Wine & Spirits - August 2018 - 47

YEAR'S BEST SUMMER SPARKLERS
88 | Scharffenberger

$20

Mendocino County Excellence Brut (Best
Buy) ^ This wine's leesiness marries with some
bitter notes of grapefruit and peach pit. The
fruit is soft and ripe, the flavors simple. An
informal sparkler for toasts. §

(also recommended here), this wine is all
about texture, with a firm grape-skin breadth
built into its structure. It has the richness and
lift to pair with a blintz, or six. (900 cases) §

NEW YORK

508809

508806

92 | Dr. Konstantin Frank

$30

2012 Finger Lakes Blanc de Blancs ^ Konstantin Frank's Blanc de Blancs is chardonnay with an Alsatian feel. Leading with a
fine mousse, it's lean, tart and mineral, with
a lemon-lime scent as well as a hint of smoke.
The flavors are mouthwatering and young,
with lots of citrusy persistence. Impressive.
(W&S 12/17; 375 cases)
511712

92 | Glenora

$30

2013 Finger Lakes Brut ^ Delightfully crisp,
this has a brisk lemony aroma accented by a
mildly herbal note, like bay laurel. Its flavors,
buoyed by a delicate mousse, are like a wedge
of apple dusted with fine loess, the flavors
fruit-driven and tense but framed by a fine
minerality. (541 cases) §

512227

92 | Hermann J. Wiemer

$45

2013 Seneca Lake Blanc de Blanc ^ Scents
of spiced apple and warm bread lead in this
bright, fairly generous sparkler. The textures
strike an interesting balance: Despite the
wine's richness, it feels fresh and lively, the
pineapple-like flavors possessing that fruit's
assertive acidity, the finish marked by a long
and lasting lees impression. (130 cases) §
512228

91 | Hermann J. Wiemer

$37

2013 Seneca Lake Cuvée Brut ^ More leesy
and phenolic than Wiemer's Blanc de Blanc

90 | Dr. Konstantin Frank

$35

87 | Bellangelo

$16

2012 Finger Lakes Blanc de Noirs ^ Lean,
fresh and more than a little earthy, this Blanc
de Noirs has a scent of chalk-dusted Rainier
cherries and a mildly saline finish. Deploy its
focus and lean flavors on a plate of escargot.
(W&S 12/17; 296 cases)
512014
Seneca Lake Sparkling Cuvée (Best Buy) ^
Grapey and a touch sweet, this lively sparkler
has a pleasing lees note enriching its goldenapple flavors. Priced for a party. (350 cases) §

227272

90 | Loimer

$30

90 | Loimer

$34

Niederösterreich Extra Brut (Best Buy) ^
Fred Loimer blends this wine from grüner
veltliner, zweigelt and pinot noir he grows
under biodynamics. After a year on the lees
in bottle, those varieties make for a lively
extra brut. Lemony acidity balances the
lush, creamy texture, notes of toasted nuts
and baked apples filling in the middle. Chill
it for shad roe this spring. (W&S 4/18) § Craft
+ Estate/The Winebow Group, NY
229964
Niederösterreich Brut Rosé ^ An exuberant
sparkler, this is a blend of biodynamically
farmed zweigelt, pinot noir and chardonnay, made with a secondary fermentation in
bottle. Time on the lees adds a toasty savor
to the wine's berry flavors while a citric acidity keeps it crisp and refreshing. It would be
delicious with cedar-planked salmon. § Craft +
Estate/The Winebow Group, NY

FRANC E
ALSACE
227884

OREGON
512085

91 | Anne Amie Vineyard

$60

90 | Lange Estate

$70

2011 Chehalem Mountains Cuvée Marilyn Brut ^ From one of the coolest Oregon
vintages on record, this blend of equal parts
chardonnay and pinot noir is leesy and
bright at once, a tense marriage of tart, lemony fruit and richer, autolytic bass notes. It's
fresh and lifted and thrillingly dry on the finish, a sparkler for salmon crudo. (292 cases) §
512233
2015 Dundee Hills Mia Mousseux Brut
Rosé ^ Blended from 70 percent pinot noir
and 30 percent chardonnay, this inaugural release is floral and a bit earthy when
first poured; then a dried-cherry note slips
through the fine bubbles. It's savory and
bracing, with the crispness for brook trout.
(350 cases)
512153

88 | Sokol Blosser

AUSTRIA

$20

American Evolution Brut (Best Buy) ^ This
sweet-and-sour sparkler leads with a mouthful of crisp apple and lemon flavors. It's firm
and brisk, but with enough creaminess to
close in a broad, satisfying finish. (4,500
cases) §

93 | Albert Mann

$26

92 | Les Vins Pirouettes

$25

2014 Crémant d'Alsace Extra Brut ^ Brothers Maurice and Jacky Barthelmé manage this organically certified family estate,
blending this sparkler from auxerrois, pinot
blanc and pinot noir. Seriously structured, it
has the mineral tension of wines grown on
limestone, a savory flavor of fresh grapefruit
that feels generous even as it's completely
dry. Delicious with East Coast oysters and a
peppery mignonette. (W&S 4/18) § Weygandt
Selections, Rhinecliff, NY
224437
2012 Crémant d'Alsace Le Crémant de
Stéphane ^ Stéphane Bannwarth's vineyards
have been certified biodynamic since 2012,
when he made this wine with Christian Binner. They fermented it without additions in
stainless steel and then bottled it with some
grape juice from the same vintage so that it
would undergo secondary fermentation in
bottle. They didn't add any sulfur, but gave
it plenty of time with its yeasts, developing
a complex autolytic character: It's buttery
and rich while remaining completely dry.
Notes of crème caramel come up against
bright acidity at the end, making this a great
choice for anything, from charcuterie to lobster Américaine. (W&S 4/18) § Jenny & François Selections, NY

WINE & SPIRITS

AUGUST 2018

http://www.drfrankwines.com/wine-detail.asp?WineType=6&Wine=27 http://www.drfrankwines.com/wine-detail.asp?WineType=6&Wine=26 https://shop.wiemer.com/product/blanc-de-blanc/

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - August 2018