This is a non-vintage Crémant, from the vineyards located around the village of Brossay, in the southern part of the Saumur region. It is produced by Vignerons de Saumur and is a blend of 90% Cabernet Franc and 10% Grolleau, with an alcohol level of 11.5%.
This wine is made using the traditional method, with a second fermentation in bottle, followed by ageing in tuffeau limestone cellars. Tuffeau is the distinctive white stone that was also used in the construction of many of the Loire’s famous castles.
It picked up Silver at the 2022 Concours des Crémants, a Silver Medal at the Concours Général Agricole Paris and Gold at the Concours des Vins du Val de Loire.
In the glass, it is a light salmon colour with lots of fine, small bubbles. Redcurrants and ripe raspberries come through first, followed by biscuit and brioche character from the time spent on the lees. Strawberry and cherry follow when you drink it, with plenty of autolytic complexity and a lovely chalky edge. It is Brut in sweetness and medium-bodied.
This was quite an inspirational one for me. I tried it one evening with my wife when we still hadn’t decided what to eat. We often have Champagne or some other kind of sparkling wine with fish and chips, and the autolytic, yeasty, complexity here immediately put that idea into our heads. So fish and chips it was, and the rest of the wine went with it very nicely indeed.
It is available for £15.95 at Yapp Brothers, or £12.50 at Tesco, dropping to £10.50 with a Clubcard, which is great value.
