2012 Domaine Barmes-Buecher Cremant d’Alsace Brut Zero

Barmès-Buecher Brut Zero: Homage to Ayala Champagne and Vinexpo 2005

It’s the most complex under-$20 sparkling wine in the world, a Champagne lookalike that Parisian sommeliers claim trumps the real thing.

As a teenager, François Barmès was a daredevil, cornering his moped at 20mph on noisy midnight runs. When Barmès took over his and his wife’s family domains, his approach was much the same. Barmès quickly gained a reputation for working on the edge, experimenting relentlessly in the vines and the cellar. Arguably the most passionate torchbearer of the biodynamic farming movement in France, Barmès was known all over Europe for his homeopathic concoctions and treatments, as well as the astonishing health of his vines.

But of all of his winemaking gambles, none was more brazen than François Barmès’s exquisite Crémant d’Alsace Brut Zero, a bottle whose origins can be traced back to Vinexpo 2005.

The signature brilliance of Champagne lies in its bracing limestone vibrancy. But the vines of Bouzy and Cramant often struggle to bring Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to physiological maturity. As a result, prior to bottling Champagne houses generally ‘dose’ bottles with a mix of base wine and cane sugar, adding sweetness to counterbalance the stinging acidity of the region. Nineteen out of 20 bottles of Champagne that make it the U.S. market are labeled “Brut” — but measure 6-12 grams per liter of residual sugar.

In the summer of 2005, François was in attendance when president Hervé Augustin unveiled the storied Ayala Brut Nature Champagne at Vinexpo. Augustin contended that truly superb Champagne, made from ripe Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, could do without the sugary addition. Many considered Hervé’s experiment little more than a marketing gimmick. But François Barmès was enthralled.

Years later, Barmès would tell us that when he returned to Wettolsheim from Bordeaux, he could no longer drink his own Crémant. “I never chaptalize (add sugar to) my still wines. Why, then, was I adding it to the Méthode Champenoise?” he asked. “My Crémant was just too fat. I needed to rein it in.” It wouldn’t be long before François Barmès was taking a page out the Ayala Brut Nature script.

The 2012 Barmès-Buecher Crément D’Alsace Brut Zero is one of the estate’s most stunning to date, an electrifying homage to Ayala Brut Nature. Pale golden-green in color, the bubbles are tiny and gently persistent, speaking far more of the Montagne de Reims than Alsace. Absolutely exquisite aromatically, infused with a mouthwatering mix of green apple, pear, and anise. Rich, juicy, and crisp on the attack — absent any suggestion of sugary additive — filled with a wound-up mix of apricot, citrus, and apple compote, finishing with superb vibrancy and energy.

Make no mistake: This is a VERY serious Méthode Champenoise, as close as you’ll ever get to Reims or Épernay at under-$20/bottle. 1,200 bottles are up for grabs. Shipping included on 6.

• ABV 12.50%
• Enjoy right away
• % White Blend