Charteris Wine Tasting - ABC

No, not the usual "Anything But Chardonnay" but instead "Anything But Champagne". A seasonal tasting of sparkling wines from around the world to see who could give France a run for its money.

Wine

(Region, Country) Method

Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Frizzante

(Veneto, Italy) Tank

Cremant de Luxembourg Riesling Cuvee de, l'Ecusson Brut

(Luxembourg Moselle, Luxembourg) Traditionelle

Sumarroca Extra Brut

(Cava(Subirates), Spain) Traditionelle

Pelorus, Vintage 2002

(Cloudy Bay, Marlborough, New Zealand) Traditionelle

Mumm Cuvee Napa Rose NV

(California, USA) Traditionelle

Chapel Down Century Extra Dry

(Kent, England) Traditionelle

Bleasdale Langhorne Creek Sparkling Shiraz

(South Australia, Australia) Tank

Perrone Moscato d'Asti

(Asti, Piemonte, Italy) Tank

Blanquette de Limoux

(Limoux, France) Ancestrale

A tasting of two halves: dry sparkling, a half-time rosé and then the sweet sparkling. For me champagnes normally run from the crisp lemon end of the spectrum to the biscuity, yeasty end. These, oddly enough, all seemed to major on apple, with the odd hint of melon (Sumarroca) , lychee (Pelorus) or blackcurrant (Bleasdale).

My favourite of the first flight was the Cremant de Luxembourg and of the second the Chapel Down. Interesting since neither Luxembourg nor England are the obvious place to look for a good sparkling.

And as for the sparkling shiraz the kindest thing one could say is it was an interesting experiment but not one that should be repeated.