Just in time for Valentine's Day, we're running a quick sale on the Prieure Cremant de Bourgogne. This blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Aligote is made just like Champagne, and it honestly tastes a lot like Champagne. The only difference is that this one comes to you at less than $30!
Les Caves du Prieure Cremant de Bourgogne | 84 bottles available
Dry, complex, and charming bubbly that drinks like real-deal Champagne, but costs a lot less!
ORDER NOW in our online store.
What is Cremant? There's a lot of confusion about this type of wine, so I wanted to start by explaining what that term signifies. Not to be confused with Cramant, a highly regarded village in Champagne, a Cremant is a French sparkling wine made using the traditional method but made outside of the Champagne region. The traditional method refers to sparkling wines made exactly like Champagne, with the second fermentation and aging occurring in the bottle.
There are a number of French regions, including the Loire, Alsace, and Bordeaux, that produce Cremants, but I have always found the versions produced in Burgundy to be the best and the most Champagne-like. That is certainly the case with Prieure's Cremant, which could easily be mistaken for a high quality Champagne.
This is the same producer that makes some my favorite Red Burgundy values, and this family-run estate is based in the village of Savigny-les-Beaune. After consistently selling out of this sparkling wine, I finally got fed up and just bought my distributor out. When you taste this, you'll understand why I did that. This stuff is super classy, refined, and it has super fine bubbles.
A blend of 60% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir and 10% Aligote, this undergoes its primary fermentation in stainless steel. As I said earlier, the second fermentation, the one that creates the bubbles, takes place in the bottle. The wine is then aged on the spent yeast cells for 24 months before it is disgorged and corked. This extended aging on lies is what gives this wine its toasty, spicy, and nutty character, and these are the flavors that I look for in quality sparkling wines.
This is really good stuff folks! Bright, lively, and dry, this offers up attractive notes of spiced apple, white peach, mixed citrus, almond, and hazelnut. If you really concentrated, you can even pick up a hint of cherry on the finish, no doubt due to the Pinot Noir component in the wine. All in all, this is a very complete and satisfying sparkler at a great price.
Pick up some sushi, pop the cork on this, and have a wonderful evening with the one you love most this Valentine's Day. Cheers to good drinking and eating in Asheville!
ORDER NOW in our online store.
Josh Spurling
Owner, Operator, Wine Monger
Table Wine Asheville