HOW'S IT TASTE?

Buttery notes of lemon shortbread on the nose. The palate comes in with fresh apple and a creamy mellowness.Centred around the ancient town of Riquewihr, Dopff & Irion is every bit the traditional Alsace producer, crafting a whole suite of wonderfully traditional textural whites, fragrant Riesling and this very fine Alsace cremant from family vineyards that date back to the 1600s.In fact, Julien Dopff was said to make the first-ever Cremant d'Alsace back in 1900 after using the methode traditionnelle on some of his own wines.Since then, Dopff & Irion have become benchmarks for great sparkling wine from Alsace, with wines like this showing the way. Indeed, when you pop the cork on one of these delicious Dopff & Irion Blanc de Blancs you could easily believe it's Champagne, with the wines made in the same way (including 12 months on lees), just with different grapes.And there is the difference. This lovely bubbly uses Pinot Blanc & Auxerrois, making for a slightly more round and approachable wine than most Champagne. They add less dosage (ie sugar) as well, making these naturally drier wines.