Cheap French Alternative to Champagne: L'Exception D'Aimery Crémant de Limoux
Nov 21 '01
The Bottom Line A taste of French wine making history. Not my favorite sparkling wine, but bargain-priced and attractively packaged.
Elegant sparkling wine from France, for under $8 per bottle. Sounds pretty good, but hard to believe.
But it is true.
The Cream of Limoux, France, is a sparkling wine produced using the "traditional method" (where secondary fermentation takes place in the bottle and not in a stainless steel tank).
Limoux is a village in the south of France, close to the Spanish border, that bills itself as the "birthplace" of sparkling wines -- nearly 200 years before Dom Pérignon of Champagne, France.
L'Exception Crémant de Limoux
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In years past, wines of this type were known as "Blanquette de Limoux."
This is a fair quality, bottle-fermented sparkling wine made from a blend of White Mauzac grapes (locally grown in the Languedoc-Roussillon region, a large area in southern France) and a minimum percentage of 30% Chardonnay and/or Chenin Blanc grape. The Languedoc-Roussillon region, by the way, does not have a great reputation for producing high quality wines. Indeed, a lot of unexceptional wine is produced by large co-op producers.
L'Exception Crémant de Limoux is a 12% alcohol by volume wine that pours with a pale gold color and a prodigious amount of bubbles. The nose is slightly yeasty and musty, with some apple and pear fruit scents and a faint, slight hint of sulphur dioxide (a burnt matchstick smell) that, fortunately, does not carry forward into the taste.
By the way: sulphur dioxide (SO2), is used by winemakers to control the growth of molds, bacteria and wild yeasts (that could produce vinegar, for example).
Here's a great article on the uses of SO2 in winemakeing:
http://www.bcwine.com/vawa/usingso2.htm
Back to the wine, as to taste: this is a fairly light-bodied sparkling wine with a soft, toasty, light pear fruit flavor and a short, dry finish. Not particularly flavorful. Indeed, light and crisp (low in sugar). This one will mix well with cranberry or orange juice.
The marketing copy on the bottle's label: "In the year 1531, monks of the abbey near Limoux in Southern France began to elaborate a delicious sparkling wine, 150 years before Champagne. Made primarily from Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Mauzac grapes. This sparkling wine goes well with deserts [sic], as an aperitive and lends itself well for receptions and celebrations."
Price and Availability
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I purchased this Crémant de Limoux for $5.99 per 750 ml bottle at Trader Joe's Market. A great price.
Produced and bottled by S.P.B.L. of Limoux, France. Imported by Plume Ridge, Industry, California (I think that this is a Trader Joe company). Shipped by Aimery Sieur D'Arques, Limoux, France.
Trader Joe's is located in about 14 U.S. states from coast-to-coast.
See http://www.traderjoes.com for locations.
Recommendations
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More information about the Blanquette de Limoux and the newer Crémant de Limoux appellations can be found at:
http://www.blanquette.com
For about $6 per bottle, this is a very inexpensive wine and a good choice as an introduction to the style of sparkling wines produced in the South of France, and, in particular, for sampling a sparkling wine made from the White Mauzac grape. An interesting wine. A good bargain. A fine apéritif.
Verdict: Interesting, but not marvelous. Cheap, but not crappy. A taste of French wine making history. Not my favorite sparkling wine, but bargain-priced and attractively packaged. The way the bottle is dressed... this one looks expensive and elegant. Your guests will be impressed that you are serving French Champagne (not).
2½-stars. A drinkable, solid performer.
I probably would not buy this wine again, but I enjoyed trying it. Personally, for the money, one would do just as well with a bottle of the slightly sweeter Spanish sparkling wines: Freixenet Carta Nevada Brut or Cordon Negro Brut.
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Member: Tom Carr
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