Wines of the week | Three bottles for three occasions

This week, here is a fresh sparkling wine to welcome the summer with an outdoor aperitif. Then an Italian wine with a surprising quality-price ratio, which also keeps very well for two days once opened. And we finish with a wine from Bourgueil, which has the mouth of the place and is also proof of gluttony.

Veronique Rivest
Sommelier, guest collaborator

Seasonal bubbles

Corpinnat is the name adopted by a Catalan group of sparkling wine producers who have abandoned the Cava appellation, considered too lax. Their production rules are indeed much stricter and above all entirely focused on quality. This Descregut Brut Nature Corpinnat 2018 cuvée is once again very good value for money, and completely in season. Despite aging on lees for more than 30 months, it remains focused on the fruit with a very spring character. Aromas of pear and yellow apple, apple blossom and dried flowers gently appear on the nose. On the palate, the wine is very dry and elegant, all in freshness, with a fine and persistent bubble. Simple, but very harmonious and gourmet, this wine is perfect for an aperitif or to accompany fried or grilled fish or seafood.

Descregut Brut Nature Corpinnat 2018, $21.45 (14469168), 11.5%, organic

Aging: 1 to 3 years

A surprise at a low price

I always try to be as objective as possible, but I admit that for a wine at this price, I expect it not to be very good. I am sometimes even afraid to taste them: they are often highly manipulated wines, stuffed with artificial aromas. But what a nice surprise here! Not only is the Lupi Reali Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2020 not bad, but it is even quite correct. A slightly cloudy purplish color clings to the walls of the glass. The nose is expressive, with notes of black fruits, herbs, and a floral hint. Very dry on the palate, it is not very full-bodied, but shows ripe matter with chewiness, a certain grain in the texture and just the right amount of roughness with light tannins. To be served chilled, this wine will accompany simple everyday cuisine: spaghetti bolognese, shepherd’s pie, grilled meats, pizza.

Lupi Reali Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2020, $11.85 (13876191), 12.5%, organic

Laying down: to drink

Exemplary Cabernet Franc

An unripe Cabernet Franc can have a very unpleasant vegetal character. But a Cabernet Franc that only smells of fruit does not offer all the complexity of which it is capable. Here is an excellent example of a ripe, complex and, above all, marked by its terroir, thanks to very careful viticulture. A very pretty fragrance emanates from the glass with notes of cedar, violet, raspberry, pencil lead. Very dry, this Yannick Amirault Cote 50 Bourgueil 2020 shows radiance, freshness and vitality. Moderate, very fine tannins provide structure and the finish lingers on a mineral impression, with notes reminiscent of graphite. Complete and very harmonious, it will accompany bistro cuisine: charcuterie, steak tartare, roast steak or chicken and fries, pan-fried veal liver, black pudding.

Yannick Amirault Cote 50 Bourgueil 2020, $25.40 (10522401), 13.5%, organic

Aging: 2 or 3 years