Home   >   Latest wine reviews   >   British Columbia   >   Bella Wines 2016 Keremeos Pét-nat Sparkling Chardonnay, Similkameen Valley, $40

Bella Wines 2016 Keremeos Pét-nat Sparkling Chardonnay, Similkameen Valley, $40

By on May 24, 2017

Last year marked the third vintage for Jay Drysdale’s natural ancestrale sparkling wine program, aka pétillant naturel aka “col fondo.” His is Western Canada’s first pét-nat, the process in which juice ferments in a neutral barrel to dryness, goes into bottle by hand and permitted to complete the fermentation in the bottle. There’s no secondary ferment and no dosage. And these results are crystalline, energizing and fun with its nose of buttermilk biscuit, Granny Smith apple, lime zest and white peach, followed by flavors of lemonade and cinnamon-dusted Bosc pear presented by delicate bubbles that spread out the 1.2% residual sugar in delicious fashion. It’s important to note that Drysdale’s experience and skill as a bubbleman means he’s managed to tame his pét-nat bottles, making them clean and as stable as this original style of sparkling wine – the historic predecessor to Champagne – can be. This earned a double gold medal at the 2017 Cascadia International Wine Competition.

Rating: Outstanding!

Production: 140 cases

Alcohol: 10.3%

Winery website

Subscribe to our Wine of the Week newsletter

Save

Save

Save

Save

About Great Northwest Wine

Articles authored by Great Northwest Wine are co-authored by Eric Degerman and Andy Perdue. In most cases, these are wine reviews that are judged blind by the Great Northwest Wine tasting panel.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *