Morning all,

This week we’re going fizzy!

Simon’s Wine of the Week is Cremant de Loire Sauvion 

In a world seemingly saturated with Prosecco, or dazzled by Champagne, it’s sometimes difficult for other sparkling wines to shine. Which is a shame because there’s some great fizz out there that really punch above their weight.

A good example of this is Cremant from France. These wines are made all over the country and are basically wines made in the Champagne method which don’t come from Champagne itself. You can get Cremant from pretty much all the main wine regions (and Cremant de Luxembourg if you’re looking for something really niche) but the most famous are Cremant d’Alsace, Cremant de Bourgogne and Cremant de Loire, where this little beauty hails from.

As this wine is made in the Champagne method, and not the tank method of Prosecco, it shows real complexity. Add to this a minimum of 12 months ageing in bottle on the lees (dead yeast cells) you start to get real depth of flavour (or as we like to call it in our pretentious wine talk, “true autolytic notes”).

Made from Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay it shows lovely citrus fruit and brioche notes on the nose. The palate is dry and crisp with more citrus fruit and touches of green apple, lemon meringue pie and a little freshly baked bread. Tasted blind you might think this was a good entry level Champagne. This is a fizz that would sit on a wine list perfectly between a cheaper Prosecco, and a more expensive Champagne, nicely filling a gap for people who want quality bubbles, but don’t want to spend the earth.

All the best,

Simon