N.V. Domaine Chandon etoile Rose

DATE CONSUMED

Sunday, June 30, 2013

VINTAGE

N.V. (non-vintage)

WINERY/PRODUCER

Domaine Chandon

WINE NAME

Etoile Rose

TYPE OF WINE

Sparkling wine (rose)

COMPOSITION

49% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir, 6% Pinot Meunier

SUBNAME/NICKNAME

N/A

VINEYARD DESIGNATION

N/A

REGION/APPELLATION/A.V.A. (American Viticultural Area)

59% of the fruit sourced from Sonoma County

41% of the fruit sourced from Napa County

ALCOHOL CONTENT

13.0%

PRICE PAID

Retail price: $50; Wine Club price: $35, final price with sales tax and shipping: $42.77

WHERE/WHEN BOUGHT AND/OR HOW PROCURED

We received this wine with our usual wine club shipment in April, 2012

BOUQUET

It’s very difficult to properly/accurately judge the bouquet of bubbly because one can’t/shouldn’t swirl the hell out of their bubbly in a Champagne flute in order to oxygenate the wine.  I did my best to put my big, fat, ugly Italian nose into the flute to gather some sort of impression upon this bubbly’s bouquet but just came-up with almost nothing worth mentioning.  We’ll see how it tastes………

 

TASTING NOTES

This is a typically wonderful Chandon bubbly.  We joined their wine club in September 2009 and have never regretted a single bottle from them (Domaine Chandon makes both still and sparkling wines, but we joined their “sparkling wine club” because any/every bubbly we’ve ever had of theirs has been fabulous).

You may have heard of both Dom Perignon and/or Moet & Chandon; Domaine Chandon is the American outpost of this world-class sparkling wine producer.  In fact, several of France’s best Champagne houses have American outposts in the Napa Valley (Taittinger and Piper Heidsieck to name just a couple).

This bubbly has a gorgeous salmon-pink hue and being almost 50/50 Pinot/Chardonnay, it has a flavor profile that is complex, deep, and varied.  There’s an abundance of creamy strawberry notes, yeasty brioche-like suggestions, along with plenty of minerally earthiness and crisp, clean, sharp acidity that allows this wine to pair PERFECTLY with rich, fatty foods (see below for paring suggestions). 

In addition to the previously-mentioned strawberry notes, there’s also yummy cherry elements, along with savory herbs and spices (especially white pepper) running through the wine’s flavor profile/core.  It’s tough to beat the depth-of-flavors that come with quality Pinot-based wines (both still and sparkling) and this bubbly is a great example of how Pinot can contribute to a wine’s complexity, depth, and even bouquet and color.  The peppery/herbal undercurrent, creamy cherry/strawberry fruit, mountains of granite stoniness/minerality, and well-balanced acidity/alcohol/structure all add-up to this being a fantastic American rose bubbly. 

PAIRING SUGGESTIONS

We paired this bubbly with a pork and chicken liver mousse with truffles that we picked-up at Sprouts.  As previously mentioned above, this bubbly’s crisp acidity matched perfectly with the mousse’s creamy fattiness.  We also like to pair bubbly with a chicken liver pate that we buy from Trader Joe’s often.  And because this is a delicious, lively, well-balanced bubbly it would also pair well with just about any seafood (especially salmon!!), crackers with humus, Arthur’s world-famous smoked salmon deviled eggs, and practically any other appetizer that I can think of.  This bubbly would make just about any dish better than it would have been if eaten on its own!

AGING POTENTIAL

Most bubbly will/can age for (practically) EVER if stored properly.  Domaine Chandon ages this bubbly for at last five years on the lees (yeast) in bottle before releasing it to the public.  That extended lees aging before disgorgement contributes to the wine’s depth, complexity, balance, elegance, and age-worthiness.  This bubbly is fabulous right now and will continue to age gracefully and beautifully for another 10 to 10,000,000,000,000 years (especially if aged at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean).

SCORE (on a 100-point scale)

92

Q.P.R. (QUALITY-TO-PRICE RATIO) (POOR, FAIR, GOOD, EXCELLENT)

GOOD

WINERY WEBSITE

http://chandon.com/