Monday, February 12, 2007

Think Pink: the NV Blason de Bourgogne Crémant de Bourgogne Cuvée Rosé Brut

It's Valentine's Day this week--the time when you throw your New Year's diet out the window (if you haven't already done so), buy a box of chocolates, trawl supermarkets for flowers, and put together complicated dinner menus for the one(s) you love. And, even if you are averse to pink most of the year, you suddenly find yourself drawn to the color.

Fulfill your need for the pink stuff by trying this N.V. Blason de Bourgogne Crémant de Bourgogne Cuvée Rosé Brut ($7.99, Trader Joe's). A companion bottling to the regular brut sparkler from this winery I reviewed for WBW #28, the rose brut is salmon pink tending towards rose in color. There is not much of an aroma, but what you can smell is slightly biscuity like toasted bread. Once poured, there is lots of froth/mousse, and the bubbles/bead is a little rough and rasping on the tongue. Flavors of raspberry, toast, and yeast come through as you sip this wine. Brut rose wines are not as common as blanc de noirs and other pink or pinkish sparklers that are softer in style. This is not the smoothest brut rose you'll ever have, but it is still very good QPR. And, if you like your wine brut and pink, this is the way to go.

With this sparkler we had a fabulous pink pasta, as well, that I pulled off of Epicurious. Shrimp and bay scallops were tossed with garlic and oil, then added to a sauce made of tomatoes, clam juice, cream, and basil. This rich meal with its shellfish and tomato flavors responded very nicely to the brut wine, and of course it all looked fabulous together, too. If you are in the mood to bake, you can try your hand at this chocolate souffle cake from Cooking Light. It has a nice touch of orange from Triple Sec and deep, dark chocolatey gooey-ness and is surprisingly low in calories. It's a bit fiddly to make but you do need to make it in advance and refrigerate it, so you can hide all the work and whisk it out of the fridge, topping it with a dusting of confectioner's sugar and some orange peel at the last moment. Also: I think you could easily substitute 3 Tbs of Chambord for the OJ/Triple Sec and top with a smattering of raspberries if you want to stay on the pink/red/V-Day theme.

4 comments:

Joe said...

What is it about Valentine's that makes us think of Pink Bubbles (blogged that yesterday)? I don't recall seeing Cremant de Bourgogne here - I will look for it.

Dr. Debs said...

Hi, Joe! I'm backlogged on my blog reading, so didn't see it but we are clearly once again on the same wave length. I don't know about the Pink Thing. I just know that everyone is suffering from it (co-worker presented pink marshmallows at lunch!)

Anonymous said...

I picked up two dozen roses and a bottle of Cristalino Cava Rose this afternoon, a real bargain, so we are on the same wavelength. -Jerry at Winewaves

Dr. Debs said...

Jerry--good to see you and thanks for leaving a comment. I'll be eager to see how the Cristalino fares in your tasting.