WTN: J. Laurens Cremant de Limoux Brut BdB

[Brad Ballinger]

NV Domaine J. Laurens Cremant de Limoux Brut Blanc de Blancs. First off, if you only gave me $10 (USD) to purchase a bottle with bubbles, I'd be hard pressed to find more wine for my money than this one. Frenetic bead activity that goes on for a while before the wine settles into a more subdued pattern. Nose shows a powerful yeasty punch with some faint apple and mineral notes if you care to dig deep enough. Flavor profile that showcased honeycrisp apples, pears and finishes with the peel of both those fruits. There's also a bit of chalky minerality. The loosely-knit mousse remains a bit set apart, not completely integrated with the wine, during the first couple of sips of a new pour, but starts to mesh a bit as it sits. The base wine itself has plenty of acidity and contributes to a lengthy finish. Tasted blind, I would wager many would price this wine at over twice its price tag.