7/29/2019 Rende-vous en France: Those Tiny Little Bubbles

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Those TINY Little

bbbBy Matthew Wexler

FORGET TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW THE PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT WERE BUILTONE OF THE WORLDS

GREATEST MYSTERIES IS THE ORIGIN OF SPARKLING WINE, WHICH MANY BELIEVE BEGAN IN LANGUEDOC-

ROUSSILLON. ADD THE REGION TO YOUR WINE LOVERS BUCKET LIST TO UNEARTH AN EFFERVESCENT PAST

UNIQUE TO THE SOUTH OF FRANCE.

High Spirits

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7/29/2019 Rende-vous en France: Those Tiny Little Bubbles

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om Prignon is oten credited

or mthode champenoise,

the now legendary second

ermentation that occurs in

the bottle. But almost 150 years

beore Prignons arrival at the abbey in

Hautvillers in 1531, the monks o Saint-

Hilaire in the south o France wroteo Blanquette de Limouxwhat was

then a asked sparkling wine. Its pos-

sible that Prignon visited the abbey in

Limoux on a pilgrimage, picked up this

established technique, and applied and

perected it in the Champagne region.

Well never know or sure, but Languedoc-

Roussillon continues to embrace the

tradition o sparkling wine.

Te three categories o sparkling wine

rom Languedoc carry their own cachet

at a more wallet-riendly price. Te mod-

ern Blanquette de Limoux contains a

minimum o 90 percent Mauzac (a variety

indigenous to southwest France), with

recent vintages exhibiting a robust, yeasty

quality and beautiul hay color. Crmant

de Limoux, a brut or medium dry spark-

ling wine that is distinct because o the

regions particular appellation, relies on

Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc and is

meant to be drunk within two years o

bottling. Blanquette de Limoux Mthode

Ancestrale uses a ermentation process

where the sediment rom the secondary

ermentation is let in the bottle, creating

a sweeter sparkling wine, slightly cloudy

with oral notes and stone ruit on the

palette.

O course, the most authentic way to

experience these wines is in Languedoc-

Roussillon itsel, where you will nd a

sparkle in the eye as well as the bottle.

Discovering a lush countryside dotted

with dedicated winemakers, tasting

rooms and local culture, youll wonder

why Dom Prignon ever let.

Picks that PoP

Antech Blanquette de Limoux, Rserve

BrutFrom a amily estate or more than

six generations, this sparkling wine show-

cases oral aromas with a golden hue and

nishes with delicate bubbles.

Gilles Louvet Esprit du SudPart o anorganic portolio ofered since 1993, this

Blanquette de Limouxshowcases notes

o honey and menthol.

Gerard Bertrand Crmant de Limoux

Once captain o the Stade Franais rugby

team, Bertrand now owns seven estates

and was awarded European Winery o the

Year ( 2011) by Wine Enthusiast. His take

on Crmantofers a toasty hazelnut efer-

vescence and a mineral nish.

Go. see. Do.

Originally built as a convent to accom-modate the Church o Saint Martial nuns,

the Couvent dHrpian has been re-

stored as a charming inn and eatures a

subterranean wine vault and honesty

bar, where you can taste local vintages

at your own pace.

Create your own wine experience

with Master o Wine Matthew Stubbs

at Vincole, the center or wine educa-

tion in Languedoc-Roussillon. Choose a

two-hour workshop or a guided wine

weekend, or get even more serious with

a WSE (Wine & Spirit Education rust)

proessional course.

ake a break rom the bottle and revel

in the Limoux Carnival, which has been

part o the citys history since the

16th century and runs weekends rom

January through March in the Place de la

Rpublique.

a Point about Perrier

First utilized by the amed military

commander Hannibal as a place to re-

juvenate his troops, Perrierthe most

amous sparkling water in the world

comes rom Vergze in Languedoc-

Roussillon. Te property received its

name in 1898 when Louis-Eugne Perrier

purchased the estate and set about de-

veloping a sealed glass bottle that could

hold this natural spring water that con-

tains three times its volume in gas. oday,

Perrier is in 150 countries, but you

can have a amily-riendly experience

directly at the source with a visit to the

Perrier Spring and Museum. n

Addresses

Antech Limoux Winesantech-limoux.fr

Gilles Louvet Winesvignobles-gilleslouvet.com

Gerard Bertrand Winesgerard-bertrand.com

Couvent dHrpiangarrigae-resorts.com

The Vincolevinecole.com

Languedoc Roussillon Travel Infosud-de-france.com/en

Perrier at Les Bouillens, Vergze+33 4.66.87.61.01

rendezvousenfrance.com/magazine

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