Terres Secrètes (“secret lands”) is a collaboration between California-based North Berkeley Imports and a winery in the Mâcon region of Burgundy. The vineyard sources for this bottling are in and around the village of Sologny, at the southern end of the zone, with soils featuring Burgundy’s classic mix of clay and limestone. A mix of 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay is given the full ‘Champagne-method’ treatment, with the second fermentation occurring in the bottle and the wine left to age on its lees (spent yeasts) for a full two years (crémant is the term applied to a Champagne-style sparkler made in regions other than Champagne). About 10% of the ‘base’ wine for this bottling was aged in oak barrels for six months before the secondary fermentation, and the final blend is based primarily on a single vintage (in this case 2014) with about 10% ‘reserve’ wines from previous years added for depth.

The result is a tremendous amount of sparkling refinement for the money. In the glass it is a very pale salmon pink, with a perfumed, fruit-driven nose of red raspberries, cherries, red currants, rose petals, lees, warm spices and dried orange peel. The effervescence is delicate and the overall palate impact bright and refreshing, with a very fragrant finish. This would make a superbly refreshing apéritif—serve it nicely chilled, say 45 degrees, in elegant white wine stems or open-mouthed Champagne flutes (not the tall and thin flutes) to accentuate its aromatics, and nibble on some salmon rillettes on toasted slices of baguette. That’s a pretty strong ‘French country lifestyle’ play if I do say so myself. Cheers!