Sparkling Wine for a sparkling evening

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The Academy Awards. A night when the stars sparkle on the red carpet. I liveblogged the Oscars for another blog, so I popped open some sparkling wine for the sparkling occasion. I pulled an Australian sparkler out of the closet for the evening: a NV Thorn-Clarke Brut Reserve that we’d picked up at Cork and Bottle for around $14.99 in early December.
This purchase is a prime example of my susceptibility to atmosphere. At a tasting, when I’m in the moment and enjoying several different tastes, involved in conversation, I may positively love a wine. When I get home and open the bottle a few weeks or months later, I often wonder what I fell in love with originally.
This particular wine is 50% chardonnay and 50% pinot noir. It shows golden in the glass, with a slight blush tint. There is a definite citrus flavor, with lemon, and, as you continue to drink the wine, more peaches and pears.
It’s not that this is a bad sparkling wine. It’s much better than a lot of low-end sparklers. However, it’s not the best of the bunch either. In the $10 – $20 range, I can find a lot better sparkler. If offered to me, I might drink this again. But I probably won’t buy it, with one caveat. This sparkler would work perfectly in a Bellini, with its heavier peach undertones.

Our score: