Lambert de Seyssel Royal Grand Cru Brut 2019

Green Apple, Lemon Curd, Starfruit

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"Unless you are a fan of skiing or French spas you are probably not familiar with the Savoie region. It lies on the French side of Lake Geneva and borders the Rhone River which flows down from its source above Oberwald, Switzerland. Due to the elevation the growing season is short, so the wines from this region, still and sparkling, are generally not very high in alcohol and relatively crisp on the palate. These are perfect conditions for producing sparkling wine, which is how the famous sparkling wines of Seyssel, one of the Grand Cru villages of the region, came to be. This is hardly a “new” wine region, as documents dating back to at least the 11th century mention the high quality of the wines. The development of sparkling wine production methods in the 19th century created a new Seyssel mousseux, which quickly gained great popularity. Even Queen Victoria is said to have enjoyed the region’s sparkling wines during spa stays in neighboring towns. The “Royal Seyssel” label (originally called “Royal Carte Bleue”), was launched in 1901 by the Varichon and Clerc families, and considered for many years to be the best sparkling Seyssel on the market. Then the operation was purchased in the 1990s by the Boisset family from Burgundy, who treated the wines simply as a brand to be exploited and quality suffered. In 2007 they closed the local winery, keeping only the rights to the name ‘Varichon et Clerc’ in order to shift the name recognition to their other sparkling wines. Dismayed to see what their great local wine had come to, Seysselans Gérard and Catherine Lambert teamed up with Olivier Varichon, the great-grandson of the founder, to buy back the Royal Seyssel label and recreate the light, floral wine that was once so renowned. Although not located in Champagne, all of the wines produced under the Lambert de Seyssel label are fermented in the bottle, which is called the methode Champenoise. They produce two cuvees, this and the Petit Royal, which has been a staple in the Orlando store for years. Thanks to a change in distribution this year the Royal Seyssel is finally available in Florida, which is like the Petit Royal on steroids. To make this wine the Lamberts use only grapes from their oldest vines, 20-50 years old, a combination of 70% Molette and 30% Altesse. Molette produces wines that are relatively neutral in flavor and aroma, so it is blended with other varieties for complexity. The Altesse, also known as Roussette ripens late so it develops great complexity, both aromatically and on the palate. The Lamberts farm all of their vineyards using biodynamic methods which also helps lower yields for better concentration. The grapes for each variety are hand harvested separately, then immediately pressed to stainless steel tanks for fermentation. After, the wine is allowed to rest on the lees until spring, when the assembly of the two varieties is made, and the wine is put into bottle for the secondary fermentation to create the sparkle. For the Royal Seyssel the wine is left on the cork for three years then disgorged, and finished with 3 grams of residual sugar per liter." - Tim Varan