The Methode Ancestrale sparkling wines of France

Sparkling wine production in France can be placed into four broad categories:

1. Champagne -- King of the hill. Reserved for sparkling wines produced within the delimited area of the Champagne wine region.
2. Crémant -- sparkling wine made using the méthode traditionelle. Wines in this category include Crémant de Loire, Crémant d'Alsace,  Crémant de Bourgogne, Crémant de Bordeaux, Crémant de Die, and the recently minted Crémant de Savoie. These wines adhere to the following restrictions:
1. Harvested by hand within set production quotas
2. Whole-bunch pressed
3. Sulfur dioxide use limited
4. > 9 months on lees
5. About half the carbon of Champagne
6. Submitted to a QC tasting panel for approval.
3. Méthode Ancestrale -- wines are generally bottled with residual sugar. Effervescence gained via refermentation (or continued fermentation) in the bottle.
4. All others -- sparkling wines made in any of the available sparkling wine production methods to the exclusion of the Méthode Ancestrale.

The figure below shows the scope of sparkling wine production in France with the designated Methode Ancestrale areas circled in red. I explore the four designated Methode Ancestrale areas in this post.

Blanquette de Limoux Methode Ancestrale
Limoux AOC has the distinction of being one of only two AOCs (the other is Die) to produce a sparkling wine in each of the available categories (keeping in mind that Champagne production is impossible for producers outside of the region). Limoux AOC sparkling wine production encompasses Crémant de Limoux, Blanquette de Limoux, and Blanquette de Limoux Méthode Ancestrale (The term Blanquette stems from the Mauzac variety developing a white down on its leaves.). I have written previously of the terroir of the region and will discuss the wines in the remainder of this post.

The Méthode Ancestrale sparkling wine -- awarded AOC status in 1938 -- is produced from 100% Mauzac grapes whose partially fermented juice is bottled on a full moon in March. Fermentation concludes in the bottle, producing a wine that is higher in residual sugar, lower in alcohol, and less effervescent than its compatriots. Alcohol levels for this wine is around 7%. Aroma and flavors include apricot, acacia, hawthorne, peach, and apple. Production levels are 4000 hl annually.

Clairette de Die
The Drôme River is a tributary of the Rhône which, conveniently, serves as the dividing line between the wines of the north and south. Die, and its wines, are located in this river valley. Die produces both sparkling and still wines (Chatillon-en-Diois for reds and rosés, Coteaux de Die for whites) but it is in the sparkling wines that our interest lies.

Used with the permission of Syndicat de
la Clairette de Die et des vins du Diois 

Clairette de Die is the appellation for a naturally sparkling wine made from Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains (75% minimum) and Clairette. This wine has a long history with AO status granted in 1910, AOC designation in 1942, and designation as "ancestral dioise process" in 1971.

Clairette de Die grapes are sourced from the same vineyards as are grapes for Cremant de Die. There are a total of 300 farmers involved in grape production, 250 of whom are associated with the Cave de Die Jaillance coop and the remainder either being part of smaller cooperatives or functioning as family farms.

The Clairette de Die production process stands in stark contrast to that of the Cremant de Die. The grapes are rapidly pressed and placed into vats where they are allowed to ferment at low temperatures. After 1 to 2 months, the fermentation is stopped -- the must still contains residual sugar -- and the proceeds bottled. This partially fermented wine is kept in bottle, at temperatures of approximately 12℃, for about 4 months during which time fermentation of the residual sugar continues. The carbon dioxide released during this fermentation is secreted in the wines and will provide the bubbles upon opening. Unlike the traditional method, there are no additives along the way.

Fermentation ceases naturally when the wine is about 7% to 9% abv and, at this time, the wine is ready for drinking. As there is no opportunity to manipulate the sugar content of the wine, it is only available in a Brut style.

Bugey Cerdon AOC
One of the least known of the identified AOCs is Bugey, a small wine region within the Ain départment which, though encumbered by anonymity, has the distinction of being one of four regions (the others being Die, Gaillac, and Limoux) which produce sparkling wines using both the method Champenoise and the Method Ancestrale.

Bugey is sometimes mentioned as being part of the Savoie region but, as shown in the map below, that is far from the truth. The wine region, a VDQS prior to gaining AOC status in 2009, covers 500 ha in 65 villages sited alongside the Rhone as it wends its way south in Savoie and then northwest in Bugey.

Expanded view of Bugey. Source: wineandvinesearch.com

The existing Bugey soil is a result of both the formation of the French pre-Alps as well as the terminal activity of Ice Age glaciers. While fairly heterogeneous, the soils fall into one of two broad camps: (i) clay and limestone (white clay, mountain scree) or (ii) silica and limestone molasse (terminal deposits). The almost-hidden patches of vineyards which comprise this region face southeast or southwest and are, on average, 5 ha in size.

This wine is produced in a Rosé style only using Gamay and Poulsard grapes as the source material. The grapes for this wine  are grown on 136.4 ha of vineyards located on clay-calcareous soils that top the steep hillsides of the 10 villages that comprise the Cerdon cru. The wine is made using the Methode Ancestrale which, in this case, is comprised of the following steps:

1. Grapes are hand-picked
2. Then pressed
3. Partial fermentation at low temperature (preserves the softness, aromas, and colors of the grape; allows retention of some live yeasts) to approximately 6% abv
4. Light filtration
5. Bottling
6. Second fermentation in bottle. At conclusion, 7.5 - 8% abv plus fair amount of sugar
7. Filter wine
8. Re-bottle.

This process yields a crisp, tart, sweet wine with a grapey aroma and red fruit flavors. Annual production is at 9620 hl, 30% of the volume of all wine produced in Bugey.

Gaillac Methode Ancestrale
Gaillac is a part of Wines of Southwest France, the region covering wine-producing areas south and inland of Bordeaux.

Gaillac is located 50 km east of Toulouse in the northern part of the Tarn region.

According to Wines of Gaillac, a combination of heat from the Mediterranean and the ocean humidity of Bordeaux provides perfect growing conditions for the region. These conditions are further enhanced by the Autan, a warm, dry wind that blows in from the warm region of East Central Africa.

Gaillac has a varied terroir, as shown in the chart below.

Gaillac's winemaking history stretches back to Roman times but a number of disasters through the years has limited its current production levels to 155,000 hL annually. Sixty percent of said production is red, 30% white, and the remaining 10% Rosé. The white production levels include dry, sweet, a lightly sparkling specialty called Perle, and the Methode Ancestrale sparkler (Andrew Jefford, Enigmatic Variation, Decanter, 2/20/17).

Gaillac's Methode Ancestrale, also called Methode Gaillacoise, goes back to the 1500s and has been an AOC since 1937. The Mauzac variety is generally its source material. Bibendum.com.au uses the wine from Plageoles to illustrate the production of this wine:

• 40-year-old vines situated in Cahuzac-sur-Vere
• Naturally fermented base wines chilled to stop fermentation when there is 25 - 30 g/l residual sugar remaining
• Juice manually fed through an antique filter utilizing coarse cotton sacks (allows some natural yeasts to remain in contact with the juice)
• The wine is bottled the following spring and fermentation continues producing the bubbles.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme