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It is a truth universally acknowledged that Paper 3 of the notoriously difficult practical Master of Wine exam is the easiest. This came to my mind as I scribbled frantically at 8:30am at the MW’s second year mock exam, in washed out Reading this week. 12 wine glasses with mysterious wines looked back at me, mirroring my confusion.
Before me stood 4 excellent, complex examples of sparkling wine. Styles are diverging across the globe and quality is sprouting up anywhere imagination, skill and technological advancement lands. Champagne no longer holds domain over light, yeasty and elegant sparkling. The examples before me were proof that, with great privilege to the consumer, a glass of beautifully executed sparkling wine can always be just around the corner.
Out of the flood and into a surprisingly sunny February Friday at the Goedhuis office. Is Spring finally here? It is when you taste the light, summertime pink of Château Léoube sparkling Rosé. Methode Traditionel – second fermentation in bottle and lees ageing of over 9 months, is reflected in the brioche notes on the nose and a persistent, refined mouse. 100% Cabernet Franc grapes bestow crème de cassis fruit and a salmon pink visual.
I love the white bloom presentation of the bottle, its white box looks like a giant perfume bottle. This is an organic wine, meaning no herbicides and pesticides, just pure luxury and style. With its roots in Provence, it offers all of the salmon-pink and fruit we so dearly love of wines from this region, with the luxury sparkle fit for an afternoon on a yacht off its coast.