Champagne and other Sparkling Wines
tasted at the London International Wine Fair 2009
Champagne Vincent d'Astrée
N.V. Vincent d'Astrée Champagne
Brut
80% pinot
meunier; 20% chardonnay from this 1956-established producer near
Epernay.
The nose has some
very nice black fruits with nice poise and interest. Pretty good
palate. It has a good full flavour and lots of character. 89/100
N.V. Vincent d'Astrée Champagne Esprit Terroir
Brut Réserve Premier Cru
50%
chardonnay; 50% pinot meunier; matured for three years.
This has a very
fresh, elegant, minerally nose, with perhaps a hint of red fruits
alongisde the black. Very nice palate, with quite lush, round flavours.
91/100
2004 Vincent d'Astrée Champagne Coeur de
Terroir
The nose
is quite minerally, with some remarkably delicate black fruits for a
100% pinot meunier. Fresh and crisp - it almost lacks much pinot
meunier character till you get to the finish. 90/100
2000 Vincent d'Astrée Champagne Blanc de
Blancs
Quite a
pure, biscuity nose. Crisp, clean palate. Good. 87/100
2002 Vincent d'Astrée Champagne 50 ans
Brut
50% pinot
noir; 50% chardonnay.
A much more classic
nose, that at the same time is rather less interesting than the other
Vincent d'Astrée champagnes that I tasted. It's a nice
classic champagne - so much would depend on the price. There's a good
rich fruit flavour on the finish. 88/100
Pedrotti, Trentino, Italy
N.V. Pedrotti Spumanti Trento Brut
90%
chardonnay, 10% pinot noir. This spends 30 months on its lees.
It has a lemony
fresh nose and a nice funky feel in the mouth. Very fresh and crisp.
88/100
N.V. Pedrotti Spumanti Trento Brut Riserva
90%
chardonnay and 10% pinot noir. This has spent no less than 12 years on
its lees in the bottle.
On the nose, it's clean and fresh with lemon and black fruits. There's
a nice rich feel in the mouth. It feels very evolved but not overly so.
91/100
1988 Pedrotti Spumanti Trento Brut Riserva Speciale
Italo Pedrotti
There's
some nice zesty minerality on the nose.
Very lemon zesty. Quite even on the palate. Remarkably fresh, and this
is from a pour right at the end of the bottle, and a bit flat. In a new
bottle, it's really lovely and fresh and really rather classy. 89/100
A couple of oddities
N.V. Kiwicru Kiwi'zz
Made in
Corsica from Corsican grown kiwi fruit. A pleasant green
fruit nose. Aromatic and fresh. Just of dry. Pleasant. 86/100
N.V. Volg Weinkellereien Volgaz! - Switzerland,
Graubünden, Bündner Herrschaft
8.5% A
tank method Perlwein made from a blend of riesling and silvaner grapes
grown in Weiningen. On the nose there are crisp, sweet apples and
pears. It's off dry on the palate and makes quite a pleasant
drink. 86/100