Blanc de Blanc

The wine

Brioche and baked apple lead, with a floral lift over them. The mousse is fine, and the aroma is closer to a serious sparkling wine than to a fruit soda. Gooseberry and tangerine sit under the toast rather than in front of it.

The palate is structured and dry. Orchard fruit carries the middle, and there is more weight there than most dealcoholized sparklings manage. The bead keeps it lively without turning fierce. Mouthfeel stays long and toasty, which is the point of the wine: the toast does not vanish when the bubble does.

The finish extends on brioche. That length is unusual in this category, and it is what earns the glass. Serve it chilled, in a flute or a white-wine glass. Let the glass sit and the apple moves forward and the toast recedes.

This is a sparkling wine that still tastes worked, not a flavored sparkler. The grape and the lees character are recognizable. A bottle-fermented wine with its alcohol would keep a little more persistence than this. Pour it when you want toast and apple, and keep the glass cold enough that the mousse stays fine. Keep the bottle cold. The toast is why it is why you pour it.