Sparkling and Champagne

TTD Sparkling Pinot Rosé NV £10.99 60% Pinot Bianco and 40% Pinot Noir grown in the Province of Treviso. The grapes are gently pressed and vinified off the skins to produce a delicate rose-coloured wine. The wine is tank-fermented in the traditional method of Prosecco. Residual sugar: 15g/l. Winemaker: Gabriele Cescon at Cantine Maschio. Available now 585 stores exclusive natural cork 11.0%

The lightest pink colour. Quite a sweet and confected nose. Not quite dry and tastes like those pink shrimp sweets.

TTD Prosecco Conegliano DOCG 2011 £10.99 100% Glera grown in selected sites in the Conegliano DOCG zone. After picking the grapes are gently pressed. The free-run must is then refrigerated in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks where it undergoes a natural clarification. Secondary fermentation takes place in pressure tanks. Residual sugar: 14g/l. Winemaker: Gabriele Cescon at Cantine Maschio. Available now 550 stores exclusive natural cork. Now also available in a 1.5ltr (£19.99) and 20cl bottle (£2.99) 11.0%

Very little aroma – Sandra says it’s like Matey bubblebath. It’s sweet fruity and light. Too sweet for me.

Cloudy Bay Pelorus Vintage 2006 £18.99 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay. The grapes are harvested predominantly from 3 cane vines from the Rapaura and Fairhall regions of the Wairau Valley. A warm primary fermentation in a mixture of stainless steel tanks and large and small format old French oak vessels is followed by a spontaneous malolactic fermentation. The base wines were then aged for a further 9 months on yeast lees prior to blending in October 2006. The final assemblage was triaged in December 2006 using prise de mousse yeast and aged on lees for three years prior to disgorging in early 2010. Residual sugar: 7.5g/l. Winemaker: Tim Heath.New vintage available now 29 stores natural cork 12.5%

Served icy cold. Not much aroma as a result. Bitingly cold in the mouth. Light easy and of medium length.  Lovely to drink but not full-flavoured.  May be the temperature.

Sainsbury’s Blanc de Noirs Brut NV £20.99 60% Pinot Meunier 40% Pinot Noir. Picking is done entirely by hand with grapes being put into individual open crates. In most cases the grapes are taken to press houses no further than a few miles from the vineyards. Harvesting takes place traditionally from mid to end September when the natural sugar levels and acidity are at their best. 30% reserve wines are used. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel vats at a controlled temperature of around 17°C. The wine is aged in underground cellars for 30 months. Residual sugar: 10-12g/l. Winemaker: Jérôme Bouby at SCA des Producteurs des Grands Terroirs de la Champagne. Available now in 75cl bottle 1.5ltr (£39.99) and 37.5cl (£11.99) 575 stores exclusive natural cork 12.0%

Deep golden colour. Rich biscuity nose. This is really good. Very tasty but smooth acidity and long long flavour.




TTD Vintage Champagne 2005 £25.99 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir. The grapes are sourced from the prestigious Premier Cru and Grand Cru villages of Vertus Trépail Avize Chouilly and Le Mesnil sur Oger for the Chardonnay and Avenay Mareuil sur Ay Cumières Bouzy Ambonnay Verzy Verzenay and Ludes for the Pinot Noir. The 2005 Summer was fresh and dry. It followed an intermittently frosty Spring which also saw a really hot spell as well as well-balanced rainfall ending in a bloom on 14th June. The harvest started on 15th September offering grapes with well-balanced sugars and acids. This Champagne is made by traditional Champenois pressing and the alcoholic fermentation occurs in stainless steel vats under temperature control between 16 and 20°C. The wine undergoes malolactic fermentation. This cuvée is aged on lees for 6 years in cellars where the temperature is around 10 to 11°C. Dosage: 8.5g/l. Winemaker: Sandrine Logette-Jardin at Duval-Leroy. Available now 301 stores exclusive natural cork 12.5%

Creamy chardonnay nose.  The acidity is under control there’s a hint of sweet fruit but the B de N is much better in my opinion.

Sainsbury’s Demi-Sec Champagne NV £19.99 60% Pinot Meunier 25% Pinot Noir 15% Chardonnay. The grapes are picked entirely by hand with grapes being put into individual open crates. In most cases the grapes are taken to press houses no further than a few miles from the vineyards to enable pressing to take place as quickly as possible so retaining the freshness of the musts. Harvesting takes place traditionally from mid to end September when the natural sugar levels and acidities are at their best. 30% reserve wines are used. Pressing is done in 4000kg or 8000kg presses and after an initial settling of the must fermentation takes place in stainless steel vats at controlled temperature. Blending is normally carried out early in the year following the harvest and the first bottling is normally completed by April. Residual sugar: 35g/l. Winemakers: Christophe Roques at Boizel a small traditional house forming part of the Boizel Chanoine group and founded in 1834. Available now 301 stores exclusive natural cork 12.0%

Not much on the nose. It’s pretty sweet – medium I think.  Sometimes Demi Sec isn’t all that sweet but this is fruity and loses something somehow.

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