Crémant du Luxembourg 2004 Riesling Cuvée de l’Ecusson Brut Bernard Massard

Blimey what a title!  As an alternative to, say, “Pol Roger Champagne” it certainly wins the verbosity battle, but is this a sparkler or a damp squib?

I know little about Champagne and, indeed sparkling wine in general.  I do like an odd bottle of Cava and I certainly don’t object to Champagne – drink it as often as I can afford.  I am just not very good at differentiating between an expensive bottle and a cheap one.  Which leads me, naturally, to select from the cheaper brands, and more interesting variations on the méthode champenoise.  But I didn’t expect the Spanish Inquisition when I pulled this bottle in my wine rack.  Actually I did expect the Spanish Inquisition because I thought it was a bottle of Cava.  In fact it is from Luxembourg.

Crémant du Luxembourg…population 480,000 - no wonder they export

Peach, sherbet, butter and lemon were my first impressions.  Slightly too acidic but otherwise lovely and refreshing.  As I drunk on, the major flavour that emerged was lemon cheesecake.  Crémant du Luxembourg is not as frothy as champagne but a great alternative to Cava and better than most.

I guessed the price to be about £9.99.  When I checked my notes I discovered I had ordered it from the Wine Society at £8.95 – pretty good value.

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