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The La Burgondie Brut Rosé is an $11.99 Trader Joe’s import Sparkling wine made in the Traditional Method with grapes farmed in the Burgundy region of France. This is a Cremant which is French for Sparkling wine or Bubbly.
The grapes used in this Cremant are 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Gamay. If you are not familiar with Burgundy the southernmost growing region is Beaujolais which produces wine with the Gamay grape. The northernmost region is Champagne, which, well, you know what they are famous for.
Burgundy, in the middle, is the home of some of the finest Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the world. The La Burgondie Brut Rosé is made with the same production techniques as Champagne. With that method, the final fermentation, where the bubbles are created, occurs in each and every bottle.
An important difference between Champagne and Cremant is that the 2nd fermentation must last at least 18 months in Champagne, while this Cremant is only required to have 9 months of aging. Winemakers will often age their wines beyond the minimum.
Trader Joe’s import wines can often have mysterious patronage, but we know who produced this Bubbly. Bailly-Lapierre is a group of 430 grape growers who have been producing Cremant since the 1970s. They are very well regarded and produce 3,500,000 bottles of Bubbly per year.
Trader Joe’s has a price advantage over the typical wine retail shop. For one thing not only is Trader Joe’s nationwide store in the US, but it is also ALDI Nord (North) is Europe and other places. They have an almost worldwide sales reach. Wine shops are usually confined to a city or a state. Supermarket chains can have a larger reach, but they do not typically focus on their own brands.
Trader Joe’s does not advertise or market their products other than the in-house Fearless Flyer and their distribution costs are reduced. I do not have information on every deal they have with wineries, but they often pay for the wine on delivery which allows them to negotiate a better price.
The La Burgondie Brut Rosé at $11.99 may well be the equivalent to a Sparkling wine with a price closer to twenty dollars. It is difficult to make exact comparisons, but Bailly-Lapierre sells a Brut Rose’ under their own label that lists for $24. How similar that wine is to the La Burgondie isn’t clear.
What is known is that Burgundy is an outstanding location for Pinot Noir grapes and this Sparkling wines producer makes quality wine. A Brut Buubly is wine talk for a dry or not sweet wine and the alcohol content is 12%.
The La Burgondie Brut Rosé Tasting Notes
The color is Barbie doll pink with a hint of amber and the bubbles are plentiful. The nose is strawberry seltzer, ripe black cherry, faint crusty bread, and cherry hard candy.
This is a crisp, delicate Bubbly, with excellent acidity. It tastes of tart, slightly sour cherry, a hint of vanilla, nectarine, and just a touch of yeasty bread. The mid-palate adds sharp cranberry, a little spice, cherry cough drops, and salt.
For a Bubbly that has very light and delicate flavors, it is especially tasty and the acidity calls you to take another sip.
The Summary
- The La Burgondie Brut Rosé is a very controlled Bubbly. Everything is right where it is supposed to be. That is not typical of value-priced Sparkling wine. Cheap Bubbles are often tasty and loads of fun, but rarely elegant and sophisticated.
- I am partial to Pinot Noir based Bubbly and La Burgondie does not let me down.
- This is Trader Joe’s sleeper Bubbly. It looks like all the other value Sparkling wines on the shelve, the label gives nothing away. But this is a very solid example of a Cremant from Burgundy at a bargain price.
