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Hello Wine Lovers!
I know I just posted an entry yesterday but I could not help myself. My lovely Bride brought home a bottle of Sparkling wine for Valentine's Day for us to share Saturday afternoon. She went grocery shopping at Fresh Market and decided to surprise me with a bottle to drink. Now, my lovely certainly knows her way around a wine shop, but due to the fact she is a designer, she typically will buy a bottle of wine based on the appearance of the label and the cost. So she comes home with a bottle of Sparkling from France with a bright egg yolk yellow (see what I mean) label called Saint-Hilaire Brut. Now for the next crazy thing... I did not know of this wine! For me not to know a wine is like Abbott not to know Costello! Any way, back to the wine. It came from a grocery store, it was not from Champagne France and I had never heard of it. Not very promising I thought. So we sat down to watch a movie and I opened the bottle and poured us a glass. Nice bubbles, nice color and a nice nose, I thought, now let's taste it. I brought the glass up to my lips and took a mouthful, I swirled it around my tongue and held it just slightly and then swallowed... I could not believe it! This wine was awesome! It definitely drank like Champagne from some of the best producers, I was completely blown away! This stuff will make you out to be a super hero the next time you want to pour the bubbly. Now for the best part... $12 a bottle! (I know it is over my $10 rule but trust me... this stuff will floor you)It has a yeasty start with green apple and a creamy, not too many bubbles, mid section with a nice long finish with pear and apricot.
I did a little research for you and here is what I discovered.
More than a century before champagne, the Benedictine Monks of the Abbey of Saint-Hilaire in the Southern foothills of Limoux had created France's Very First Sparkling Wine.
By 1794 Blanquette de Limoux was well known and appreciated throughout France. At about that time it was discovered by a famous American, Thomas Jefferson. The Third American President was an expert on French wines and Blanquette de Limoux was an integral part of his wine cellar. Few people realize that Jefferson was an avid collector of recipes and wine. With his knowledge of Europe's finest vineyards, Jefferson was the wine advisor to several presidents and, at George Washington's request, selected the first wines to be stocked in the White House. Though he didn't actually cook, he passed recipes along to friends and gathered them for his own chefs. In Jefferson's writings, researchers have found grocery lists, wine inventories and recipes.
They discovered receipts for hundreds and hundreds of bottles of wine. As president he spent about 10 percent of his salary on wine; Jefferson estimated that he needed about one bottle of wine for every 3.5 people served. Blanquette de Limoux was a favorite of Jefferson's and when he died in 1826 his last known cellar inventory dated February 1, 1826 listed 49 bottles. Today, over four and a half centuries later, SAINT-HILAIRE Blanquette de Limoux is made in the very same foothills of Southern France...."It is probably the least-known well-made sparkling wine of France..." "Made primarily from the Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Mauzac grapes, the wines are qualitatively close to a high quality non-vintage Champagne at one-third the price." Robert Parker
I know I just posted an entry yesterday but I could not help myself. My lovely Bride brought home a bottle of Sparkling wine for Valentine's Day for us to share Saturday afternoon. She went grocery shopping at Fresh Market and decided to surprise me with a bottle to drink. Now, my lovely certainly knows her way around a wine shop, but due to the fact she is a designer, she typically will buy a bottle of wine based on the appearance of the label and the cost. So she comes home with a bottle of Sparkling from France with a bright egg yolk yellow (see what I mean) label called Saint-Hilaire Brut. Now for the next crazy thing... I did not know of this wine! For me not to know a wine is like Abbott not to know Costello! Any way, back to the wine. It came from a grocery store, it was not from Champagne France and I had never heard of it. Not very promising I thought. So we sat down to watch a movie and I opened the bottle and poured us a glass. Nice bubbles, nice color and a nice nose, I thought, now let's taste it. I brought the glass up to my lips and took a mouthful, I swirled it around my tongue and held it just slightly and then swallowed... I could not believe it! This wine was awesome! It definitely drank like Champagne from some of the best producers, I was completely blown away! This stuff will make you out to be a super hero the next time you want to pour the bubbly. Now for the best part... $12 a bottle! (I know it is over my $10 rule but trust me... this stuff will floor you)It has a yeasty start with green apple and a creamy, not too many bubbles, mid section with a nice long finish with pear and apricot.
I did a little research for you and here is what I discovered.
More than a century before champagne, the Benedictine Monks of the Abbey of Saint-Hilaire in the Southern foothills of Limoux had created France's Very First Sparkling Wine.
By 1794 Blanquette de Limoux was well known and appreciated throughout France. At about that time it was discovered by a famous American, Thomas Jefferson. The Third American President was an expert on French wines and Blanquette de Limoux was an integral part of his wine cellar. Few people realize that Jefferson was an avid collector of recipes and wine. With his knowledge of Europe's finest vineyards, Jefferson was the wine advisor to several presidents and, at George Washington's request, selected the first wines to be stocked in the White House. Though he didn't actually cook, he passed recipes along to friends and gathered them for his own chefs. In Jefferson's writings, researchers have found grocery lists, wine inventories and recipes.
They discovered receipts for hundreds and hundreds of bottles of wine. As president he spent about 10 percent of his salary on wine; Jefferson estimated that he needed about one bottle of wine for every 3.5 people served. Blanquette de Limoux was a favorite of Jefferson's and when he died in 1826 his last known cellar inventory dated February 1, 1826 listed 49 bottles. Today, over four and a half centuries later, SAINT-HILAIRE Blanquette de Limoux is made in the very same foothills of Southern France...."It is probably the least-known well-made sparkling wine of France..." "Made primarily from the Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Mauzac grapes, the wines are qualitatively close to a high quality non-vintage Champagne at one-third the price." Robert Parker
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