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Ruhlmann, Crémant d’Alsace “Harmonie de Rosé” Brut
Champagne is easily one of the largest-selling categories of wine on SommSelect. And the producers of Champagne, as a group, are perhaps the best marketers in the game—they’ve hammered home the message that “all Champagne is sparkling wine, but not all sparkling wine is Champagne.” Frankly, I’m in agreement with that sentiment most of the time, but there’s the occasional instance—and today is one of them—when a non-Champagne sparkler delivers everything a true Champagne does at a sharply reduced price.
Today’s Crémant d’Alsace from Ruhlmann, crafted from 100% Pinot Noir in the méthode Champenoise (“Champagne method”), is a perfect example: Crémant is the term used to describe Champagne-method wines made in regions other than Champagne, and when you consider the great terroirs the best of them hail from—Alsace, Burgundy, the Loire—it shouldn’t come as any surprise that killer wines like Ruhlmann’s are out there. They just don’t fetch the same premium prices, which is a true gift to sparkling wine fanatics like us. Qualitatively , you’re not “trading down” with Ruhlmann’s Brut Rosé—not one bit. But you are saving major money. For $25, this may be the top value-for-dollar sparkler we’ll offer all year, perfect for special occasions and ‘everyday’ drinking alike!
Today’s Crémant d’Alsace from Ruhlmann, crafted from 100% Pinot Noir in the méthode Champenoise (“Champagne method”), is a perfect example: Crémant is the term used to describe Champagne-method wines made in regions other than Champagne, and when you consider the great terroirs the best of them hail from—Alsace, Burgundy, the Loire—it shouldn’t come as any surprise that killer wines like Ruhlmann’s are out there. They just don’t fetch the same premium prices, which is a true gift to sparkling wine fanatics like us. Qualitatively , you’re not “trading down” with Ruhlmann’s Brut Rosé—not one bit. But you are saving major money. For $25, this may be the top value-for-dollar sparkler we’ll offer all year, perfect for special occasions and ‘everyday’ drinking alike!
Like many families in Alsace, the Ruhlmanns’ roots in the region go deep. The first Ruhlmann in the region can be traced back to a Hungarian knight that planted vines and built a house (which is still there) in 1688 in the town of Dambach-la-Ville. The family was mainly devoted to other agricultural pursuits like wheat, livestock and tobacco (who knew?) for the next three centuries. Fast-forward almost 300 years to 1960, when Jean-Charles Ruhlmann, descendant of a Hungarian knight, began to really develop the cultivation of vines for the Ruhlmann family, laying the foundation for the estate as it exists today. By the seventies they had started small levels of production and fully converted the whole family’s business to be exclusively wine by 1980. They now boast a wide range of varietally bottled wines, two Grand Crus, and, of course, two delicious crémants.
Ruhlmann makes this crémant from 100% Pinot Noir grapes—actually a legal requirement for any sparkler labeled “Crémant d’Alsace Rosé.” The Pinot Noir base is part of the formula that makes this wine such a Champagne doppelgänger, echoing many flavors of the prestigious Blanc de Noirs from the region. Then consider that the vineyard where the Pinot is planted is composed of clay and limestone—soil composition very similar to that of Champagne. The vines, which are up to 40 years old, are planted halfway up the slope allowing for deep root extension. The rows alternate between plowed and left with covering grass. It’s not fair only to compare this wine with Champagne, after all Crémant d’Alsace does have its own identity. Alsace is almost as far north as Champagne, but drier and warmer thanks to the rain shadow of the Vosges Mountains. This leads to slightly softer, darker fruit profiles allowing for slightly lower dosage (sugar addition) levels on average—the riper the fruit, the less need to spike with sugar.
The grapes are hand-harvested and brought by small crate to the winery where the bunches are whole-cluster pressed. Upon completion of primary fermentation, the wine is bottled for secondary fermentation and left on lees for an extended period. There is only slight skin contact during production so the color of the wine is a coppery light pink in the glass. The nose for this wine is an enticing mix of red fruits including raspberry, bing cherry, red currant, and Mirabelle plum, all topped with the delicate floral note of peony. The texture is the first attribute that rings out on the palate—luxurious and inviting—as it caresses rather than attacks with dark wild strawberry flavors and a dry, but soft finish (crémants typically have slightly lower carbonation levels than Champagnes). There is little chance that you will be able to have just one sip, this glass will disappear fast! As always, we suggest using an all-purpose wine glass and serving this sparkler at 45-50 degrees; it will make a refreshing apéritif and has plenty of mineral savor for food, like the salmon croquettes in the attached recipe. From one sparkling wine fanatic to another: You will be mightily impressed by this wine!
