Winemaker Notes
This Crémant de Loire Brut has a golden yellow color, with fine, long-lasting foam. The aromatics open with notes of citrus fruits, particularly orange and mandarin, accompanied by floral aromas. A second aromatic wave offers sweet pastry notes. A very fine balance is revealed in the mouth, reflecting an excellent maturity. Sustained length in the mouth, with notes of peach and apricot.
Its elegance makes it suitable for any occasion. It is ideal as an aperitif with canapés and savory appetizers, or with any fish or shellfish.
Blend: 40% Chardonnay, 40% Chenin Blanc, 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Pinot Noir
*The label for Gratien & Meyer Cremant de Loire Brut is in the process of changing. You may receive either of these two labels featured above. Specific labels cannot be requested.
Professional Ratings
-
Tasting Panel
Smart and stylish, this blend of 50% Chardonnay, 40% Chenin Blanc, and 10% Pinot Noir plays delightfully with your expectations. The nose delivers a wealth of spring flowers, honey, salted pear, yellow and green citrus, nuts, and even a touch of banana that leads you in one direction; the palate lean and very dry with racy acidity and a savory cast whisks you in another, offering quince, lime flesh and rind, hints of hay and chamomile, and scintillating minerality on the finish.
-
Wine Enthusiast
This is a fulsome Crémant de Loire that has a lot to offer. The sparkling wine opens with baked apple and pear, and a tinge of caramel and white peach. The palate mirrors the nose along with a splash of white cola, lemon-citrus peel and orange blossom.
A term typically reserved for Champagne and Sparkling Wines, non-vintage or simply “NV” on a label indicates a blend of finished wines from different vintages (years of harvest). To make non-vintage Champagne, typically the current year’s harvest (in other words, the current vintage) forms the base of the blend. Finished wines from previous years, called “vins de reserve” are blended in at approximately 10-50% of the total volume in order to achieve the flavor, complexity, body and acidity for the desired house style. A tiny proportion of Champagnes are made from a single vintage.
There are also some very large production still wines that may not claim one particular vintage. This would be at the discretion of the winemaker’s goals for character of the final wine.
Praised for its stately Renaissance-era chateaux, the picturesque Loire valley produces pleasant wines of just about every style. Just south of Paris, the appellation lies along the river of the same name and stretches from the Atlantic coast to the center of France.
The Loire can be divided into three main growing areas, from west to east: the Lower Loire, Middle Loire, and Upper/Central Loire. The Pay Nantais region of the Lower Loire—farthest west and closest to the Atlantic—has a maritime climate and focuses on the Melon de Bourgogne variety, which makes refreshing, crisp, aromatic whites.
The Middle Loire contains Anjou, Saumur and Touraine. In Anjou, Chenin Blanc produces some of, if not the most, outstanding dry and sweet wines with a sleek, mineral edge and characteristics of crisp apple, pear and honeysuckle. Cabernet Franc dominates red and rosé production here, supported often by Grolleau and Cabernet Sauvignon. Sparkling Crémant de Loire is a specialty of Saumur. Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc are common in Touraine as well, along with Sauvignon Blanc, Gamay and Malbec (known locally as Côt).
The Upper Loire, with a warm, continental climate, is Sauvignon Blanc country, home to the world-renowned appellations of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé. Pinot Noir and Gamay produce bright, easy-drinking red wines here.