Sparkling wine

Champagne and Requena

Champagne Denis Frézier in Monthelon, south of Épernay, and Viña de Eufemia in Casas de Eufemia near Requena use the same method: the base wine ferments a second time in the bottle and then rests on its lees. At Frézier, Sébastien and Aurore, the seventh generation, do everything themselves, from pruning to bottling. In Requena, Vicente García of Pago de Tharsys is known as the «father of Cava in Requena».

Viña de Eufemia and Pago de Tharsys bottle many of their Cavas as Brut Nature, with no sugar added at dosage. We like Brut Nature best after long ageing on the lees, when we no longer miss the sugar.

How long on the lees

At Viña de Eufemia you can follow this within a single estate. El Pino Mariano and Carrasca Negra spend twelve months on the lees, Fuente Melada and the Blanc de Blancs at least 25, the Reserva Brut and Reserva Rosé at least 36, and the Blanc de Noirs 2017 at least 80. Frézier gives its Champagnes two to eight years depending on the cuvée; the Exception 2016, from Grand Cru grapes in Cramant, stayed there for more than seven.

Blanc de Noirs from Requena and from Champagne

• Eufemia Reserva Blanc de Noirs 2017: Pinot Noir from a single plot at around 750 metres near Casas de Eufemia, hand-picked at the end of August, whole bunches gently pressed, at least 80 months on the lees.
• Frézier Terroir Noir: Pinot Noir from plots in Monthelon, Mancy and Chavot-Courcourt, fermented in stainless steel, more than two years on the lees.

Both are white sparkling wines made from a red grape. In this pair the Cava from Requena is the more expensive bottle, and it also spent several years longer on the lees than the Champagne.

At the table

Sparkling wine belongs with food in our house. Serve young bottles at 6 to 8 degrees, long-aged ones a little warmer and in a white wine glass rather than a flute. El Pino Mariano, pure Macabeo with no dosage, goes with oysters and tempura, and Carrasca Negra, from Pinot Noir and Garnacha, with sushi and prawns. Frézier's Terroir Noir can take poultry, veal and mushroom dishes, and the Eufemia Blanc de Noirs 2017 stands up to turbot, scallops and truffle pasta.