Frank Family Vineyard
The holiday season is in full swing, which means it’s time to break out the bubbly. We’ve rounded up a fabulous selection of the best champagne and sparkling wine so that you can really impress your date or virtual New Year’s Eve party guests.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that the only bubbles worth drinking come from the Champagne region in France. There are incredible wineries in Napa Valley that craft their sparkling wines with the same traditional production method used in Champagne.
In Champagne, wine must spend a minimum of 12 months on the lees, but these California wineries take a cue from producers like Dom Pérignon—which famously ages its wines for a minimum of seven years before release—and age their sparkling wines on the lees for much longer than many popular champagnes.
This means you’ll enjoy a richer and more complex wine, with nutty and toasty notes. Of course, the best champagne is fabulous, and we have two unexpected bottles for you.
Roederer Estate
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À LA FRANÇAISE
While many champagne houses have crossed the Atlantic and opened wineries in Napa Valley, Louis Roederer does it best with its Roederer Estate in Anderson Valley. In exceptional years, it produces its tête de cuvée, L’Ermitage. This special sparkling wine is made only from the first pressing and is enhanced with oak-barrel-aged reserve wine.
The elegant 2013 vintage has its trademark lively acidity, fine bubbles and a creamy finish with notes of crisp apple, hazelnut and brioche. The Chardonnay and Pinot Noir blend is enhanced with 4 percent oak-barrel-aged reserve wine from the 2011 vintage.
It spends seven years on the lees, which gives it an intense and concentrated flavor with toasty and nutty notes, alongside complex fruit flavors.
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LADIES’ NIGHT
In addition to champagne, we love the best wines. Frank Family, a charming grower-producer in Napa Valley, has four sparkling wines, including a rather unusual—but still delicious—sparkling red wine, but its Lady Edythe Reserve Brut is the star.
This special cuvée is named for founder Rich Frank’s late mother and is accordingly made with the utmost care and at the highest levels of craftsmanship. It’s the only one of Frank Family’s sparkling wines to undergo malolactic fermentation, which adds a creaminess to the wine, and it’s 40 percent barrel-fermented makes it even richer.
Frank Family Vineyard
It spends seven years on the lees, which gives it an intense and concentrated flavor with toasty and nutty notes, alongside complex fruit flavors. The current vintage is from 2011 and limited to just 300 cases.
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Bollinger
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BOND, JAMES BOND
Channel the world’s most famous spy with Bollinger Special Cuvée 007. In honor of the upcoming James Bond film No Time to Die, Bolly (as the Brits call it), has released a special edition of its flagship cuvée in a limited-edition box featuring Daniel Craig in his final appearance as the enigmatic spy alongside his faithful Aston Martin DB5.
The powerful champagne has warm notes of the best spice, roasted apples, brioche and walnut with a rich, full body. The gorgeous box also makes it the perfect gift for the elegant man in your life.
The Chardonnay-focused sparkling wine is elegant with bright acidity and fruits, and the long aging process gives it rich flavors including baked pear and apple, toffee, honey and toasted walnuts.
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CALIFORNIA COOL
Schramsberg was one of the first world-class sparkling wine producers in California. It has produced sparkling wines since 1965 and specializes in wines made from cool-climate vineyards on the coast. The cool climate defines its elegant style, and all sparkling wines are made in the traditional method. J. Schram 2011 accounts for just 3 percent of its annual production, and it spends the longest amount of time on the lees: seven-and-a-half years.
The Chardonnay-focused sparkling wine is elegant with bright acidity and fruits, and the long aging process gives it rich flavors including baked pear and apple, toffee, honey and toasted walnuts.
Schramberg
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Pengolds
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A CHAMPAGNE FROM DOWN UNDER
The words Australia and best champagne don’t seem to go together. So when world-renowned Australian winery Penfolds partnered up with the esteemed family-run champagne house Tiénot to collaborate on a unique champagne, wine lovers took note. Each release marries the savoir-faire of Thiénot’s Chef de Cave, Nicolas Uriel, with the blending expertise of Penfold’s Chief Winemaker, Peter Gago.
While the champagne is naturally crafted in Champagne, Penfolds brought a bit of home with them; the dosage liqueur is aged in Yattarna barriques from Australia.
Champagne Thiénot x Penfolds Blancs de Noir is sourced from the prestigious Aÿ Chambre aux Loups vineyard and spent six years on the lees. It has notes of honeysuckle, crème brûlée, apple and pecan.
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