Friday, December 11, 2009

Domaine J. Laurens: the OB (Original Bubbly)

The French village of Limoux claims to have been making sparkling wine longer than Champagne, but in modern times its wines have never been seen as reaching the same level of excellence.

That's bad for Limoux grapegrowers, but good for consumers, because how often do you actually drink a top-level bubbly? And the best Cremants de Limoux are as good as or better than entry-level Champagnes at less than half the price.

This wine is a great example. I'd rather drink this than many nonvintage Champagnes on the market, and I guarantee you won't find a Champagne for $13. This is one of the best sparkling-wine values I've had this year.

Click here to buy it.

Domaine J. Laurens Cremant de Limoux Brut ($13)
Wow, what a value. If I tasted this blind, I would have guessed Anderson Valley because of the brightness of the green apple and lemon fruit, and the nice clean finish. In fact, it's from France's Limoux region, which claims to have been making bubbly as long as Champagne. You can enjoy it with any of the traditional bubbly pairings; I actually had a bottle with a pepperoni pizza and it was outstanding. 90

1 comment:

terry said...

I agree 100%. Was looking for a sparkling wine to serve at my wedding that did not cost a small fortun. I had tasted a number of cavas and proseccos before receiving a recommendation to try the J. Lauren. Loved it and from what I remember so did everyone else at the wedding. We didn't even bother return the bottles that were leftover. Goes well with everything.