Louis Bouillot Perle de Vigne Grande Réserve is a Crémant de Bourgogne made by méthode traditionnelle, the same process used in Champagne, and aged twenty-four months on lees against a legal minimum of nine.
The Bouillot family set up at Nuits-Saint-Georges in 1877 and specialised in sparkling Burgundy at a time when almost nobody did. The Crémant de Bourgogne appellation was not recognised until July 1975, which means the house had been making the style for close to a century before there was an official name for it. Louis Bouillot now draws on around one hundred and forty hectares spread from the north of Burgundy to the south, planted predominantly to Pinot Noir, and remains based in Nuits-Saint-Georges.
Those twenty-four months on lees are where the texture comes from. Peach leads the nose with a floral lift behind it. The attack is lively and fresh, holding red fruit and citrus in balance through a fine, persistent bead, and the finish is clean and even. Burgundian fruit and the Champagne method at a fraction of Champagne pricing.
Ben's Recommendation:
At Wine More Cellars, this is the sparkling we keep for the nights nobody planned. Serve at 6–8°C. Drink now. Excellent as an aperitif, with oysters, fried chicken, salt and pepper squid, charcuterie or soft cheeses, and it holds up to richer food better than most sparkling at this price.
