Review: Langlois NV Cremant De Loire Brut Reserve and Brut Rose
Review: Langlois NV Cremant De Loire Brut Reserve and Brut Rose
As the home of Sancerre, the Loire Valley is widely respected for its Sauvignon Blanc, but other grapes thrive there as well. Langlois winery is known for Chenin Blanc and has recently shifted its focus to making Crémant, which is French sparkling wine made outside the Champagne region. I am a huge fan of Crémants because they are made in the méthode traditionnelle, which means secondary fermentation occurs in the bottle like Champagne, but they are typically much more affordable than Champagne. Today, we review two new releases, and I’m excited to give them a try.
NV Langlois Crémant De Loire Brut Réserve – 60% Chenin Blanc, 20% Chardonnay, 20% Cabernet Franc. This sparkling wine spends 24 months on the lees. Pouring pale straw in color with a just a tinge of green, the wine presents well integrated notes of candied lemon peel, pear, granny smith apples, and bready yeast on both the nose and palate. The bubbles are plentiful and small, providing a lovely, creamy mouthfeel that joins with the wine’s fruit to give it a creamsicle character (which is a good thing here). The wine also shows a touch of minerality, high acidity, and a long finish. Altogether, this is an excellent Crémant at a surprisingly affordable price point. A- / $20
NV Langlois Crémant De Loire Brut Rosé – 70% Cabernet Franc, 30% Pinot Noir. This sparkling wine spends 18 months on the lees. Poured in the glass, this wine is the color of straw with just a halo of pink at the base. The nose opens with enticing bread aromas followed by canned peaches. On the palate, the wine shows tart crab apples and canned fruit cocktail, but not in a bad way. I actually found the wine tasted quite a bit like green, chewy SweeTarts. Again: not in a bad way. When I paired the wine with food, it showed its real quality, becoming bigger and rounder. This Crémant has high acidity that begs for a meal pairing, and when it was paired with shrimp, the sharp tartness was tamed, leaving the fruity notes to shine. The wine has ample, medium sized bubbles that give it a silky mouth feel. B / $30
NV Langlois Crémant De Loire Brut Réserve
$20
