Enologically speaking, this is a blend of Poulsard and Gamay from the Cerdon cru of the Bugey, a pocket of hilly natural beauty situated roughly between Savoie, the Jura, and the city of Lyon. In accordance with the so-called “ancestral method,” the wine has been bottled partway through fermentation, refermented in bottle until reaching the desired sweetness and bubbliness, then racked off its lees and recorked to avoid further fermentation (and exploding glass).\n \n This is gamay and poulsard grown in limestone, fermented without additions and bottled before it’s finished, as a pétillant naturel. If you haven’t tasted Bugey-Cerdon, it may come as a surprise, with sweet notes of candied rose petals, fresh lingonberries, a little greenness and some pink grapefruit acidity.\n \n Producer Information\n Today, Cerdon is considered one of three crus within the appellation of Bugey, and the only one whose entire production consists of sparkling wine. In La Cueille, one of seven high-altitude hamlets surrounding the historic medieval town of Ponsin, Patrick and Catherine Bottex are farming the limestone slopes above the Ain River. They have been working five hectares of land since 1991 and produce only a small quantity of their beautiful, intriguing sparkling wine. As a former part of the Duchy of Burgundy, it stands to reason that several Burgundian grape varietals have found a home here—not the least of which is Gamay. The Bottex’s blend consists of ninety percent Gamay and ten percent of the native Poulsard. They bottle this low-alcohol wine using the méthode ancestrale, a rare technique that experts believe predates the méthode champenoise. The wine first goes through a primary fermentation in cuve, but is then bottled before all of the residual sugar has converted to alcohol. After going through a secondary fermentation in the bottle for at least two months, the wine is ready—Champagne’s dosage is not permitted! The resulting wine is delightfully refreshing with bright fruit, a beautiful rosé hue, and a touch of sweetness.
