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I found the G H Mumm Brut Grand Cordon Rosé Champagne on sale for $25. The regular price is $50, and in some places, more. Be on the lookout for Holiday specials in November and December to attract customers to the shops. Wine sales are down 8% for the year so look for bargains.
The G H Mumm Champagne House was founded in the early1800s and this Rosé was first bottled in 1952.
The Story
G H Mumm is known for using Pinot Noir in their Champagne wines, and the blend here is Pinot Noir as the main grape, followed by Pinot Meunier (one of the 3 approved grapes in Champagne) and Chardonnay.
Grand Cordon refers to a red ribbon awarded to the highest rank of Champagne. The Red Ribbon is shown on the label and the bottle is indented for the length of the slash, it is a classy touch.
Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier are both Red grapes and are used in White Champagne (Blanc de Noirs or WHite from Red grapes). So how does a Rosé Champagne get its color?
Pinot Meunier has white or clear juice so those grape skins are separated from juice in the early part of the first fermentation.
The Pinot Noir is produced two ways, the first as always for Champagne where the skins are removed for the juice before a color can be achieved. The 15% of the Pinot Noir is fermented (the first fermentation) as a Red wine and then blended into the colorless Pinot Noir. This reduces the tannins in the wine and creates a more balanced Pinot Noir.
Some of the Pinot Noir grapes are sourced from Grand Cru vineyards in Champagne. The blending of the Pinot Noir grapes is unique to Champagne and is not allowed anywhere else in France.
The Brut version of Champagne is the representation of the House Style and all other bottlings are based on that Bubbly. Brut Rosé is important to G H Mumm, and this wine is still based on the 1952 wine.
The alcohol content is 12%.
The G H Mumm Brut Grand Cordon Rosé Champagne Tasting Notes
The color is pink with a little copper. The nose is red berries, candy spice, brioche, and a hint of vanilla, with a light floral edge. The G H Mumm Brut Grand Cordon Rosé Champagne has very tiny bubbles, I have been told the smaller the bubbles the higher quality the Champagne. The second fermentation or triage lasts for two years, the longer the triage the more creamy the Bubbly gets and the more incorporated the bubbles become.
The Champagne tastes like tart cherry, a slap of spice, strawberry, a little crusty bread, very light herbs, soft vanilla, pink grapefruit, a faint taste of cream, and cranberry.
The acidity is excellent, it allows the flavors to fully unfold and gives this Bubbly staying power.
The Summary
- The G H Mumm Brut Grand Cordon Rosé Champagne is crazy good at the $25 price I found, it is worth the full price.
- My personal favorite Champagne has some Pinot Noir in the mix. It gives an excellent roundness to the palate and flavors, not that I would ever turn down a Blanc de Blanc (Chardonnay).
- Watch your local wine shop for ads, the sales are down for the year and they would love to make up the difference during the holidays. Bargains will be had!
