Similar to the Hacienda Brut and the Domaine Laurier Brut that we reviewed earlier this week, the Pol Rémy Brut comes from the Bronco Wine Company portfolio.  But one thing that’s different about it is that it’s from France.  I don’t know if the brand is owned by Bronco or just imported, but it is part of their portfolio.

In addition to being French, another thing that’s different about this wine is what’s in it.  It’s made from 60% Aïren, 20% Ugni Blanc and 20% Colombard grapes.  Which may not be grapes you’re tasting every day.

This wine doesn’t offer much on the nose, except light apple aromas and, if you really dig for it, some very faint yeast aromas.  The palate offers a nice, bubbly mouth feel with tart, granny smith apple flavors, as well as some fresh-squeezed lime (as I said, it’s tart) and a touch of mineral, particularly on the finish.  It has a hint of bitterness on the finish too.  It’s nothing fancy, but it’s acceptable for the price.

Wine: Pol Rémy
Variety: Brut
Vintage: Non-vintage
Alcohol: 11%
Rating: 83
Price: $10.99

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

Tonight we’re continuing our pre-New Year’s Eve exploration of sparkling wines with a double-header review of  crémant from Lucien Albrecht.

For those of you who don’t know, crémant is a name for French sparkling wine that’s not from Champagne.  And there’s something I just like about the name, particularly when it’s crémant d’Alsace.  That’s just fun to say.  And while we’re getting everyone on the same page, if you don’t know Alsace, that’s a wine region in the eastern part of France, along the German border.  Alsace is known for producing exceptional white wines, and this crémant is among that exceptionality.  (I know that’s not really a word… I just don’t care.)

Lucien Albrecht Crémant D’Alsace Brut Blanc de Blancs

We actually reviewed this wine a couple years ago, and although it’s a non-vintage wine we thought it would be worth a revisit.  Even though a wine is labeled as non-vintage, it would be impossible for it to not have some differences from one year to the next.  After all, each year will bring a new batch of grapes, each influenced by different weather and yielding different nuances.  So here’s what we think of it now.

The fragrance on the nose is soft, but pleasant with a nice blend of yeast, citrus and apple aromas.  The palate is dry and filled with bubbles.  It offers flavors of yeast (think fresh bread), lemon and apples.  The finish is fairly long and evolves.  It starts out with the flavor of salted apples, but evolves into the flavors of yeast and cane sugar.  It doesn’t have the sweetness of sugar, but the flavor lingering on my tongue reminds me of white sugar.  Some might interpret that as a bad thing and I’d agree if it were too intense, but it’s not… it’s just a nuance and it’s kind of interesting.  This would be really good with salty cheeses or meats.  All told, this is a nice bottle of bubbly.

Wine: Lucien Albrecht Cremant D’Alsace Brut Blanc de Blancs
Variety: Pinot Blanc
Vintage: N/V
Alcohol: 12%
Rating: 87
Price: $19.99

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Lucien Albrecht Crémant D’Alsace Brut Rosé

As a pink wine, this is one many guys might avoid because it threatens their masculinity.  But don’t fear the pink wine.  It’s awesome!  And you can still be a manly man, even if you drink pink sparkling wine.  Yes, I watch UFC fights, use power tools, listen to Black Sabbath, lift weights, play video games and I drink pink, sparkling wine… and I’m OK with that!  In fact, I can’t wait to drink more of this one, because it is awesome.

And, Mr.-tough-guy-who’s-too-cool-for-pink-wine, you probably drink pinot noir and think that it’s cool.  Well, I have news for you.  This wine is 100% pinot noir.

The nose of this bubbly shows yeast, lime and mineral with moderate intensity.  The palate is quite refreshing, offering crisp apple, cranberry and lime flavors with a nice feel to the bubbles.  You might think of it as a cranberry-apple spritz with a slice of lime.  This is a brut, so it is dry, not sweet.  I probably didn’t do justice with my description on this one as this is a very nice bottle of bubbly!

Don’t let the price scare you on this one either.  While the suggested retail price is $19.99, I’ve seen it for sale as low as $12.00.

Wine: Lucien Albrecht Cremant D’Alsace Brut Rosé
Variety: Pinot Noir
Vintage: N/V
Alcohol: 12%
Rating: 89
Price: $19.99

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Disclosure: These wines were received as a sample.

Last week we reviewed the Les Deux Rives Corbières Rosé, and staying with the “summer sippers with Rhone varietals” theme we’re checking out the white wine from this brand, Les Deux Rives Corbières Blanc.

This comes from the same region in southern France as the rosé and is made from a blend of 60% grenache, 20% marsanne and 20% roussanne.  I assume it’s a “grenache blanc” since it’s a white wine, although the label only specifies it as “grenache.”  And you may recall from another recent review, marsanne and roussanne are a couple of my favorite white varieties.  The marsanne and roussane add some really interesting herbaceous and mineral characteristics to this wine, while the grenache gives it a good fruit base.

The aromas from this wine are a delightful blend of honeydew melon, lime, straw and wet stones.  On the palate, it serves up lime and mineral flavors with moderate concentration.  This wine has a light body with delicate flavors and soft acidity.  I would have liked a touch more acidity, but it’s dry enough that the acidity is balanced with the sweetness — or lack thereof.  It finishes with mineral and a hint of lemon.  Well chilled, this would be a nice sipper on a hot summer day.

Wine: Les Deux Rives Corbières Blanc
Variety: 60% grenache, 20% marsanne, 20% roussanne
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 85
Price:  $10.00

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

Ah, yes.  It’s another French rosé.  It’s still summer, so we need to celebrate good summer wines.

This one is 100% syrah and it’s labeled as a Vin de Pays d’Oc, which means it’s a French “country wine” (i.e. Vin de Pays) from Languedoc (i.e. d’Oc).  Vin de Pays is considered a step up from Vin de Table or “table wine” but a step below AOC labeled wines.  Regardless of its classification, this is a nice wine.

This rosé shows mostly mineral aromas on the nose, there is also some cherry & raspberry but it’s subtle.  The palate shows some strawberry and raspberry flavors, but it’s not an “in your face” kind of fruit.  It’s subtle… it’s nice.  This is a dry rosé with no sweetness to speak of.  The acidity is sufficient.  It finishes with mineral and a hint of tart berries.

Wine: Le Jaja de Jau
Variety: Syrah
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol: 13%
Rating: 86
Price:  $10.00

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

Yes, it’s another rosé we’re reviewing today.  And it’s another wine with Rhone varietals.  This one also comes from a place not too far from the Rhone — Corbières in the Languedoc.  This is a region in the south of France, bordering the Mediterranean Sea.  This is a great area for value wines too.  I’m often curious about wines from this region.

This rosé is a blend of 40% syrah, 40% grenache and 20% cinsault.  If you’re familiar with Rhone wines, then syrah and grenache are certainly familiar grape varieties to you, but you may not be as familiar with cinsault.  Cinsault is another red grape variety, but it’s also a very useful grape for rosé and is commonly found in rosé from Corbières.

The nose of this wine is soft and by that I don’t mean it’s faint, but rather the aromas delicately caress your nose.  I know it sounds weird, but I get a satin-like sensation from smelling this wine.  Maybe I’m in a weird mood today.  Regardless, it’s nice.  The fragrances are also pleasant, with red raspberry, strawberry Jello and honeysuckle aromas.  The palate is off dry, with some slightly sweet cherry and raspberry flavors.  It becomes more tart on the midpalate, where the acidity steps in.  I’d actually prefer a touch more acidity, but I wouldn’t call it flabby.  The mouthfeel is soft and somewhat creamy.  This is a decent rose.

Wine: Les Deux Rives Corbières Rosé
Variety: 40% syrah, 40% grenache, 20% cinsault
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 85
Price:  $10.00

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Want another opinion?  Here’s what some other reviewers thought of the 2010 Les Deux Rives Corbières Rosé:

• The Wine Harlots
• The Wineauxs

Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

Tonight we’re reviewing another French sauvignon blanc.  This one comes from Guy Saget Estates, located on the right bank of the Loire in appellation district of Touraine Mesland.  The vineyards span 80 hectares and are planted on two types of soil: sand and clay with some limestone.

The color of this wine is a deep golden color, darker than sauvignon blanc often is.  The aromas are of melon, soft peach, citrus and mineral with moderate intensity.  In the mouth it’s peach, melon, tart apple and a hint of citrus.  The acidity is sufficient, and is most noticeable on the finish, where it brings a tangy citrus characteristic.  There’s also a touch of melon on the finish.

This is a nice, food-friendly sauvignon blanc.

Wine: La Petite Perriere
Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 85
Price: $9.99

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

We’ve focused a lot of our sauvignon blanc reviews on Chile and also had a few from California and New Zealand.  But we shouldn’t forget about France, and so today we’re checking out a French sauvignon blanc.

This wine is called Le Jaja de Jau and is produced by Château de Jau in southern France.  ”Jaja” is a colloquialism used in that region to describe everyday wines.  I don’t know much French, let alone their colloquialisms, so I’m not personally familiar with the term.  Nonetheless, the full name translates to mean “the everyday wine from Jau.”

You may notice that on the label it also says, “Ben.”  This is because Le Jaja de Jau was established as an association of the artist, Benjamin Vauthier, who designed the label, and the winemaker Estelle Dauré.

This is a more subtle and less tropical sauvignon blanc, than many others we’ve tasted recently, with a fairly strong mineral characteristic on the nose.  There is a slight cut grass aroma and some citrus too, but it’s very soft.  The palate has good acidity and flavors of lime, grapefruit and granny smith apple.  The finish combines a sea salt mineral note with citrus acidity.  It’s a very crisp sauvignon blanc with muted flavors making it a good, neutral wine for delicately flavored foods, like light fish.

Wine: Le Jaja de Jau
Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 11.5%
Rating: 84
Price: $10.49

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

Earlier this week I was invited to take part in a Twitter tasting with several other wine writers to taste two types of Beaujolais wine.  We were sent the wines in advance and were given a date and time to collectively taste them.  But I messed up.  Yikes!!  I put it down on my calendar for Thursday, but it was actually on Tuesday.  Whoops.  It’s very much unlike me to miss something like this, but I guess it proves that I’m human.  I feel bad for missing the event too — it was one I was looking forward to.

But just because I missed the Twitter tasting, doesn’t mean I’m not going to try the wines.  And writing my thoughts here will ultimately get a lot more visibility than anything I put on Twitter, which is about as impacting as a fart in the wind.

A Brief Background on Beaujolais

Beaujolais is a French wine from a particular part of Burgundy and is made from a specific grape – gamay, which by many is not considered to be one of the better grapes for wine making.  But it can produce some interesting wines.  That said, there are certainly plenty of critics when it comes to gamay.

You may have heard of Beaujolais Nouveau, which comes out in the fall as the first release of the year’s wine.  It’s very young and fruity, and usually not very good in my opinion.  But there is lot’s of marketing behind it so people drink it up and pretend that it’s good.  The wines in this review is much better than Beaujolais Nouveau, but they are also made from gamay.

There are different appellations of Beaujolais — as there are with all French wines.  

• Beaujolais AOC is the lowest grade and much of the Beaujolais Nouveau comes from this appellation.
• Beaujolais-Villages AOC is a step up and is a designation given to Beaujolais from specific villages considered to produce better quality grapes.
• Cru Beaujolais is the cream of the crop when it comes to Beaujolais and these wines are named for the specific appellations from which they are produced.  Moulin-a-Vent is one of those Cru appellations, and is considered by many to be the best.

While most Beaujolais is consumed young, that from Moulin-a-Vent is oaked and aged for a couple years before being released.  And it can be aged for 20+ years.  Well-aged Moulin-a-Vent is said to take on characteristics similar to aged Pinot Noir.

About The Ratings

This is actually an interesting type of wine to rate as it raises a philosophical dilemma — aside from the whole debate about numbered ratings, which I’m not even going to debate today.  The dilemma is, should the rating of a wine suffer from weaknesses inherent in the grape variety?

One of the lenses I use when rating any wine is “varietal correctness.”  For example, is the color of the wine correct for the variety?  Are the aromas correct for the variety? Etc.  Using that lens, any variety could theoretically be a 100 point wine if it is overwhelmingly exceptional for that variety.  While at the same time, that 100 point wine may not be nearly as enjoyable to most consumers as an 85 point wine of another variety.

However, consumers don’t necessarily look at wine ratings with the lens of varietal correctness.  Many consumers would expect that a 100 point wine must be “better” – or more enjoyable to them – than an 85 point wine regardless of the fact that they are different varieties.

Ultimately, any wine review is subjective at some level.  It’s hard to taste a wine with weaknesses inherent to the variety and see through it well enough to score it without some bias.

If, as a reviewer, you’re going to use numbers, I think the answer is somewhere in the middle.  While I cannot see “punishing” a wine for characteristics inherent to the variety, I also can’t see ignoring those characteristics if they diminish the enjoyability of a wine.   So, while varietal correctness is used as a lens for part of the score, the “overall impression” of the wine is an important factor and it must be impressive to garner a solid rating.

This also highlights the importance of looking beyond the numbers and getting more context.  This is why I try to not just provide a rating, but give you a description of the wines we review.  The numbers may be OK as a general guide, but don’t let them be the sole basis for your wine buying decisions.

I should also note that although we taste most wines blind, these ones were not.  I didn’t really see a reason to taste them blind as I didn’t have any bias for the brands.  I do have some bias when it comes to gamay as a grape variety, but there was no way to taste these without knowing they are gamay.  And although I have a bias against gamay, you may be surprised when you see the ratings.  I really did enjoy these wines.

Georges Duboeuf
Beaujolais-Villages

This wine is a beautiful, purple color and while it is on the light side the color is deeper than I expected it would be.  On the nose the aromas are mostly strawberry and banana, kind of like strawberry-banana jello.  It also shows some cherry.  The intensity is pretty good and it’s enjoyable to smell this wine.

On the palate it’s strawberry flavors galore.  There are some other red fruit notes too, like red plum.  The acidity is adequate, but not over the top.  And while Gamay is generally not a very tannic wine, I’m getting some tannins on the palate.  The finish is relatively quick and fruity.  It’s nice, light wine with a fresh quality to it.

Wine: Georges Duboeuf
Variety: Beaujolais-Villages
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 13%
Rating: 84
Price: $12.00

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Louis Jadot
Beaujolais-Villages

This is a light, purple-red colored wine.  The aromas are raspberry, cherry and some floral notes, but the intensity on the nose is a little soft.  The flavors are consistent with the aromas, with raspberry and cherry being the story to tell.  It has nice, crisp acidity.  The finish is fairly long with lingering raspberry flavors.  It’s pleasant wine but the lack of depth on the palate leaves me wanting something with more concentration.

Wine: Louis Jadot
Variety: Beaujolais-Villages
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 82
Price: $13.00

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Georges Duboeuf
Domaine de la Tour de Bief, Moulin-a-Vent

The color is much lighter and more red than the Beaujolais-Villages.  The nose has some really interesting spice notes, like orange peel and black pepper.  It’s a bit herbal/earthy too, and wild cherry aromas fill it out.  I’d even say the aromas are a bit Nebbiolo-esque, which means I dig it. And when I say that I don’t mean like a Barolo, but like a young, non-DOC Nebbiolo.  I know to some of you I’m really going out on a limb with that description, but that’s how it’s striking me.

The flavors are nice, but a bit thin — not that surprising from a Beaujolais.  It’s cherry flavors up front with a pop of raspberry on the finish, which is quite long.  The acidity and tannins are great.  It’s a good wine.

Wine: Georges Duboeuf, Domaine de la Tour de Bief
Variety: Moulin-a-Vent
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 13%
Rating: 87
Price: $17.00

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Louis Jadot
Chateau des Jacques, Moulin-a-Vent

This wine is brick red in color with medium opacity. I’m finding some really fun and exciting spices on the nose of this wine, like cedar, cola and mint.  The palate is pure cherry with good tannins and acidity.  The finish is medium in length with cherry and spice flavors.  It’s a nice wine and I expect it would be better with a couple more years in the bottle.

Wine: Louis Jadot, Chateau des Jacques
Variety: Moulin-a-Vent
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 13%
Rating: 85
Price: $19.00

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Disclosure: These wines were received as a sample.

While most of the wines in this latest series have been “new world” style chardonnay, I had this single bottle of French chardonnay on hand and really had no better place to write about it.  So while some of you might find this out of place in this series, I don’t really care.  It’s my website and that means my rules.  And if I want to jump from a California chardonnay to a French one, well I’m gonna do it.  Here’s to throwing caution to the wind.

This is different from the other chardonnay we’ve been reviewing in a couple ways.  The most obvious is that it’s French.  It’s from the Mâconnais district in Burgundy to be more precise.  And while you may think of Burgundy as being synonymous with Pinot Noir (which in some ways it is) there are other wines produced in this region and chardonnay is quite common.  In fact, chardonnay is what Mâconnais is really known for.  The specific appellation for this wine is Mâcon-Lugny.

Another thing that’s different about this chardonnay versus most of the others we’ve reviewed is that it’s a “naked chardonnay,” meaning that it hasn’t gone through any malolactic fermentation (a process that converts malic acid into lactic acid) and hasn’t seen any oak.  The result is a wine that is more bright, fruity and acidic than non-naked ones — I don’t think you’re supposed to call them “clothed chardonnay” but why not?

There is good intensity on the nose of this chardonnay, with a nice bouquet. The aromas are fig, melon, apple and flint.  On the palate is has a soft apple, melon and peach flavors which transition into a lime / citrus flavor in the mid-palate.  The acidity is good, it’s sufficient but not overpowering.  The lime flavors make for a bright and crisp finish.  It could use a little more concentration of flavors, but overall it’s a great wine for the price and definitely worth checking out if you’re interested in trying something different.

Wine: Cave De Lugny “Les Charmes” Chardonnay
Variety: Chardonnay
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 86
Price: $12.00

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Here’s what others thought of the this chardonnay:

• Feisty’s Wines
• Pelz on Wine

Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

Although its name can be intimidating to those who are new to wine, Gewurztraminer is a wonderful and exciting variety that I recommend you try.  But first, let’s deal with this name.  It looks long and complicated, but it’s not when you break it down.  Let’s start with the first half of the name, Gewürz, pronounced geh-VERTS.  You can actually get by with knowing just that.  Walk into any wine shop and ask for some geh-VERTS and they’ll know what you mean.  The literal translation of  Gewürz is “spice,” but in this case it means “perfumed.”  The second half of the name is traminer, pronounced trah-mee-ner, which is a grape variety.

When you put it all together you get geh-VERTS-trah-mee-ner and it basically means “perfumed traminer.”  In the past, the French have used some other names for this wine which basically translate the same way: Traminer Parfumé, Traminer Musqué and Traminer Aromatique.

You may find yourself wondering now, “why is this called perfumed?”  Well, it is one of the most aromatic wines around with rich floral fragrances.  It is so distinct, that it is often one of the first varieties of wine that drinkers are able to recognize.

While I and many other wine lovers think it’s a wonderful variety, Gewürztraminer is still not prolific on the shelves or in the vineyards.  It’s most prevalent in Alsatian and German wines.  Some of the best I’ve tasted have come from Alsace, where Gewürztraminer is the second most planted variety.  And that’s where this one from Lucien Albrecht hails.

It has the classic floral nose you would expect from a Gewurz, but it’s delicate.  There is also a touch of petrol aroma, which is not uncommon in Alsatian Gewurz.  The palate is really peachy—as in peach flavors, not “peachy-keen.”  There are some melon and lychee flavors too.  It’s off-dry, but not overtly sweet.  And the acidity is good, which helps prevent the sweetness from being too much.  Overall, it’s good.  It’s not quite as intense as I typically expect from Alsace, but it’s still a nice wine — especially for the price (You won’t find a lot of Alsatian Gewurz for less).

Wine: Lucien Albrecht Gewürztraminer Reserve
Variety: Gewürztraminer
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 13%
Rating: 85
Price: $19.99

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.