×
Sale
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $184.03 $204.48
6 bottles: $175.20
Grilled bread with flowers, pears and apples. Lots of perfumes. Lavender and some herbs and nutmeg. The palate is...
12 FREE
JS
97
DC
92
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Sparkling
750ml - Case of 3
Bottle: $457.94
A fragrant, appealing Champagne, with wafts of elderflower and medicinal herbs on the nose, followed by expressive...
WS
95
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Sparkling
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $751.24
Sale
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Sparkling
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle: $1389.95 $1474.82
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Sparkling
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $143.77
Impressive concentration and power here. This is really assertive with ripe yellow orchard fruits and citrus within a...
WS
94
JS
94
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Sparkling
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $234.45
A good rest on lees in the cellar through to May 2015 has seen this salmon-colored rosé develop a wealth of dried...
JS
96
DC
95
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Sparkling
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $108.55
Pale in color, but rich in texture and fruit, this wonderfully mature rosé is structured from 70% Pinot Noir in the...
WE
96
WS
94
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Sparkling
750ml - Case of 3
Bottle: $424.33
A mind-blowing wine. This is super subtle and intense with aromas of peaches, light strawberry and cream. Also shows...
JS
99
WE
95
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Sparkling
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $420.73
A mind-blowing wine. This is super subtle and intense with aromas of peaches, light strawberry and cream. Also shows...
JS
99
WE
95
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Sparkling
750ml - Case of 3
Bottle: $504.95
A mind-blowing wine. This is super subtle and intense with aromas of peaches, light strawberry and cream. Also shows...
JS
99
WE
95
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Sparkling
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $761.78
Disgorged in July 2014, Francis Egly's 2005 Brut Grand Cru Millésime is a brilliant wine in this middling vintage,...
WA
94
WS
92
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Sparkling
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $96.38
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Sparkling
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $238.23
Rich hints of baked plum and marzipan are enlivened by sleek, well-knit acidity in this harmonious Champagne. The...
WS
93
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Sparkling
750ml - Case of 3
Bottle: $320.08
Fabulous nose with great blood orange intensity neatly framed by brioche. On the extravagant and concentrated palate...
JS
99
WE
97
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Sparkling
750ml - Case of 3
Bottle: $138.62
In 1833, Annonciade, the daughter of a winemaker from Bouzy, married Auguste François Bara, a young cooper from the...
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Sparkling
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $177.62
A truly special site, this is a majestic Champagne that has superb darker notes of brulée, roasted almonds and...
JS
95
VM
94
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Sparkling
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $210.71
Grilled bread with flowers, pears and apples. Lots of perfumes. Lavender and some herbs and nutmeg. The palate is...
JS
97
DC
92
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Sparkling
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $149.28
A warm, sunny year produced this concentrated, elegant wine with refined aromas of ripe apple and quince, fresh...
DC
95
WE
95
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Sparkling
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $253.95
The 2005 Comtes de Champagne Rosé is a wine of contrasts. At first rich and vinous on the palate, the 2005 turns...
VM
93
WS
93

Champagne Blend Melon de Bourgogne Mencia 2005 750ml

The sparkling wines of Champagne have been revered by wine drinkers for hundreds of years, and even today they maintain their reputation for excellence of flavor and character, and are consistently associated with quality, decadence, and a cause for celebration. Their unique characteristics are partly due to the careful blending of a small number of selected grape varietals, most commonly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. These grapes, blended in fairly equal quantities, give the wines of Champagne their wonderful flavors and aromas, with the Pinot Noir offering length and backbone, and the Chardonnay varietal giving its acidity and dry, biscuity nature. It isn't unusual to sometimes see Champagne labeled as 'blanc de blanc', meaning it is made using only Chardonnay varietal grapes, or 'blanc de noir', which is made solely with Pinot Noir.

One of the more unusual French grape varietals, Melon de Bourgogne has been grown in and around the Loire Valley for several hundred years. In fact, this grape was first planted in the Loire region of Pays Nantais back in the mid 17th century, after a devastating frost decimated most of the red grapes which were typical in the area. The winemakers of Pays Nantais were keen to cultivate vines which were hardy, high yielding, and capable of surviving another such frost, and so turned their attention to Melon de Bourgogne for this very reason. The native home of the varietal is actually in Burgundy, where it is still grown to a lesser extent.


Because Melon de Bourgogne produces naturally heavy yields, the vintners of Pays Nantais go to great lengths to reduce the amount of fruit the vines bear. This allows the finest characteristics of the grape to come forward, and also opens up the opportunity for it to express the wonderful granite and schist soils in which the vines are grown. Melon de Bourgogne is a minerally white wine grape varietal, with a very subtle set of fruit flavors. It is prized for its freshness and brightness, and is seeing a revival in the twenty first century as an excellent wine for pairing with a wide range of foods.