Welcome to The Champagne & Sparkling Wine Society.   This month we explore 3 great wines, that are related only in so much as they are all delicious.    The first wine, a lovely Argentine brut made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from high in the vineyards of Mendoza is a sensation in its home country despite its relatively tiny production, and you’re about to see why.  The next, one of my perennial favorites, is from the Loire Valley, from a noble Vouvray producer, and made entirely from Chenin Blanc.  The last is an exceptional Champagne from a house that we don’t see much in the U.S..

To see detailed descriptions of the wines for this month, click here, or follow the Champagne & Sparkling Wine Society Link under Categories on the right of this page

This is nothing short of thrilling Champagne, as is everything produced by this stunning, and totally off-the-radar producer in the exceptional Côte de Blancs cru of Vertus. Veuve Fourny & Fils was founded in the 1930’s as Champagne Albert Fourny, based around 8.5 hectares of vineyards, all in Vertus, that had been owned and managed by the family since 1865. In the 1950’s, when Albert passed away, the house was renamed Veuve Fourny. Since 1993, Albert’s grandsons Charles Henry and Emmanuel have been in charge.

The house owns 8.5 hectares of vineyards, and purchases fruit from another 4 hectares, which are for all intents and purposes controlled by them. This makes them a grower-producer in all but name, and their approach is much more that of a grower than of a negociant. All of the grapes in their wines come from Vertus, and they believe that that is one of the purposes of the house to produce wines that reflect the terroir of Vertus (this is a very unusual attitude in Champagne). Only the Cuvées (the light, first pressing of the grapes) are used for their base wines, which are fermented and aged in a combination of temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks and oak barrels. After blending, bottling and secondary fermentation, the wines stay in the cellars for a minimum of 3 years before disgorgement (the minimum time for NV Champagne is 18 months).

Grande Reserve Brut is a blend of three vintages, and is made from roughly 20% Pinot Noir and 80% Chardonnay with about 40% of the blend coming from reserve wines. 10% of the base wine was aged in barrel. This wine has a gorgeous, tiny, even bead, with fresh, intriguing nose, and a rich, elegant mouth feel. It’s really exactly what I want in a glass of Champagne. This Champagne is a wonderful candidate for ageing, and will continue to get more complex through 2012, but again, it’s awfully good now, so I will have a hard time waiting.

The food to eat with this wine, is, well, just about anything. But as there is a bit of delicacy to this style, I wouldn’t have this with a steak. This is my favorite new (to me anyway) Champagne that I have tried this year.

This wine is one of my favorite non-Champagne sparklers every year. It has a combination of freshness and chalky minerality that are rare in all but the best Champagnes, and a quality of bubbles that is second to none.

Bourillon Dorleans was founded in 1921 by Gaston Dorleans and is located equidistant between the town of Vouvray and the A10, just a few hundred yards north of the Loire River. In addition to owning some of the most superb vineyards in the appellation of Vouvray, the domaine also uses a series of elaborately decorated 15^th century chalk caves to vinify, age and store its wines. Committed to ‘reasoned agriculture’ the domaine uses as little chemical input as possible in the vineyards, and the majority of the grapes are hand harvested.

Only 2500 cases of the Hélène Dorleans brut are made. The wine is made entirely from Chenin Blanc (known locally as Pineau de la Loire) in the Méthode Traditional, and aged for 16 months on the lees. The wine has 7 g/l residual sugar (well under the 12 g/l maximum for brut Champagne) which provides a nice foil to the racy acidity, but doesn’t come off as tasting sweet. This hint of sugar is also the key to the wine’s effortless pairing with a stunningly diverse group of foods.

This wine is meant to be consumed now, as it tastes wonderful, but will be at its peak through 2010, and may gain a little toastiness in the coming year at the expense of some of its fresh fruit character. There are too many great parings to mention, but anything from simple white fish preparations, to Japanese food, to all manner of cheeses (particularly aged goat cheese). Roast pork and poultry are also perfect matches for this lovely wine, and the winery suggests plum tart . . . but I’m going to have to try that to be convinced.

This is the name for sparkling wines from the overperforming mid-sized Bodega Campo Negro in Cruz de Piedra, Maipu, Mendoza. Cruzat has quickly become the most sought after small producer sparkling wine in Argentina, and once you try a bottle, it’s easy to see why.

Mendoza is a giant region, in which the majority of Argentina’s premium wines are currently made. Campo Negro’s vineyards lie at altitudes between 1300 and 1400 meters in the areas of Cruz de Piedra, Altamira, San Carlos and Tunuyán, all within Mendoza.

This wine is made from 75% percent Pinot Noir, and 25% Chardonnay, all grown on Campo Negro’s extensive, sustainably farmed vineyards. The wine is made in the méthode Champenoise and spent over four years on its lees (that’s 12 months longer than the minimum requirement for vintage Champagne, and 30 months longer than the minimum requirement for non-vintage Champagne).

This is a wine for drinking now, and should develop more post-disgorgement aromas over the course of 2009. Try this wine with cheese, salmon, pork and poultry, and anything else you’d like that has a bit of salt.