Champagne Demoiselle Rose Brut Grande Cuvee
Now that we have come to the end of another year, the great news is that Champagnes are still available at historically low prices, giving consumers a great chance to party in style for less.
I found two tremendous buys for your holiday celebrations, including New Year's Eve: a Champagne and a sparkling wine. Both look stylish and perform perfectly in the glass. They're both French, but since they invented the category I am sure nobody will have any issues with this. Both are priced at about 30 percent to 40 percent below their normal prices. Chill them to about 42 degrees Fahrenheit.
Wine: Champagne Demoiselle Rose Brut Grande Cuvee
Grapes: Pinot noir (50 percent), chardonnay (50 percent)
Region: Epernay, Champagne, France
Vintage: nonvintage
Price: $29.99
In the glass: Demoiselle Rose Champagne is a bright, clear antique-rose color with a clean, clear appearance showing quite a bit of effervescence from the core going out into a pinkish-clear rim definition with light to medium viscosity.
On the nose: It is lovely, full of freshly baked bread, sour dough, creamy minerals, crushed meaty red berry fruit, with red currants and dragon fruit segments. There are some underlying red grapefruit notes and zippy freshness, too.
On the palate: It is an excellent and medium-mousse entry on the palate with rounded and quite vibrant fruit, especially the meatier yellow plums and actually some pomegranate seeds. Then it kicks in with supple verve and a nice pitch of acidity, giving a tremendously versatile mouth-feel through the midpalate. The finish is resplendent with yeasty citrus and a lingering finish.
Odds and ends: Demoiselle Rose Brut Champagne, made from a blend of red and white grapes, is packaged in an elegant and feminine clear glass bottle (a la Cristal), which gives it class and prestige, especially with its color.
Wine: Silver Cap Blanc de Blancs Brut
Grapes: Ugni blanc (55 percent), chenin blanc (45 percent)
Region: Loire Valley, France
Vintage: Nonvintage
Price: $10.99
In the glass: Silver Cap Blanc de Blancs is a light citrine-yellow color with a firm star-bright core going out into a clear rim definition and vigorous bubbles showing lots of carbon dioxide activity with medium viscosity.
On the nose: It has notes of bread dough, nuttiness, fresh walnut, white fruit and warm toast. There are underlying citrus and mineral characteristics, which also make for a pleasant all-around sensory experience in the glass.
On the palate: It is immediately quite sparkly and sweetish fruity upfront, then nicely toasty notes of grape juice, dough, citrus and other white fruits come through. It is lengthy and quite balanced through the midpalate and has a complex finish full of crushed walnuts, which I really like. Silver Cap Blanc de Blancs is a superbly pleasant and wonderfully made sparkling wine, showing great style and taste.
Odds and ends: This wine is made in the traditional style and all from white grapes. It is a terrific value for a sparkler, and few people would be able to tell that it is not real Champagne.
Gil Lempert-Schwarz's wine column appears Wednesdays. Write him at P.O. Box 50749, Henderson, NV 89016-0749, or e-mail him at gil@winevegas.com.
