T.G.I.F. Champagne and the like – N.V. Chandon Blanc de Noirs

This week’s selection is an old favorite, a “go to” sparkler that I’ve enjoyed over the years – Chandon Blanc de Noir.  Blanc de Noirs (a French term literally meaning “white of blacks”) are sparklers made with black, or red-skinned grapes – in this case Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. Domaine Chandon was the first…

T.G.I.F. Champagne and the like…2004 Korbel Le Premier

This week’s sparkling wine is a Korbel’s “ultimate reserve champagne”, from the 2004 vintage.  Korbel, which sells the largest volume of sparkling wine (over 1 million cases) produced using the Méthode Traditionnelle, makes a very modest 1400 cases of this “prestige” cuveé.  It’s unusual to see a vintage sparkler at this price point.  So what’s the difference…

T.G.I.F. Champagne and the like…NV Louis Bouillot Cremant de Bourgogne Perle d’Aurore

This week’s sparkling wine is a Crémant from the Burgundy region of France, the N.V. Louis Bouillot Perle d’ Aurore (Pearl of Dawn).  It is a sparkling Rosé. Burgundy is best known for their world-class Pinot Noir and White Burgundy (Chardonnay). N.V. Louis Bouillot Cremant de Bourgogne Rosé “Perle d’Aurore” Region: France; Burgundy; Cremant de Bourgogne…

My Wine Tasting Hero…

While getting a bit of exercise this morning, I was catching up on some of the wine blogs I enjoy reading when I came across this post by Richard Jennings of “RJ on Wine.com”, wherein he summarizes his tasting notes of 128 from 30 producers at the annual Rhone Rangers tasting in San Francisco a…