The holidays arrived this year in the aftermath of a hurricane, flood, election and international unrest. If it seems frivolous to focus on entertainment when so much of the world is chaotic, we still need to come together from time to time, to experience the warmth and conviviality that keep us going, even in difficult times.
When it comes to choosing a celebratory wine for these winter holidays, to create a warm, happy glow, I like to begin with bubbly. While there are many inexpensive proseccos and cavas to consider, this is no time to go rummaging in the sad array of oxidized wines in the discount pile of the liquor store. Personally, I prefer to follow the adage “Buy the best, and cry only once.”
A recent wine tasting hosted by the Champagne Bureau of France offered an inviting sampling of 150 wines from the capital of bubbles. Champagne is the only source of true champagne, a region of northeastern France where, in the 19th century, vintners figured out how to take under-ripe, uneven quality grapes and, with the innovations of the industrial revolution, create the world’s most exciting celebratory wines.
As much as I wanted to taste all 150 wines, concerned for my own preservation, I limited myself to about 25. Among those, I reaffirmed my love for Pol Roger, Billecart Salmon, and Taittinger. Three other less-familiar wines also earned stars in my tasting notes: Ayala, Lanson and J.J. Vergnon.
Ayala was established in 1860 in Äy, France by Edmond de Ayala, the son of a Colombian diplomat in Paris who married the niece of a noble viscount and received the Chateau of Äy as his dowry. Nice dowry!
One of Champagne’s Grandes Marques, Ayala dares to be dry. Its “artisanal” Brut Nature has absolutely no dosage, meaning that there is no sugar added to temper its acidity. Screechingly fresh, with notable salinity, this champers is as refreshing as you can get.
Like Ayala, Lanson was reintroduced to the U.S. market recently, after a change of ownership and revitalizing investments. Founded in 1760, by the late 19th century Lanson was supplying champagne by royal appointment to the courts of the United Kingdom, Sweden and Spain.
The Lanson family sold out to Moët & Chandon in the aftermath of the 1991 oil crisis. Then, 175 days later, Moët flipped the property, selling the brand but keeping the vineyards. Essentially raped of its most important asset, Lanson carefully rebuilt the estate under new ownership.
I discovered Lanson several years ago in the tax-exempt store at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, so it was a pleasure to find it in New York. The Lanson wines are distinguished by being made with no malo-lactic fermentation, retaining a crisp character that does not depend on a sugary dosage for fruitiness.
With more time in the bottle for ageing than most champagnes, its flavors are refined. I found the Lanson Gold Label 2002 particularly delicate; exquisitely balanced.
Another newcomer to the North American market with superb wines, J.J. Vergnon is a small grower-producer from the chardonnay-focused Côte des Blancs.
In Epernay in 2010, I met the winemaker, Christophe Constant, whose youth and charm belie his years of experience with champagne. His “Conversation” Brut is, like Lanson, a no-malo wine but made with extra-ripened fruit, giving it more fullness and a rich, complex character.
As overwhelmingly fine as true champagne can be, I was delighted to find a more accessible French bubbly, fermented exactly the same way as champagne, just a few miles south in Burgundy: the Veuve Ambal Brut Blanc de Blanc. Made with 80 percent Macabeo grapes, this inexpensive wine delivers fresh citrus peel aromas and a clean, dry finish. Ambal uses other Spanish grapes, including monastrell and bobal, in a range of sparkling wines that deliver great quality for the price.
As much as these French wines define the parameters of fine bubbly wine, we must not ignore our own Long Island sparkling wines, several of which show similar refinement with pure, vivacious freshness.
Year in and out, there is one Long Island bubbly that remains on a par with the leading offerings from Champagne: Lenz.
The Lenz Cuvée would have pleased Lily Bollinger, who famously said, “I only drink champagne when I’m happy and when I’m sad. Sometimes I drink it when I’m alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I’m not in a hurry and drink it when I am, otherwise I never touch the stuff unless I am thirsty.”
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