Friday Night Bubbles

NV René Geoffroy Cuvée Rosé de Saigné, $30 (375 ml), Terry Theise Selections/Michael Skurnik Wines. I must admit, rosé of Champagne is something that still perplexes me. I find very few to be truly compelling, maybe one in five. The same grower/producers who make wines that I love, I often find their rosés to be uninspiring, and they're more expensive than the regular non-vintage wines too. I definitely need more time with the wines in order to understand them, but it's also possible that as a style of wine, rosé of Champagne might not be my thing.

But wait, it's not so simple. There are two distinct styles of rosé of Champagne, and I've been drinking only one of them, as it happens.

Broadly speaking, rosé of Champagne is made in two ways. The more common method involves blending still red wine with the white base wines. This method allows the producer a greater degree of control over the finished wine, and therefore, consistency. For whatever reason, I've not found these wines to be as lively and exciting as other Champagne.

With the saigné method, the producer allows the red grape skins to stay in contact with the juice for a short while, and then bleeds (saigné means bled off- sang=blood...think sangria, sang-froid, etc.) off the now red-tinted juice. It is more difficult to control the finished product here - the natural variations of the growing season play a more prominent role. This is why each bottling of one producer's rosés de saigné can be quite different in color, aroma, and flavor.

I've been drinking rosés made by blending still wines. There are a few that I've really liked, wines by Billiot in particular. Time to try some wines made with the saigné method.

As it turns out, Geoffroy makes a rosé de saigné that I really like. Not a big surprise for me - I like every single Geoffroy wine that I've tasted. At this point, if I could take one Champagne producer's lineup to a desert island, it would be me and René out there under the palm trees. The version currently on the shelves is almost electric orange - the photo doesn't do it justice. The nose is deeply perfumed with luscious dark Pinot fruit with a stabilizing chalky base. Such richness and perfume on the nose! The palate is super lively with fruit and acidity. Smooth and creamy in texture with a broad mouth filling feeling. The finish is deeply mineral and leaves a floral fragrance in the mouth. This wine is just delicious, and plenty bold enough to partner with our late summer meal of broiled bonito and Italian-style braised green beans.

More rosé de saigné is in my future, I can tell. I know Boulard makes one. Any others that you'd care to recommend?