Getting up at 5am on a Tuesday morning is nobody’s idea of fun, but with the anticipation of what lay ahead, the pain was somewhat eased. This year was my first visit to London’s International Wine Fair. Our Chief Taster, Mike, had been before but this time he wanted the Wine Evangelist (moi) to experience it for himself.

This trade-only event is essentially a way of bringing winemakers from all around the world to one place, so wine merchants can meet suppliers and find additional wines to add to their portfolio. The number of wineries and countries on show was simply staggering. I was delighted to see the effort made by lesser known wine producing nations, such as Croatia and Brazil, who had fantastic representation.

Among the highlights, we caught up with some of our Australian partners. Scott Collett and his son Max took us through the Woodstock range, which is undoubtedly one of our strongest collections in terms of all-round appeal. We were fortunate to try some 2010 wines literally straight from the tank. The 2010 Semillon Sauvignon is going to be excellent, as is the benchmark 2009 vintage, and The Stocks 2007 is another world-beater. He also had a 20 year old fortified, which his dad had set the foundations for all those years ago. I needed to be picked up off the floor after the first taste. Stunning is an understatement.

Ben Glaetzer (see interview) was showing more tremendous vintages from the Glaetzer range, proving once again why he is still one of Barossa’s finest winemakers, and Brent Marris of The Ned poured us his 2010 Sauvignon Blanc which might just top the award winning ‘09… we’ll have to wait and see as it will continue to evolve and develop over the next few months in bottle.

Of the Old World crowd, we bumped into Eric Monnin, who has finally bottled his hugely anticipated 2007 Dignite Syrah. Just as well as we’ve sold out of the ‘05. Romain Bouchard was showing his IWSC Gold Medal winning Chablis, which continues to set the bar in that category, but perhaps the biggest ‘wow’ factor was during a tasting of Duval Leroy’s epic line-up, which featured 11 different Champagnes in the space of an hour (gotta love this job), including the 1996 La Femme, which won a Gold Medal and Best in Class at the 2010 IWSC, and continues to eclipse the volume-driven Champagne producers on the supermarket shelves.

Watch this space, or sign up to our newsletter, for news on exciting new additions to the range this summer.

Duval Leroy is one of the last remaining family owned Champagne houses. This rare and insightful footage brings us inside the production facility and it gives us just a glimpse of the kind of work that goes into making the wine of Kings. For more on Duval-Leroy, click here.

The Methods

There are three main methods that can be used when making sparkling wine. The first is to carbonate a still wine by injecting carbon dioxide. This is done for a lot of cheap sparkling wine and results in wines that have big bubbles and can’t hold their fizz for too long. The second method is carrying out a secondary fermentation in large tanks and bottling under pressure.

The most expensive method, and the one that gets the best results, is the traditional Champagne method (méthode champenoise), the practice of which is not exclusive to Champagne. After primary fermentation and bottling, a second alcoholic fermentation occurs in the bottle. This second fermentation is induced by adding yeast a little rock sugar.

The bottle is capped and then adjusted (riddled) consistently over a number of weeks forcing the lees to settle in the neck of the bottle. The neck is then frozen and the cap removed allowing the pressure in the bottle to force out the lees, and the bottle is then quickly corked to maintain the carbon dioxide.

As you can gather, it’s not the most simple process and there’s a lot of investment in terms of cost, labour and time.

The Grape Varieties at Duval Leroy

Chardonnay represents 27% of total Champagne vineyard production. This white grape produces a white juice and a colourless pulp, and it’s well known for its subtlety and elegance. When young, its aromas are made up of floral notes, acacia, hawthorn, almond, green apple, lemon and grapefruit. When mature, it has the scent of brioche, toasted bread and mocha.

Pinot Noir represents 38% of the Champagne vineyard production. This black grape with a white juice and colourless pulp yields a robust, structured wine, with good length on the palate and aromas of red fruits.

Meunier totals 35% of the Champagne vineyard production. It has similar visual characteristics to Pinot Noir, but it yields a wine with a well-balanced assemblage; fruity and supple, with a strong bouquet and the aromas of pear and apple.

Our Champagnes from Duval-Leroy

Established in 1859 through the merger of two Champagne growers, Duval-Leroy is based in its village of origin, Vertus, one of the top Premier Cru rated areas in Champagne. Handed down from father to son, it has managed to remain independent to this day and is one of few remaining family-owned Champagne houses.

It was in 1855 that Champagne merchant Armand Edouard Leroy discovered the first unofficial ranking of Champagne wines in La Cuisine et le Medecin. He realised then that his trade was evolving. What he needed was a concept that would attract and secure the loyalty of his customers over time.

This new ranking gave him the opportunity to put into practice an idea that had been growing in his mind for years - to present his Champagne wines in a form that would be consistently identifiable, year after year.

But there remained one obstacle to the Leroy family’s ambitions: where to find a winemaker sufficiently meticulous and far-sighted to meet the demands of his concept. Candidates at that time were few and far between. After months of searching, he could only find one House equal to the task - and the name was Duval.

Over the next four years, the two families came to know each other and agree their common objectives. Their destinies were finally united with the 1859 harvest - a year that brought forth so memorably the rewards of passionate vineyard husbandry linked to precise winemaking, and the year that the world was introduced to the unforgettable taste and style that is the unique signature of Duval-Leroy.

This high level of care is evident in the vineyard and the winery. The team take particular care when dividing the juice into fractions and racking the musts off their heavy lees. Alcoholic fermentation is conducted at low, stable temperatures so as to optimise the aromatic complexity. All cuvees undergo malolactic fermentation, developing a characteristic smoothness and the first inklings of those brioche-like aromas.

Every year 250 cuvees are tasted and only 15 will make it into bottle - each one based on the three approved Champagne varietals, selected by roughly 40 different crus.

Today, the House’s reputation has spread to more than 50 different countries, greatly furthered by the 150 Michelin-rated restaurants that share the same passion for uncompromising quality.

Click here to view Duval-Leroy, with 25% off until January while stocks last.

It’s been gazing at me for a while from our fine wine shelves, and I’ve been sorely tempted to open a bottle myself - but despite temptation I have a strong will, so I’ll be putting it aside, along with Glaetzer’s 100 Parker Point Amon-Ra and Farina’s Monte Fante Amarone for a very special occasion. Maybe Christmas, a big wedding anniversary or Curious Mike’s 40th birthday (hey, at least I see it as a special occasion!)

Duval-Leroy’s 1996 Vintage Champagne is the absolute cream of the crop when it comes to fine sparkling wine. It’s a typical Champagne blend of 75% Pinot and 25% Chardonnay, the latter of which has had a touch of oak for that extra richness and character. After all those years in bottle, it’s acquired outstanding complexity.

Bruce Sanderson: “A tangy citrus and nut-flavoured Champagne with a distinctive gum-tingling sensation. It starts out rich, turning lean and tightly wound on the finish. Fine coffee-tinged after taste.” - Bruce Sanderson writing in Wine Spectator, Top Values and Highly Recommended.

Tom Stevenson: “Over the last 10 years, the quality of Duval-Leroy has soared and for a few years now it has been possible to claim that no other house can beat it for consistency of style - not even the greatest of the great” - Tom Stevenson writing in Decanter magazine.

Wine Spectator: 41st in the Top 100 list in 2006, scoring 93/100

Decanter: 5 Stars

International Wine Challenge 2006 Gold Medal

Vinalles Internationales 2005 Gold Medal

For Mike’s Top 10 Champagne did-you-knows from New Year, click here.

“Come, for I am drinking stars!” -Dom Perignon

You’ve probably been to a party, event or some kind of celebration where sparkling wine was served. If you didn’t like it, the chances are you aren’t drinking the right stuff. Proper sparkling wine isn’t just mass produced carbonated grape juice, dressed up in a pretty yellow price tag on our supermarket shelves. I’m not talking about the sugar-loaded, fizzy alcoholic pop.

Yes, sparklers do start out as regular bubbleless wine. The secret to it all is the second fermentation, which requires the addition of yeast and sugar. A little more alcohol and a lot of heavenly bubbles are a result of this second phase, with the natural carbonation (no dry ice is used for these babies) and complex flavours developing the once still wine into something else all together.

The tank method of fermentation stops the carbon dioxide gas from escaping. It dissolves into the wine, which is bottled under high pressure in order to retain the bubbles.

Bottle fermented wines are more labour intensive and production costs are higher, but when it comes to quality, there are two mains advantages. With the extended contact the wine has with dead yeast, complex bready and biscuity flavours develop. Secondly, the bubbles are much smaller and longer lasting.

According to many, the best sparkling wine in the world is Champagne. And surprise, surprise, it’s made by the traditional bottle fermented method. On top of this, there is the demand. Champagne carries value in its name and you’ll pay for that too. Is it worth it? Personally, yes, but its not an everyday wine. You wouldn’t be opening one in front of Coronation Street on a Monday night. It’s for special occasions. Christmas, birthdays, weddings and so on.

Then we have our less expensive alternatives. Don’t turn your nose up. There are many, many really good sparkling wines, particularly from Spain and Italy, that use the bottle method or the tank method of fermentation. Spanish Cava and Italian Prosecco’s offer beautiful, fruit driven sparklers that are becoming more and more fashionable.

If you’re keen to try an affordable Cava in your next case, don’t miss out on our award winning Mas Macia Cava Brut, currently on sale with the rest of our Spanish range. €14.39 won’t break the bank, and for that special occasion, there’s the Sommelier Gold Listed Lallier Champagne to wipe the floor with any other Champagne within its price range, or the Decanter 5 star Duval Leroy Grand Cru Champagne 1996, which is our true sparkling star.