René Muré Cremant D’Alsace – Brut

For bargain-hunting sparkling wine lovers, “cremant” is a good word to learn.  It’s the name given to French sparkling wines that come from regions outside of Champagne.  And being from outside of Champagne they typically have quite reasonable prices compared to their Champagne relatives.

This Cremant D’Alsace from René Muré is made from a blend of Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Auxerrois, Riesling and Pinot Noir.  The wine spends at 12 months on the lees during production, which means in a tank with the yeast sediment and additional time with yeast in the bottle during secondary fermentation.  This adds richness and flavors to the wine.

This wine comes from the Alsace region in France, hence the name “Cremant D’Alsace.”  Alsace is another good thing to learn about as a bargain hunter.  You won’t necessarily find bargain-bin wines from Alsace, but the quality-to-price ratio tends to be good for wines from this region.

Golden in color, this cremant doesn’t look very bubbly in the glass, but it feels plenty bubbly in the mouth.  The nose is rather subtle, with floral and apple aromas, plus a soft yeast aroma.  The palate is quite dry with  crisp granny smith apple and mineral flavors.  The acidity is great.  It finishes rather short with mineral notes. This is a very clean and dry bottle of bubbly.

Wine: René Muré Cremant D’Alsace
Variety: Sparkling white blend
Vintage: Non-vintage
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 86
Price: $24.00
Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.