Sparkling Wines and Beaujolais

I love most sparkling wine, especially Champagne - sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France. Most Champagne is non-vintage - a blend of wine from several years. Champagne is ready to drink when it is bottled but opinions differ on aging Champagne.

How do you know how old the bottle of non-vintage champagne that you just bought is? Until recently it was almost impossible. Now many Champagne bottles have a disgorgement date on the back label. This is the date of bottling. Look for recent disgorgement dates when buying Champagne. You never know how a wine has been stored.

Just had a bottle of Moutard Champagne. Excellent bottle  with a May 2010 disgorgement date. $28. This wine has lots of flavor especially some vanilla overtones from oak. I like this style of Champagne, which is usally described as a big yeasty style. These days you can get a very good Champagne for $25 to $30. Champagne is about 12% alcohol. The Wine Spectator described it as follows: A firm Champagne, lightly chalky, driven by a smoke note that wraps around preserved lemon, chamomile and quince hints. This is a bit chunky right now and could use a little time to put it all together. Bright and fresh, with a honey-laced finish.
Judge for yourself.

There are sparkling wines from all over the world. I really enjoy cava - sparkling wine from Spain. They are usually in the $8 to $15 range. The are light and fruity. Codorniu is one of the largest producers. Their cava is excellent and sell for under $10. As with everything there are more expensive cavas that are vintage or have some other "exclusive" selling point. Don't waste your money. Good cava is reasonably priced, fresh, fruity and fun to drink. Feel free to mix it with orange juice for a mimosa.

Tip of the day. Look for 2009 Beaujolais. They are getting some good press. I will be trying some in the next few days. Truthfully, I have been disappointed in Beaujolais the last few years. BTW Beaujolais is from France and is made from the Gamay grape. It is a light and fruity wine. Let me know your thoughts.