Description
Domaine de la Belière, Bugey Cerdon Méthode Ancestrale
The only reason we’re not calling this Bugey-Cerdon a “porch pounder” is because it’ll be gone by the time you get there. This absurdly tasty, old-school sparkler is almost too enjoyable, thanks to a thrilling fusion of Gamay and Poulsard, pleasingly low alcohol, and the all-natural ancestrale method which was used to create the world’s first sparkling wine some 500 years ago. While we love to geek out on the intricacies of wine, today’s gem is the desirable antithesis of a vino da meditazione—it’s practically Pavlovian how quickly our mouths watered when the cork popped.
South of Jura and wedged between Beaujolais and Savoie, Bugey-Cerdon is one of the best-kept sparkling-value secrets in all of France, having just earned a coveted “AOC” (appellation) status in 2009 for its naturally carbonated, lightly sweet, deeply refreshing rosés. With a deep salmon-pink hue and soft, fruity, gently sparkling palate, these are vastly different than the other rosés you’ve had from around France. Full of frothy fizz, wild red mountain fruit, and delicate acidity, this wine is just pure fun in a bottle—don’t overthink it, just drink it!
Bugey-Cerdon producers don’t always get it right, but Domaine de la Belière has this Savoie-adjacent specialty down. It’s easy for this style of wine to become cloying in the wrong hands, which was all too common until pretty recently, since the relative obscurity of the region hadn’t previously inspired much demand outside of the local market. But now that the world is sitting up and paying well-deserved attention to the neighboring wines of Savoie and the Jura, some seriously impressive producers are jumping into the game. Domaine de la Belière, led by sustainably minded second-generation winemakers Celine and Gaël Ronger, is one of the few standout producers bringing Bugey-Cerdon into the spotlight. And with the current popularity of pét-nat, I see no reason why the Rongers and their talented cohorts won’t succeed.
Crafted in the OG méthode ancestrale, Domaine de la Belière’s Bugey-Cerdon gets its bubbles naturally. The Rongers blend Gamay with five percent Poulsard, fermenting in chilled tanks until it gets up to about five or six percent alcohol, at which point it gets lightly filtered before the process finishes off in the bottle. When the fermentation stops at eight percent, we’re left with a magical elixir of effervescent deliciousness, with a playful smidge of sweetness that perks up the buoyant red fruit. The wild strawberry, sour cherry, cranberry, and candied raspberry notes work so well with the floral, savory, and mineral hints of rose petal, geranium, rosemary, thyme, and wet stone that run through this wildly refreshing wine. Chill this Bugey-Cerdon down to 40-45 degrees, pour it into an all-purpose stem, and drink it often over the next year. If you feel inclined to pair it, it goes great with blue cheese or not-too-sweet desserts, but don’t be surprised if you find you’ve downed the whole bottle before the fruit tart comes out of the oven.
