We thought 2022 needed to go out with a bang, and tasting vintage Champagne vs sparkling from other European regions was a perfect theme for our traditional annual sabrage party.
It was a fun sequel to our 2021 Champagne vs. Italian Bubbles tasting. This time Champagne had to top the select sparkling wines from Germany, Great Britain, Italy, and Spain. To make it fair, all wines followed Méthode Champenoise to some extent, and some even exceeded it.
Who came on top? What were the favorite wines of the tasting?
2021 Stein Secco Sparkling Rosé
While Dr. Ulrich Stein’s wines are little known in the U.S., he has a passionate following in Europe and likely could sell every last bottle to his friends in Germany.
2021 Stein Secco Sparkling Rosé is made from Pinot Noir, one of the traditional Champagne varietals, with the addition of non-traditional 20% Cabernet and Merlot. Second fermentation was done in the tank, yet another distinction from Champagne.
As with Stein Sekt (traditional method), the high-quality base wine is essential for producing appealing sparkling qualities. Stein Secco is carbonated in a pressure tank and filled into thick bottles under counter-pressure.
Surprisingly, Stein Rosé had a well-balanced acidity than typical bone-dry German sparkling wines.
The aromas were an exciting combination of slate minerality (gift of terroir), red currant, and a touch of funk, thanks to Cab and Merlot.
With all its acidity, Stein Sparkling rose had the flavors of sweet apples, Cornellian cherry, and apple caramel.
We also liked the texture of creamy mousse (despite being infused with bubbles) on the palate and a more substantial body and texture atypical for most German bubbles.
Now we know why so few Stein sparkling wines make it across the Atlantic.
Germans keep the best for themselves. After all, they consume the most sparkling wines per person in the world.
2021 Vigneto Saetti ‘RossoViola’ Lambrusco
To add more spice to the contest, we made bubbles to compete against each other, not just Champagne. And why not stack Germany and Italy, long-time soccer rivals, against each other in a glass of sparkling?
To make it even more fun, we added to the flight 2021 Vigneto Saetti ‘RossoViola’, a Lambrusco in a class of its own.
While Saetti and Stein couldn’t be more apart: different countries, grape varietals, and sparkling styles, there was a certain commonality.
The red berry aromas and funky notes on the nose were a bit more pronounced in Saetti’s Lambrusco, yet it felt familiar to Stein’s.
We also felt a connection on the palate because this Lambrusco is completely dry, like Stein’s Rosé, which caught some wine club members by surprise.
The pomegranate and black currant on the palate was related to the previous sparkling, yet different. Unlike light pinky, fully sparkling Stein, Saetti was a dark, ruby fizzy wine with pleasant creamy effervescence.
2014 Avinyó “La Ticota Selecció” Gran Reserva Cava
It’s hard to overstate the uniqueness of the 2014 Avinyó Grand Reserva Cava. So many factors contribute to the 2014 Avinyó “La Ticota” quality that we couldn’t hold it in and made a post about how far it exceeds France’s Champagne region’s requirements. Noticing the trend of this tasting yet?
Many traditional method sparkling winemakers are trying to achieve the benchmark characteristics of Champagne with various degrees of success. In our opinion, Avinyó got the closest of all the Spanish producers we’ve tasted so far.
It was apparent from the first sniff when we smelled brioche and tasted limestone minerality, the quintessential infamous French bubbles. The winemaker hardly tried to imitate Champagne, yet they picked some of the best from it in the quest for their perfect Cava.
Still, Avinyó “La Ticota” is a distinct sparkling wine with aromas and flavors of ripe yellow apple, pear, apple cider, peach candy, apple cider, hay, and more.
Our club members were as blown away as we were. Actually, for kicks, we tasted basic Cava the next day and had to spit it out. We are spoiled! 2014 Avinyó “La Ticota Selecció” Gran Reserva became a golden standard to which we’ll compare all other Cavas. And possibly Champagne too. We suspect it would have a three-digit price tag if it came from that famous French region.
2014 Ambriel Rosé Brut
We picked the 2014 Ambriel Rosé Brut, a 100% Pinot Noir sparkling from West Essex of England, for a few reasons.
First, we were dazzled by the 2010 Ambriel Blanc de Blanc*** (100% Chardonnay), which we had tried a few weeks prior. Second, it was the first vintage Rosé Ambriel ever produced. And third, Ambriel Rosé is the closest match in a production method and grape varietal and would be called Blanc de Noir Rosé Champagne if it came from France.
Ambriel Rosé is a crisp and juicy bubble with good structure and complexity. It’s a berry-forward wine that made us think of fragrant wild strawberries and raspberries harvested from our garden on a sunny summer afternoon. The Ambriel felt almost like creamy berry mousse on the palate.
2014 “Mes Vieille Vignes” José Dhondt Blanc de Blanc Champagne
2014 “Mes Vieille Vignes” Blanc de Blanc is top-of-the-line from the Champagne House of José Dhondt (pronounced [ʒoze dont]).
2014 “Mes Vieille Vignes” (My Old Vines) is a 100% Chardonnay from Grand Cru vineyards planted over a half-century ago and produced as millésimé (vintage) only in exceptional years.
As the club members took the first sip, almost in unison, they exclaimed, “Ahh!”. “Mes Vieille Vignes” delighted our senses with aromas and flavors of flinty yet tempered minerality, apple chips, peach and apple pie with all its smells of warm pie dough, baked apples, and oozing caramel hitting our senses at once.
Its rich, concentrated character was defined by apple flavors. Yet, we felt all its complexity simultaneously, like a choir singing in perfect unison.
2014 “Mes Vieille Vignes” Blanc de Blanc was like a crescendo at the end of the tasting.
And the Winner Is
Tasting Vintage Champagne and Sparkling is a rare opportunity to taste wines that will never happen again because each vintage is different. Each bottle was like a little capsule of time and place with a unique, one-of-a-kind personality.
Two wines stood out for our wine club members: Avinyó Cava and José Dhondt Champagne. The latter took the top spot by a couple of votes to continue Champagne’s winning streak from last year’s Champagne vs. Italian Sparkling tasting and sabrage party.
2021 Saetti’s Lambrusco, 2014 Ambriel Rosé, and 2021 Stein Rosé were evenly split as the second choice.
Aftertaste
Of course, tasting vintage Champagne vs sparkling was the best part of our annual sabrage party. But for us, the fun starts already when we go wine hunting. Typically we have the concept or idea for the tasting before we head out to the stores or browse online shops, and then it’s a “game of bottles.”
Sometimes concept wins, and sometimes bottles take the lead and inspire us to reinvent the tasting. That’s what happened this time, and it was one of the most exciting sparkling wine-swinging tastings we had.
Let the best bottle win!
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