After spending the last weeks in Italy drinking some amazing italian wine I really wanted to have something different.
What a magnificent surprise I had the other night when I opened this great champenoise method from New Mexico.
One of the least likely areas to expect wine, New Mexico’s wine potential was tapped when the Gruets, a French family, moved to the state with the intention of making sparkling wine. The land was inexpensive and the opportunity golden. In 1984, Gilbert Gruet, whose Champagne house, Gruet et Fils had produced fine Champagne in Bethon, France, since 1952, made the decision to plant an experimental vineyard, exclusively planted to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes. His children, winemaker Laurent and daughter Nathalie, then relocated to the great state of New Mexico to begin their American wine making adventure.
This 100% Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs is another example of the surprising complexity available from Gilbert Gruet & family in New Mexico. Lots of bubbles, aromas of intense notes of brioche, followed by green apples, lemon zest, honeysuckle, and tropical fruit. Fresh and soft on the front of the palate with nice lingering acidity on the finish, a strong candidate for the top Blanc de Blanc sparkling wine in America.