Cremant de Limoux NV Calmel & Joseph Limoux France

Intro to Cremant de Limoux NV Calmel & Joseph – The Cremant de Limoux from Calmel & Joseph has a fine elegant appley character with delicate peachy notes. Full tasting note and wine making – The Cremant de Limoux NV Calmel & Joseph has a lovely silky mousse of fine, tightly-packed bubbles. There is a fresh green apple and citrus character on the nose, which is very fine, harmonious and enticing and it is elegant on the palate with delicate, vineyard peach-like fruity notes.  Nice length on the palate with a well-balanced finish. Lovely vintage from superb Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Pinot Noir grapes. It is made by the traditional method. The grapes are hand-harvested and transported to the winery in small crates, where they are pressed and processed in temperature-controlled tanks at 15°C, following standard white wine-making methods. Wines from several tanks are carefully blended together and cultured yeasts are added the result, which is then bottled. The secondary fermentation starts and bubbles of carbonic gas form within the bottle. After leaving the wine to rest on its lees for 15 months, the final stage consists of turning the bottle upside down so that the sediment sinks down into the neck, ready to be disgorged after freezing. As this operation entails the loss of a small amount of liquid, the bottle is topped up with still wine and “liqueur d’expédition” (a mixture of wine and sugar) before being sealed with a cork. The Producer – Founded in 1995, Calmel & Joseph is a maison de négoce specializing in Languedoc-Roussillon wines from private wineries from across the region. Over the years, they have built close personal relationships with a large number of growers from all appellations. Convinced of the extraordinary potential of this region, oenologist, Laurent Calmel, and Jerome Joseph work together on the vinification, blending and ageing of wines with the common purpose of demonstrating the little known yet unique quality of these Mediterranean terroirs. Free of all certification labels, our viticultural and vinification practices are natural and environmentally friendly. The Joseph & Calmel range comes from a rigorous selection of vineyards, with a particular focus on very cool terroirs (often on the very edge of wine growing areas). The grapes are picked (by hand) when they are perfectly ripe. We prefer gentle vinification rather than aggressive extraction. Careful blending harmonizes the balances of the local varieties. Our wines are patiently and naturally aged until they undergo gentle bottling which preserves the original balances and aromas. These wines are analyzed by an independent laboratory to detect active agents: full analyses of the wines are available on this website. At Calmel & Joseph, they are committed to the concept of freshness, finesse and elegance in our wines. Being located in a Mediterranean and therefore hot region, they look for terroirs which are as cool as possible, often found at the edge of wine growing areas in the mountain foothills. Once we have decided on the terroir, they look for vineyard plots which are worked as naturally as possible, because they believe that it is from these vineyards that wines with the greatest complexity, but above all the strongest personality, are produced. Once their criteria are met, they meet the wine grower and offer him/her a partnership on the selected plots. www.calmel-joseph.com Drink with – It is very suitable for aperitif drinking, it can also be a wonderful match with food.