Chateau de Champteloup Crémant de Loire Tete de Cuvee Brut, Loire, France

A classy, inexpensive fizz from northern France

On holiday in France at our final evening's dinner, #1 child decided she "quite liked" Crémant de Loire, so we bought a few bottles the next day on our final shopping trip.

Standard procedures applied: medal-winner for around €5 from the supermarket (in this case, Intermarché).

Crémant is basically just another word for fizz and uses the Champagne-method of secondary fermentation; aging is a minimum of 12 months in bottle and, for Crémant de Loire, permitted grapes are a blend of Chardonnay, Chenin blanc and Cabernet franc.

There is little information on the back label of this wine; the winery is based in Anjou and alcohol is 12%, plus it has a Gold medal from Paris,

Chateau de Champteloup Crémant de Loire Tete de Cuvee Brut, Loire (around €5, Intermarché) brioche, autolysis, citrus, orchard fruits and minerality with taught, linear acidity; fine mousse and very textured; with time a more honeyed florality and a leesy assertiveness develops, the texture becoming more creamy. Pure, precise and elegant.

Will improve with age.

Good and Good value.

Drink as an aperitif or match with white fish, goat's cheese or lighter game.

Tom Cannavan is also a fan and it is (was) apparently available at Iceland: wine pages review.