Tasting wines and sparkling wines is an exciting affair, especially when the “crus” are tasted blind: the tasters do not know which product they are examining or which producer it comes from.

Due to the large number of wines submitted by the winegrowers for evaluation, two different tasting rounds had to be organised.

Firstly, the very dry crémants, the Crémants Extra Brut, were tasted. These are either not “dosed” at all, i.e. they contain no or very little sugar, or only a very small amount of dosage liquor has been added.

Such a liquor consists of a mixture of wine and sugar. Sparkling wines that contain no more than six grams of liqueur per litre are called Extra Brut, while those with a sugar content of six to twelve grams are called Brut.

This categorisation applies to all sparkling wines, i.e. crémants as well as champagne.

Blind tasting of Luxembourg crémants at the Wine Institute in Remich © Photo credit: Serge Waldbillig

Extra brut sparkling wines often benefit from longer ageing on the lees, as the longer the wine is in contact with the natural lees in the bottle, the more the desired notes of dry bread and buttery brioche develop.

The more pronounced these flavours are, the less dosage liquor the end product requires. This is a basic rule, but each winemaker interprets it individually.

Last but not least, the flavour depends on the assemblage, i.e. the grape varieties that are put together for the cuvées – but sometimes crémants only consist of a single variety. This is what makes the tasting so exciting – every crémant is different, the styles and flavours are very different.

A total of 14 Crémants Extra Brut were served to the tasters, who were divided into two commissions, at the Wine Institute. The task was to evaluate and describe each individual crémant and to emphasise the products that tasted particularly good. At the end, each juror presented their favourites, the “coups de coeur” (see video above).

All the crémants provided by the winegrowers specially for these “blind tastings” were tried. The tastings took place on 14 and 20 November with the support of IVV employee Lara Lisarelli at the Institut viti-vinicole.

Below is the list of the Crémants Extra Brut that were named as favourites by the tasters, as well as other recommended cuvées:

Maison Schmit-Fohl (Ahn): Crémant Brut Nature (80% Chardonnay, 20% Riesling; 0 gram dosage)

Domaine Sunnen-Hoffmann (Remerschen): Crémant Brut Nature (Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Auxerrois; 0 grams)

Domaine Krier-Welbes (Ellingen-Gare): Julie Réserve Brut (80% Chardonnay, as well as Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc; 4 grams)

Schlink domaine viticole (Machtum): Knuppert (50% Chardonnay, as well as Riesling and Pinot Blanc; 0 grams)

Happy Duchy (Erpeldange): Crémant Brut Nature (Auxerrois, Pinot Gris, Elbling, Pinot Noir; 0 grams)

Clos Mon Vieux Moulin (Ahn): Mon Moulin (Auxerrois, Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Noir; 5 grams)

Domaines Vinsmoselle: Extra Brut (Auxerrois, Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Chardonnay; 4.1 grams)

Domaine L&R Kox (Remich): La Bulle Dorée (40% St. Laurent, 32% Pinot Gris, 28% Pinot Noir; 3 grams)

Domaine Mme Aly Duhr et Fils (Ahn): Crémant Brut (Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, Auxerrois; 4 grams)

Domaine Schumacher-Lethal (Wormeldingen): Cuvée Gëlle Fra (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Riesling; 1.8 grams)

Domaine Schumacher-Lethal (Wormeldingen): Crémant Sélection (Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc; 1.8 grams)

Domaine Mme Aly Duhr et Fils (Ahn): Crémant Brut (Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, Auxerrois; 4 grams)

In the next instalment of “A glass with Claude François” the Crémants Millésimés (vintage Crémants) will take centre stage.