\/a> (Spain) $18<\/strong> (86<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

We wish you all a Happy Holiday Season<\/strong> and Festive New Year’s Eve<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 We hope you enjoy some of these Sparklers as part of your celebration.\u00c2\u00a0 Cheers – Ken<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We like to welcome in the New Year with a little bubbly.\u00c2\u00a0 So each year we collect and review several Champagnes and Sparkling Wines to recommend to our readers.\u00c2\u00a0 In our big blind tasting I put together a panel of Bubbleheads.\u00c2\u00a0 What are Bubbleheads?\u00c2\u00a0 They are folks that would rather drink Champagne\u00c2\u00a0than any other\u00c2\u00a0wine\u201d\u201dthey are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[130,132,36,11,133,37,126,8,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bubbleheads","category-cava","category-champagne","category-kens-wine-guide-tasting-panel","category-prosecco","category-sparkling-wine","category-wine-ratings","category-wine-recommendations","category-wine-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=75"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=75"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=75"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=75"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}