Cleaning out the wine fridge after New Year’s, and I find this bottle shoved all the way in the back. Quel dommage! I forgot to serve it at the party. I opened a bag of leftover cheese cubes, pulsed all the extra charcuterie-board olives into a tapenade, and popped that cork for me and my lovely dining companion.
I first tasted this Crémant de Bourgogne at Total Wine and bought it as a wallet-friendly, gold-bedecked alternative to Champagne. (Does anyone really notice the difference after 10 PM? Not I.)
Perle de Vigne (“pearl of the vine”–poetic!) is a Burgundian sparkler from the Nuits-Saint-Georges sub-region, a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Aligote and Gamay. It’s aged 24 months, including 12 months on lees in the bottle.
In the glass, it’s a lovely classic champagne-gold color with abundant large round bubbles. (I served it in mismatched glasses–all the good wine flutes are still in the dishwasher after New Year’s. Or broken. Some of them definitely got broken. C’est la vie.) On the nose it’s a quick whiff of puff pastry/brioche followed by intense aromas of Asian pear, crisp Pink Lady apple, and bruised yellow rose petal.
The palate is dominated by Chardonnay flavors: More pomme fruits, lemon zest and iced lemon cookie, a little buttermilk or cream cheese, a little honeysuckle. The finish is really long–like, “look at a stopwatch and marvel” long. Body is medium, acidity medium. Overall, it’s an impressively rich and layered wine.
Tasting notes from drinkers and critics are all over the place–to my mind, confirming this wine’s complexity. I do not taste all of the red fruits and berries (from the Pinot, I suppose) that people talk about. Maybe because I have a cold or maybe because my brain is stuck on my favorite tart pear and floral flavors.
I shared the bottle with my wife, who was pining for a bit more bread with her fruit. There’s some almond biscotti and toast aromas, but they’re knocked out of the way when you go to take a sip. Wife: “THIS IS CHAMPAGNE? WHERE IS THE BREAD??” She added that she has been spoiled by trying lees-y, budget-busting “real” Champagnes at The Wine Authority‘s Tuesday Tastings. And now, alas, she can tell the difference.
Overall, I was a bigger fan of this bottle than she was. I was vastly entertained by the multiple shades of gold foil and the French script. (She thought it looked cheap.) We both agreed that Perle de Vigne was a bit sweeter than we usually choose for ourselves and guests. In my friend group, the preferred party tipple is a bright and bone-dry Prosecco. But I would absolutely keep this on hand for slightly sweeter palates and to add a touch of glitz and glamour to the brunch table or the after-dinner drinks.
I remember being pleasantly surprised by this value Crémant when I tried it at the liquor store, and it didn’t disappoint once I opened it at home. With leftover salty snacks, it was a yummy girl-dinner indulgence. The fact that it’s under $25? Why, that’s la cerise sur le gâteau.
Bottle: Louis Bouillot Perle de Vigne Crémant de Bourgogne (NV)
Variety: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Aligote and Gamay
ABV: 12%
Suggested retail: $22.99
My rating: 8.1 (out of 10)
Review disclosure: I was not compensated or provided any free products for this review. Opinions expressed on The Wine Fairy blog are entirely my own.
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