Taste the Difference Crémant d’Alsace is made from 75% Pinot Blanc and 25% Pinot Gris from Alsace in France. This non-vintage wine sits at 12% ABV and undergoes its second fermentation in bottle, in the same way as Champagne, and is aged for 18 months on its lees.
I first discovered it at the Sainsbury’s Spring Summer Press Tasting, where it stood out as one of my favourites thanks to its flavour and value. I decided to re-try it in a different context and correct a few earlier misconceptions. For starters, it’s clearly made by Cave du Roi Dagobert, as stated on the back label, and not by Cave de Turckheim, which I had guessed from the winemaker, Daniel Gerold.
At the time, I said it was sweeter than the label suggested due to what I thought was a relatively high level of residual sugar. The label indicated level 2 sweetness on a 1 to 9 scale, but the tasting booklet we were given said it contained 19.8g/L of residual sugar, which is very high. It did taste slightly sweeter than the Champagnes on offer at the tasting, though only marginally so, which made it something of a puzzle. I discussed this with James Viner, a familiar face and fellow ‘serial spitter’ at these events. He later followed up with Sainsbury’s, who in turn confirmed with the producer that the actual figure is 8.1g/L, which fits far better with what we experienced.
It pours a pale straw colour with small, persistent bubbles. The flavour leans towards apple, pear and something pastry-like. There’s definitely that yeasty Champagne character coming through, with a lovely texture, though there seems to be slightly less pastry than I remembered, maybe it’s taken on more of a biscuity note now. There’s also an intriguing salty finish I don’t remember experiencing previously.
Odd as it might sound for a white, and a sparkling, this is one of those wines that seems to benefit from being open for a little while, though you don’t want it to get too warm. Letting it breathe a little really brings out the layers, though managing the temperature involves a bit of back and forth with the fridge. Still, don’t worry about the bubbles, they’re generous and won’t vanish quickly.
I also tried it a day after opening, having stoppered it overnight and it still had plenty of fizz. In fact, it tasted even better, closer to what I remembered and imagined I experienced at the tasting. I paired it with fish and chips as well and it went extremely well with the wine’s salty finish.
We’re not the only ones who’ve since been impressed by this wine. It has recently gone on to win a Silver at the IWSC and also picked up a Silver at the IWC. Branded, Cave du Roi Dagobert’s Crémant d’Alsace usually sells for around €15 to €16 in mainland Europe, where prices are much lower, so at £11.50 from Sainsbury’s, it’s very good value.
