Battle Of The Bubbles

What Happens When An Unknown Sparkling Wine Is Pitted Against Four High-Profile Champagnes At Double The Price?

New York NY, May 2, 2013 - Last week, a dozen sommeliers from some of New York City's most high-profile restaurants descended on Le Bernardin's West Salon for a blind comparative tasting that pitted a little-known sparkling wine from Burgundy against four highly-regarded Champagnes, tasted in the following order:

1. Champagne Perrier Jouet
2. Champagne Nicolas Feuillate Brut NV
3. Cr?mant de Bourgogne Marie Ambal NV
4. Champagne Veuve Clicquot Brut NV
5. Champagne Taittinger Brut NV

The sommeliers were told they would be tasting a cremant from Maison Veuve Ambal valued at $25 and four top Champagnes that retailed for roughly double in price. They did not know the identity of the Champagnes till after the tasting. Each was asked to rank the wines from 0 - 100. Cremant de Bourgogne Marie Ambal was ranked at number two with the scores tallying as follows:

1. (91.6) Champagne Veuve Clicquot Brut NV $48.90 retail value*
2. (90.1) Cremant de Bourgogne Marie Ambal NV $24.90 retail value
3. (89.9) Champagne Taittinger Brut NV $49.90 retail value*
4. (89.4) Perrier Jouet $51.90 retail value*
5. (87.0) Champagne Nicolas Feuillate Brut NV $35.90 retail value*
"Though all scored well, it was astonishing that a sparkling wine that sells for half as much as such fine Champagnes not only scored so high, but was also ranked above such highly regarded Champagnes," said Pierrick Bouquet. "This demonstrates that at $24.90, Marie Ambal offers one of the best quality-price ratios on the market today."

Besides scoring, the sommeliers also took notes on all the wines. Their comments about Marie Ambal ranged from "pretty aromatic expression of apple, pear and fresh almonds" by Alexandria Cubbage, Head Sommelier, Veritas to "herbaceous and citrus notes, high finesse, elegance, and excellent balance by Daniel Pernice, Sommelier at The Modern. Fine wine writer and judge (IWSC, IWC) Marissa D'Vari, who gave it a score of 97, wrote, "Outstanding quality. Very balanced and satisfying with fresh baked brioche and finesse."

The tasting was also attended by Amanda McCrossin and Arnaud Devulder of The Core Club, Marijana Herceg and Daoud Mohamed of Cipriani, Orr Reches of Corton, AJ Ojeda-Pons of Lambs Club, Eric Hastings of Brushstroke, Natalie Kim of Benoit Bistro and Courtney Olson of The Modern.



ABOUT CUVEE MARIE AMBAL

Eric Piffaut, who took over the family business in 1980, has handcrafted a unique Cremant de Bourgogne to honor Marie Ambal. Marie Ambal is Maison Veuve Ambal's top-drawer sparkling wine, rivaling the most prestigious Champagne brands. Made of hand-harvested Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from old vines (the same varietals used to produce Champagne), the grapes are selected from the best plots in the vineyard. After the second fermentation in bottle, Cuv?e Marie Ambal is aged on lees for 3 years (while most non-vintage Champagnes are aged on lees for only 15 months). This three-year aging process develops an outstanding complexity and a very fine "mousse."

ABOUT MAISON VEUVE AMBAL
Maison Veuve Ambal has been producing exceptional sparkling wines in the heart of Burgundy since 1898. Upon the death of Mme. Marie Ambal's husband, a Parisian banker, the widow ("veuve" in French) returned to her native village of Rully where she started producing high quality sparkling wines with her brother using the Methode