Cremant Wine - All you need to know!
Cremant is a term used in France for certain sparkling wines. Originally it was a term used by the Champenois as well for wines that had a lower pressure than Champagne that had a creamy finish to them, but when the term Champagne or Champagne Method was legally used purely for the wines of the Champagne Region, the term Cremant was given to 8 other regions that made wine in the same way.
The 8 regions now allowed to use the term Cremant are Alsace, Burgundy, Die, Jura, Bordeaux, Limoux, Loire and Savoie but the first two account for more than 60% of the total production of 84 million bottles. It can be white or rose but the rules for making it are fairly strict, as in Champagne so the overall quality is fairly high.
All of the grapes must be harvested by hand, the secondary fermentation must be done in the bottle and the maximum dosage can be 50 grams of sugar per litre. These rules are the same as Champagne, it’s only for the ageing on the lees which is shorter, 9 months minimum instead of 18 months, and it can be sold after a further 3 months.
So, is it any good? Well, like Champagne, it can be depending on who has made it and how much care has been taken. We have two Cremant wines, one from Domaine du Bicheron in Burgundy and one from Sipp Mack in Alsace. Both I would prefer to drink as opposed to lower end Champagne. Neither are particularly cheap but then again, nothing of high quality ever is.
Try them and decide for yourselves, we’re sure you won’t be disappointed. Quite the opposite I’d wager!