Domaine de la Pepiere "Pepie Bulles" Petillant 750ml

This wine has a pale, straw-gold hue in the glass, reassuringly warm in appearance, with a very fine pétillance, enough to provide the wine with a very fine central stream of tiny bubbles. The nose is certainly charismatic, with fleeting nuances. The overall impression is fruit-dominated, golden and autumnal in style, but still bright and fresh. There is a sweet, ripe green apple and white grape character to it, the sweetness for brief moments giving the aromatic profile something of a resemblance to toffee apples. There are hints of more savoury nuances as well, though, ripe Maillard-like autolytic nuances from the dead and dying yeast, but these are subtle components. Gentle and refined at the start, this quickly fills out on the midpalate, helped by a generous helping of residual sugar. There is 20 g/l here, although tasted blind I would have put it a little lower. It does not bring an overt sweetness to the palate, but a rounded, fleshy feel. The pétillance is finely inscribed, but still gentle and soft, settling out though the middle to give it a creamy feel. In the end it picks itself up, showing a sappy detachment. The finish is not exactly intense or long, but it has an appealing sappy-sour character. This is very appealing, and with just 9% alcohol it would make a lovely summer sparkler. There's a really good balance here between the incisive acidity of the fruit which is kept nicely in check by the residual sugar, and there is some appealing substance to the wine to add further interest. Overall, pretty good stuff! 16/20

Chris Kissack, TheWineDoctor.com