Cremant’s time to shine

For those in the know, Crémant has long been the “step up from Prosecco, not-as-pricey-as-Champagne” fizz of choice. It offers all of the interesting, autolytic notes that come from the traditional method vinification but perhaps takes itself a little less seriously than its more famous sparkly cousin and certainly offers good value for money.

And now happily, as confirmed in a recent flurry of national press, the word has reached a wider audience and the fine, wine-drinking folk of the UK are increasingly choosing crémant. The Drinks Business has reported that Ocado have seen sales of Crémant de Bordeaux go up by 47% in a year. And in a Sunday Times article from March, Waitrose announced that “in the past three months, our sales of crémant were up by 51% compared with the same period last year – we have never seen crémant sales as big.”

The crème de la crém(ant)

Map of the Cremant regions of France

(credit Fédération Nationale des Producteurs et Élaborateurs de Crémant)

The term “Crémant” can only be used for quality white or rosé sparkling wines that are AOP classified from one of the eight official French AOPs – Alsace, Bourgogne, Bordeaux, Die, Jura, Limoux, Loire and Savoie (and also Luxembourg if we’re being rigorous about these things.) Grapes must also be manually harvested and have restrictions on the must obtained per kilo of grapes, sulphur content and grams per litre of sugar. There is also a minimum ageing requirement of nine months on the lees – although all the producers we work with go far beyond this.

On that note, it seems like a good time to take stock of our own crémant range. Historically it grew quite naturally, with wines being taken on because of our love and admiration for a particular producer. In this way, Crémant de Limoux from Domaine J. Laurens and Crémant d’Alsace from Cave de Turckheim found their way onto our lists first. However, over the last few years as the demand has grown, we have made more deliberate moves to find a Crémant de Loire, from Pierre Chainier and most recently, Crémant de Bordeaux from new producer Château de Piote.

As a wine which can be enjoyed as an aperitif or as a cocktail, Crémant is unquestionably a wine to be enjoyed on happy occasions. It will add sparkle to your aperitif, whether sweet or savoury. It can even accompany an entire meal, thanks especially to its subtle fizz which adds an extra special note to the most refined cuisine.

Fédération Nationale des Producteurs et Élaborateurs de Crémant

We now have nine lovely wines of varying styles and colours to choose from and made from a whole range of varieties. There’s the real crisp and clean elegance of the Pierre Chainier Crémant de Loire, the rounder, fruit-forward crémants of Cave de Turckheim, more decadent offerings from Domaine J. Laurens and Château de Piote and a serious, complex bottle of Crémant de Jura from Domaine Désiré Petit  – here are some picks from our team.

	Domaine J.Laurens La Rose No.7, AOP Crémant de Limoux – my pick! “I just love the La Rose No.7. It looks beautiful in a glass but is also a wine of great substance and finesse. The combination of pretty strawberry fruit, a creamy texture and a fullness from the Pinot Noir make it a total joy to drink.”
Cave de Turckheim Mayerling Brut, AOP Crémant d’Alsace – Karl Walton “Pound for pound I think this is one of the best value wines in our list, it’s got lovely vibrant freshness, supported with just a subtle hint of autolysis and a beautifully balanced finish which for me is a hallmark of all the Turckheim wines.”
	Cave de Turckheim Crémant d’Alsace Tradition Brut, AOP Crémant d’Alsace – Paul Nolan “This is probably the wine I’m most familiar with as i’ve shown it at pretty much all my Christmas tastings –  but also I’m a big fan of autolytic characters, and this wine has that added development beyond fruit, with its extended lees ageing.”

Château de Piote Perles de Piote Blanc, AOP Crémant de Bordeaux [Organic & Biodynamic] – Angela Johnson “This wine has such a complex mix of orchard fruit, herbaceousness with baking and pastry notes alongside its creamy texture. The perfect Crémant for feeling a little bit decadent enjoying an afternoon sparkling tea!”
	Domaine Désiré Petit Brut, AOP Crémant du Jura – Amy Murren “Not only is the wine delicious, with lovely brioche and creamy notes – but the story of how the family used it to inebriate the border guards so people could escape into neighbouring Switzerland really captures my imagination!”

Click through on the wines to find out more, or search “Cremant” to see the full range. What will you choose?