Crémant du Luxembourg 2004 Riesling Cuvée de l’Ecusson Brut Bernard Massard
Blimey what a title! As an alternative to, say, “Pol Roger Champagne” it certainly wins the verbosity battle, but is this a sparkler or a damp squib?
I know little about Champagne and, indeed sparkling wine in general. I do like an odd bottle of Cava and I certainly don’t object to Champagne – drink it as often as I can afford. I am just not very good at differentiating between an expensive bottle and a cheap one. Which leads me, naturally, to select from the cheaper brands, and more interesting variations on the méthode champenoise. But I didn’t expect the Spanish Inquisition when I pulled this bottle in my wine rack. Actually I did expect the Spanish Inquisition because I thought it was a bottle of Cava. In fact it is from Luxembourg.
Peach, sherbet, butter and lemon were my first impressions. Slightly too acidic but otherwise lovely and refreshing. As I drunk on, the major flavour that emerged was lemon cheesecake. Crémant du Luxembourg is not as frothy as champagne but a great alternative to Cava and better than most.
I guessed the price to be about £9.99. When I checked my notes I discovered I had ordered it from the Wine Society at £8.95 – pretty good value.