WTN: Mostly Loire & Cabernet Franc sparklers

New year's fun, cheap, but enjoyable sparklers:

• N.V. Bisol Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Brut Desiderio Jeio - Italy, Veneto, Prosecco di Valdobbiadene (12/31/2008)
  A fun wine. Mineral, pear scent, perhaps a slight hint of banana, too, that I hadn't noticed in previous releases. Dry, good acidity but fun fruit too. Nothing profound, but fun.
• N.V. Couly-Dutheil Brut de Franc - France, Loire Valley (12/31/2008)
  16,29€; 12,5% abv; 9g/l RS; 5,9g/l acidity. Gold. An attractive scent, full of red fruit, a bit spicy and vegetal, but mostly promising wide and copious fruit. And the promise was met: fine mousse, broad fruit, decent acidity but it does seem quite heavy and full bodied - perhaps a bit too much dosage. After the heavy palate, the refreshingly mineral aftertaste is a pleasant surprise. Nice, but not perhaps my ideal style of sparkler.
• N.V. Couly-Dutheil Brut de Franc Rosé - France, Loire Valley (12/31/2008)
  16,29€; 12,5% abv; 10g/l RS; 5,5g/l acidity. Deeper side of salmon pink. Though there is more sugar and less acidity than the white Brut de Franc, it tastes exactly the opposite! This has lovely, leafy aromatics, with some strawberry notes and quite a bit of minerality. Good body, but not as weighty as the white BdFranc. Oddly enough, it even tastes drier than the white and has brighter acidity. Mineral and elegantly spicy finish. Very enjoyable.
• N.V. Domaine du Landreau Crémant de Loire - France, Loire Valley, Crémant de Loire (12/31/2008)
  Light salmon pink. A leafy, earthy scent, mineral. Elegant mousse. Nice red fruit, leafy and herbaceous, elegant and pleasantly fruity - nothing overbearing about this. Fun sparkling; elegant.

Posted from CellarTracker

[David M. Bueker]

Sound like some enjoyable wines. I haven't heard of any of them before, but that's hardly surprising given the limited availability of non-Champagne French sparklers in my immediate market.

[Jenise]

So the Brut de Franc was red-red, not a rose? If so, how enticing. I've loved a few red bubbles I've had in my time and forever wonder why more don't make them.

So the Brut de Franc was red-red, not a rose? If so, how enticing. I've loved a few red bubbles I've had in my time and forever wonder why more don't make them.

Hello Jenise, sorry for the confusion. The non-rosé BdF was white - as I hoped to imply in the text section.