Henry of Pelham Cuvée Catharine Brut Sparkling
Niagara Peninsula, Ontario V.Q.A, Canada
LCBO code: 217521
Price: $32.95
Score: 92 points
This sparkling gets better every year, even though it's not vintage-dated. Lovely finesse and mousse with green apple vibrancy. The grapes were hand-picked in 50 pound lugs so they weren't bruised. The winery does press fractioning, meaning the first bit of the juice (the head) and the last bit (the tail) aren't used in the wine just the juiciest, tastiest part of the juice. They also use the traditional Champagne method to make the wine. The wine spends 30 months on the lees which gives it a creamy texture. Serve as an aperitif on its own or add 1 oz. of Riesling Icewine or 1 oz of Cabernet Franc Icewine to 3 oz of Cuvee Catharine to make a Kir Catharine.
Sparkling food pairings: salmon caviar with sour cream; malpeque oysters with a hint of lemon.
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