Blind Drunk

Freixenet Cordon Negro is cheap. You could buy three of the familiar black bottles for less than what you’d pay for an inexpensive French Champagne like Mumm Cordon Rouge. I thought that was why Freixenet had become so popular in the United States. If money were no object, we’d all drink the more expensive stuff because it tastes better, right?

Not so. In a blind tasting conducted at the Houston Press office last week, Freixenet and Mumm Cordon Rouge finished neck and neck. Tasters scored ten wines on a scale of one to ten. Freixenet and Mumm Cordon Rouge each got an average score of 6.8. Segura Viudas “Aria,” a premium Spanish Cava that is also owned by Freixenet, came in a very close second with a 6.7. Chandon Fresco Perla, a new bubbly from Argentina that sells for under $10, did well with a score of 5.4, while Pacific Echo, a popular California blend that sells for more than $16, came in fourth with a 5.2.

Two of the tasters preferred the $7 Spanish bubbly over the $24 French Champagne, and three scored them the same. Both wines scored higher than sparkling wines from California, Argentina, the French Loire Valley and five other Spanish Cava houses. When we asked the tasters to guess which of the ten glasses contained the real French Champagne, Freixenet got more votes than any other wine except the Mumm itself. If you think these results are an anomaly, consider that in a similar tasting at The Wall Street Journal, Freixenet had the same sort of success. It seems that Freixenet (pronounced “fresh-eh-net”) has a taste that is uniquely appealing to the American palate.

“Maybe it’s because I’m familiar with the taste,” said Press staff writer Wendy Grossman when she found out she had given the Spanish Cava a nine and the French Champagne a four. “I was drinking Freixenet when I went out dancing one night. So maybe I associate that taste with a really good experience.”

Spanish Cavas are unique in the world of sparkling wines in that they are made from three obscure Spanish grapes. California sparkling wines and others around the world imitate the French by using only Champagne grape varietals, so there is a sameness to the flavor. The low acidity of the three white Spanish grapes gives Cava a taste that is not very crisp. The wines are often criticized as being too soft by leading Champagne experts such as Tom Stevenson. Some Cava makers are experimenting with Chardonnay and imported varietals, but Freixenet has resisted this trend, insisting that it is the Spanish grapes that make Cava unique. Judging by their phenomenal success in the United States, you’d have to believe they’re on the right track.

Freixenet sold 6.5 million bottles in the United States last year. It has an 80 percent share of the Spanish Cava market worldwide, which is quite a lot of wine considering that the Cava appellation is reportedly now producing more sparkling wine than the Champagne region. There are a wide variety of Freixenet labels on the market, ranging from a sweeter semi-dry to several premium labels, but Cordon Negro remains the leading seller.

Personally, I gave the Freixenet Cordon Negro a three, the lowest score it received. Call me the Russian judge, but I find the stuff insipid. The big discovery of this tasting, as far as I am concerned, is another Cava owned by Freixenet, the Segura Viudas “Aria.” I gave it a six. It came in a very close second in the rankings to the two leaders. This stuff is much better than Cordon Negro, and not that much more expensive. But don’t listen to me — I’m a wine geek, a cork dork. My tastes have been influenced by too many vertical tastings and winemaker dinners. The more champagne I taste, it seems, the less I know about the stuff.

It all seemed so simple ten years ago when I started writing an annual Champagne round-up for the Austin Chronicle. Back then, I thought it was big news that sturdy, non-vintage $25 bubblies like Clicquot Orange Label and Taittinger Brut Reserve were a far better value than $100 Dom Pérignon and Cristal. But I soon came to realize how few of my readers actually drank the French stuff.

People wanted to know about the bargains — the high-quality California sparklers, Spanish Cavas and French cremants that sold for under $10. And so every year, I went around to supermarkets and wine stores to check out what was new. I drank them, I rated them, and I wrote about them. All the while, I assumed that wine drinkers would generally share my tastes. But through recent blind tastings, I have discovered that I was wrong. Boy, was I wrong.

The first blind tasting I did, about three years ago, included several young food and wine writers. I am prone to gush over Champagnes that include a lot of Pinot Noir. These wines have complex bouquets with components of hazelnuts, toast and vanilla. But they also can throw off some very odd aromas, especially when they are first opened. When we tasted Nicolas Feuillatte’s Palmes D’Or, a Grand Cuvée that sells from around $100 a bottle, I loved it and the young writers hated it. One observed that it smelled like a wet dog. And it did, sort of. But it still tasted wonderful. (Maybe I have a positive association with wet dogs.) The younger tasters vastly preferred the lemon and green-apple flavors and tongue-biting tartness of Chardonnay-based sparkling wines — which taste like 7-Up to me.

If you pattern your tastes after those of the wine experts, you’ll end up preferring classic French Champagnes, which can be very expensive. But if you pay attention to only your own taste buds, you’ll probably find yourself drawn to a very different flavor profile. That’s why blind tastings are so interesting. My theory is that Cavas have become popular because they offer both the softness of expensive Champagnes and the fruitiness of the lemon-soda wines. Try a couple of Cavas in a blind tasting of your own. You could discover a new favorite.

Or you could conclude, like News Hostage columnist Rich Connelly, that there is hardly any difference between them. “Which is great,” says Connelly. “Because I just saved myself a whole lot of money on New Year’s Eve.”

Freixenet Brut, Cordon Negro (Spain) Rank: 1 (tie)
Average score: 6.8
Price: $6.79 at Specs

Robb Walsh (3) spices, no fizz

Anna Moore (8) fruity, piquant, multi-layered

Khoa Nguyen (7) inoffensive and light

Wendy Grossman (9) makes me want to dance

Paul Galvani (6) extremely tart, smooth

Lauren Kern* (9) dry, fizzy, smooth

Margaret Downing* (7) fizzy, light, dry

Jennifer Mathieu (7) crisp, decent, enjoyable

Rich Connelly (5) tasteless

Mumm Cordon Rouge, Brut (Champagne)
Rank: 1 (tie)

Average score: 6.8

Price: $23.99 at Auchan

Walsh* (9) big yeast, toasty

Moore* (8) spicy, peppery

Nguyen (8) nutty

Grossman (4) didn’t make my tongue cringe

Galvani* (7) robust flavor, acidic

Kern (6) quite dry and nice

Downing (7) more fizz, sharper edged

Mathieu (7) nutty, I could drink a lot

Connelly (5) tasteless

Segura Viudas “Aria,” Cava (Spain)
Rank: 2

Average score: 6.7

Price: $9.99 at Spec’s

Walsh (6) cinnamon, nice bubbles

Moore (9) titty-dancer caliber

Nguyen (4) bitter, lingering aftertaste

Grossman (10) makes me want to take a bubble bath

Galvani (9) nice bouquet, fruity

Kern (4) a little salty

Downing (4) a little heavy

Mathieu* (9) delicious, could get me in trouble

Connelly (5) Because a) I have a cold

Chandon Fresco Perla, Extra Dry (Argentina)
Rank: 3

Average score: 5.4

Price: $9.90 at Spec’s

Walsh (4) pleasant but sweet

Moore (7) sweet, average, one for uppity poseurs

Nguyen*(9) youthful, full of potential

Grossman (5) very fruity, could drink a bottle

Galvani (4) shallow flavor

Kern (3) too sweet

Downing (8) a little light

Mathieu (4) decent, went flat fast

Connelly (5) and b) I’m from New Jersey

Pacific Echo, Brut (California)
Rank: 4

Average score: 5.2

Price: $16.75 at Spec’s

Walsh (4) yeasty nose, decent

Moore (2) god-awful syrup

Nguyen (5) strong attack, backs off fast

Grossman* (10) this can be @ my wedding

Galvani (7) lowest fizz, highest alcohol

Kern (2) yuck

Downing (6) smells good, nice fizz

Mathieu (6) humdrum

Rich Connelly (5) they all taste the same

Marques de Gelida, Brut, Cava (Spain) Rank: 5

Average score: 4.9

Price: $9.48 at Spec’s

Walsh (4) peachy, sweet

Moore (5) tastes expensive, classy

Nguyen (10) brisk like an autumn day

Grossman (4) not crazy in love with it

Galvani (3) no bouquet, very thin

Kern (4) aftertaste

Downing (5) inoffensive, almost pleasant

Mathieu (4) tastes cheap, watery

Connelly (5) to me.

Paul Cheneau, Brut, Cava (Spain) Rank: 6

Average score: 4.4

$4.99 at Auchan

Walsh (3) floral nose, crisp

Moore (7) very berry good

Nguyen (6) light, mellow

Grossman (2) champagne with a screwcap?

Galvani (6) slightly sweet, very clear

Kern (1) bitter, dishwater

Downing (4) inoffensive

Mathieu (6) sorority girl champagne

Connelly (5) But even the expert says

Cristalino, Brut, Cava (Spain) Rank: 7 (tie)

Average score: 3.2

Price: $5.99 at Auchan

Walsh (4) a little yeast, good bubbles

Moore (1) yuck, grody to the max

Nguyen (2) ginger ale, anyone?

Grossman (3) dry

Galvani (4) no bouquet, tart

Kern (3) fruity, but flat

Downing (4) okay

Mathieu (3) funny smell, icky

Connelly (5) that 70% of these wines

Vincent Edouard Poirier (Loire Valley)
Rank: 7 (tie)

Average score: 3.2

Price: $6.99 at Whole Foods

Walsh (3) lemon-lime soda

Moore (3) orange peels and pear bruises

Nguyen (1) tastes cheap

Grossman (1) made me choke

Galvani (5) very fruity, slight bitterness

Kern (2) yuck

Downing (6) appley, goes flat fast

Mathieu (3) cheap date champagne

Connelly (5) are indistinguishable

Mont-Marçal, Brut Reserva, Cava (Spain)
Rank: Last

Average score: 2

Price: $5.99 at Central Market

Walsh (1) skunky, awful, corked?

Moore (1) rotten, roadkill

Nguyen (3) ham, tastes like ham

Grossman (1) tastes spoiled

Galvani (2) black coffee overtones

Kern (2) smells like dirty socks

Downing (1) stinky, sludge on the tongue

Mathieu (2) horrible, smells like ass

Connelly* (5) which means I’m right.

* Guessed this was the French Champagne

Bubbly Buzzwords

Brut: It literally means “natural,” but in the case of champagne, it really means dry. Brut is drier (less sweet) than extra dry; semi-dry is sweeter still.

Cava: The word cava is Spanish for “cellar,” and is used to describe Spanish sparkling wines made using the méthode champenoise. The name was adopted in 1970 at the behest of Spain’s European trading partners. Prior to this time, Spain’s sparkling wine was called Champaña. Although production of Cava is actually somewhat spread out across the country, some 98 percent is made in the Penedés region of Catalonia.

Charmat bulk process: A process that speeds up the traditional champagne production method in order to make less expensive sparkling wine.

Méthode champenoise: Made by the expensive champagne process.

Cremant: French sparkling wine, generally with fewer bubbles (about two-thirds the pressure of Champagne) produced outside of the Champagne region.

Cuvée: The blend of wines used to make a Champagne.

N.V. or nonvintage: Champagnes made by blending wines produced in several different years. Nonvintage Champagnes are consistent in taste from year to year.

Vintage: Champagnes made from wines produced in a single exceptional year. These vary widely in character from one vintage to another.