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 Having had the fortune of working with the Chandon bubblies in their first phase, it had given York ambition and knowledge to yearn for introducing a bubbly of their own. It had told delWine about 3 years back that introduction of this wine was on the cards. York Sparkling Cuvée Brut has been launched at a Price of Rs. 900 in Mumbai and will be available soon in Delhi at all major retail outlets. Like the other recent entrant Fratelli Gran Cuvee Brut it is made from 100% Chenin Blanc grapes but unlike Fratelli which is bone dry with zero residual sugar (known as Brut Nature or Non-Dosé), it has about 11 gms/liter making the sugar balance the high acidity beautifully. The Brut style of champagnes and other sparkling wines may have sugar level of 0-15 gms though a majority of them have 10-12 gms of Sugar. Its alcohol level of 12% is also the average level in Indian bubblies.
Methode Traditionelle-Like most sparkling wines in India, it is made using this technique used originally to make Champagne. Known as Methode Champenoise in Champagne (only where the term may be used when making champagne), this implies that it is made by double fermentation with the second fermentation done in the bottle (unlike Prosecco or the newly introduced Casablanca label by Good Drop Wine Cellars where the second fermentation is done in a tank which consequently keeps the wine fruity and fresh but simple and cheaper to produce).
Blanc de Blancs- The label prominently displays what simply implies that the liquid inside the bottle is ‘white made from white’ grapes (as a contrast there is Blanc de Noirs-e.g. when a Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier is used to produce a Brut. Thus a 100% Chenin would imply it is a Blanc de Blancs. It is interesting that bootleggers used to have a fields day by convincing the wine-ignorant customers a couple of decades ago that this reflected better quality!). Grover Vineyard also chose to call its white insipid wines with Clairette as Blanc de Blancs de Clairette that it introduced in the 90s.
Cuvée- WinemakerKailash Gurnani explains that the wine is labelled as a Cuvée because it uses only the first press free run juice, the way the term implies in Champagne and not the general implication of it being a blend of different wines or grapes. It could also imply that Chenin Blanc from different vineyards or parcels; in this case it signifying the former; grapes from Chenin grown from different parts of Nashik have been used. The bottle fermentation was carried out for about 13 months,
Only 6000 bottles are ready after second fermentation- half of them have been already disgorged and being shipped. Such a small quantity might not make much of a dent in the market but will certainly offer more choice to the sparkling wine lover and at a marginally lower price than competition.
 This wine needs chilling as it was amply displayed when a bottle was opened by Kailash when he visited me last month. It was not well chilled and subsequently lacked effervescence and mousse (froth in beer parlance). Opening a really chilled bottle at around 6°C yesterday, it showed plenty of zing. In fact, 4 hours after opening the bottle, it still left a very crisp and zingy impression on my palate, and this sustaining power turns out to be its biggest USP, provided there is consistency.
Otherwise the wine is pale with clean, citric and floral notes. It may not be as yeasty as Fratelli Brut but is very crisp, vivacious and fresh with very good balance and has a persistent taste on the mouth, a long after-taste and impressive flavour even after 4 hours. Shades of bitter almond flavour in the after-taste are pleasant. The sugar content (you feel the fruitiness and not clawing flavours) makes it suitable for slightly spice food besides being an excellent aperitif.
Rating -
The sales have been going up steadily for York. The winery sold 10,000 cases last year with 12 labels but this year the number has already reached in December. Unfortunately, the bubbly will not be available in half bottles for a while. You open a bottle-you finish it up! Cheers.
Subhash Arora
For an initial observation of the wine, 2 months ago please visit:
York Winery introduces Red Arros and Brut Cuvee |