Festive Fizz
Whilst we could drink fizz at any time of year and under a wide spectrum of circumstances, it's fair to say that the bubbles really start flowing in the fortnight that straddles the run up to Christmas and the crash landing into a new year. With that in mind, here's three of our favourites we're recommending . Why not stash two for yourself and give one away: grab all three with a friendly discount by buying the Festive Fizz case.
If your glass isn't fizzing at some point over the holidays, you’re doing it wrong.
L’Austral - Jolie Brise 2019
Fresh, friendly pet nat: crunchy raspberry and a lemony acidity. Breakfast wine anyone? Pauline & Laurent work with biodynamics on the chalk-limestone slopes of Saumur Puy Notre Dame, with a beautiful old cellar cut into the hills. Their work is simple and direct, focused on producing the clearest expressions of their special region they can. Jolie Brise is one of our favourite pet-nats, an easy going and delicious introduction into the world of natural wines.
Bringing this home and confronted with the question: but what IS Pet Nat? You can tell your confused aunt/brother/nosy neighbour "pet-nat, or pétillant-naturel is a style of sparkling wine where the wine is bottled before fermentation has finished, and continues in bottle. The CO2 that occurs as a by-product of the continuing fermentation is captured and integrates into the wine." If they tell you you're wrong, send them my way.
Domaine de Bablut - Crémant de Loire NV
Amazing value Cremant as an alternative to traditional method Champagne- A taut line of acidity and a toasted-brioche depth are brought to life by fine bubbles and a long, mineral finish. Aged on the lees for 3 years, with zero-dosage.
To say that the Daviau's are an old Angevin family would be an understatement. With an ancestry of owning vines in the area going back to 1546, there's a fair bit of history here. 'Bablut' means two mills in Angevin dialect as the family used to be millers as well as wine growers. The mills still stand today, but have since become used as cellars and tasting rooms. Faithful to his respect of the environment, Christophe has committed to organic farming since 1996, with biodynamic practices in place not long after. With 20 years of biodynamic agriculture under their belt, son Antoine persuaded Christophe to become Demeter certified, in 2021.
Domaine Hugo - Botley's Col Fondo 2019
Soft, pretty and elegant with light pithy citrus and a lovely fresh-from-the-oven pastry vibe you're after at this time of year. A special one-off experiment that looks set to change the way they spark their traditional method sparkling at Domaine Hugo. The second fermentation of a barrel of the reserved 2019 field blend was sparked with a little fermenting juice of 2020, no easy feat to pull off.
Hugo Stewart left the family-pig farm over a decade ago, to pursue an adventure in biodynamic agriculture in the Languedoc Roussillon. Needing to return back to Wiltshire in 2015, Hugo was confident that the windswept chalk soils of the family farm could make great vineyards. Deciding to plant a handful of traditional Champagne varietals, Hugo set about working his own three hectares in accordance with biodynamic principles.
In 2018 he took the fruit of his first home-grown vintage to the nearby Langham estate to be vinified by the young head winemaker there: Daniel Ham. So excited by the quality of fruit and the story of Hugo's viticulture, Daniel had soon talked himself into a new job. Building the winery together at Botley's, Dan heads up the winemaking, with Hugo concentrating on the biodynamic viticulture.
