Wine with Leslie: A trio of sparkling pet-nat wines from €20
Pic: iStock
February has so far seemed even darker than January so this week I’m on a mission to cheer you all up with a trio of pet-nat sparkling wines.
As I’m sure you know by now pet-nat is how fizz used to be before Madame Clicquot invented the riddling process in Champagne to remove sediment caused by bottle fermentation so she could present a crystal-clear wine.
Limoux in the Languedoc introduced sparkling wines long before the Champenois, and they would have been in this style as would early Champagnes.
What I love about them is their lightness of touch and the appetising yeasty flavours, caused by the unfiltered dead yeast cells that are still present in the bottle and show as a milky sediment when the bottle has sat still for any length of time.
It is often advised to give the bottle a light shake before opening to distribute them evenly and thus the wine will be lightly cloudy in the glass.
Pet-nat is usually a little lower in alcohol (10-12% ABV) so makes a great aperitif or lunch wine but also I think can match food better than Cava or Champagne because the mousse is more gentle.
Pet-nat is more usually presented as a summer wine but I drink it all year round and have found it works with everything from quiche to fish and chips to charcuterie and cheese, and even with a chicken chasseur.
The three recommended below have decent distribution in independents. For some reason the supermarkets have not yet discovered pet-nat but any decent off-licence will have a selection as will every wine bar.
- O’Donovan's Wine School Courses start next month in the Clayton, Cork.
- One-day Level 1 course, March 29
- Eight-week Level 2 course beginning April 7
- info@odonovansofflicence.com
€19.95
This lively pink Pét-Nat from Spain is also available in white and sometimes in cans in the summer months. Dusky pink-orange colour, strawberry and pink grapefruit aromas, crisp and fruity with a chewy, yeasty, citrus kick and a little more weight than most pet-nat. Perfect with tapas, especially jamón.
€23.50
Tiago Sampaio grew up in the Douro helping his grandfather with his vines and he founded Folias de Baco in 2007 from the same grapes making tasty and balanced natural wines. This lightly sparkling delight has yeasty raspberry aromas and flavours, tastes bone-dry and will brighten your February.
Organic and Biodynamic and part of the new wave of young French natural/organic winemakers (albeit with Italian heritage in this case). From South West France, a blend of Sauvignon-Sémillon with pear and floral lemon aromas, leesy and creamy pear fruits on the palate with crisp citrus acidity on the finish. Rather joyful.
Another gorgeous cider from Mark Jenkinson at The Cider Mill in Slane. A blend of two season’s keeved ciders I might actually prefer it to Cockagee.
Intense yeasty baked apple aromas, fruity and complex with layers of bitter-sweet apple flavours and a lingering dried apple finish. Fine white Burgundy levels of complexity at a bargain price.
