Vitteaut Alberti Cremant de Bourgogne Blanc de Blancs Agnes
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Notes of crisp apples, meyer lemon, and delicate limestone minerality surface on the palate. Great balance and finesse that one expects from a very good blanc de blancs champagne.
Great as an aperitif or with light hors d'oeuvres.
"Vito Alberti," I thought, "Sounds more like a mobster or owner of a pizza parlor in Brooklyn. But producer of fine sparkling wine in Burgundy. Nah. Impossible!"
After tasting Jean-Baptiste's rich yet mineraled Rully, he made his way up the road to the place whose name seemed more apt to produce prosecco. After introductions were exchanged, he learned that the name of the domaine was actually Vitteaut-Alberti, a double-barreled name that came from the combination of the domaine's founders, Lucien Vitteaut (not Vito) and his wife of Italian origin, Maria Alberti. Lucien and Maria Vitteaut began releasing their sparkling wines in 1951. The savoir-faire and quality of production of these sparkling wines enchanted a local clientele of restaurants and private buyers from Chalon-sur-Saône to Beaune, allowing them to compete and develop against their rivals. Through plenty of sweat labor, sales rose to 18,000 bottles a year.
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.
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A legendary wine region setting the benchmark for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay worldwide, Burgundy is a perennial favorite of many wine lovers. While the concept of ‘terroir’ reigns supreme here—soil type, elevation and angle of each slope—this is a region firmly rooted in tradition. Because of the Napoleonic Code requiring equal distribution of property and land among all heirs, vineyard ownership in Burgundy is extremely fragmented, with some growers responsible for just one or two rows of vines. This system has led to the predominance of the "negociant"—a merchant who purchases fruit from many different growers to vinify and bottle together.
Burgundy’s cool, continental climate and Jurassic limestone soils are perfect for the production of elegant, savory and mineral-driven Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with plenty of acidity. Vintage variation is of particular importance for Burgundy wine, as weather conditions can be variable and unpredictable. In some years spring frost and hail must be overcome.
The Côte d’Or, a long and narrow escarpment, forms the heart of the region, split into the Côte de Nuits to the north and the Côte de Beaune to the south. The former is home to many of the world’s finest Pinot Noir wines, while Chardonnay plays a much more prominent role in the latter, though outstanding red and white Burgundy wines are produced throughout. Other key appellations include the Côte Chalonnaise, home to great value Pinot Noir and sparkling Crémant de Bourgogne. The Mâconnais produces soft and round, value-driven Chardonnay while Chablis, the northernmost region of Burgundy, is a paradise for any lover of bright, acid-driven and often age-worthy versions of the grape.