Lake Chalice Cracklin Savie NV – Marlborough

I had in my notes to review an affordable red, likely an Italian, so naturally this is a review of a white…. from New Zealand. Makes perfect sense right? I was thrown for a complete loop when I visited Cordial at Union Market recently, which is what lead me down this odd path from Montalcino in the Italian Piedmont to Marlborough in NZ. Sparkling Sauvignon blanc? Was my response to the proprietor while I was selecting a wine. My interest was peaked, and I’m a sucker for odd ball wines that are hard to find, and the Lake Chalice Cracklin’ Savie definitely fits that bill; it’s a different wine for sure, but absolutely worth a taste.

Wine nerd portion of the review- most sparkling wines are made from either Chardonnay, Pinot noir or Pinot meunier or some combination of the three. Sauvignon blancs are typically still wines, meaning no bubbles. So it is quite unique to find a sparkling, or lightly sparkling as the producers call it, version of this particular grape. Several other differences jump out at you with the Cracklin as well. Not the least of which is its closure. Most sparkling wines have the champagne style cork topped with a wire holder and foil and conjure up images of James Bond popping bottles of Bollinger (his original champagne of choice) or Dom perignon. The Cracklin has a closure more closely aligned with the champagne of beers, not champagne – a pop top bottle cap. But while the appearance may seem low rent, the wine is not. Unusual and unique? Yes to both the closure and the wine itself.

The immediate take away after using my Fat Tire church key, which I never thought would be employed in this manner, to pop the bottle was there was no visible effervescence in the bottle. Upon pouring it into the glass three to four very small streams of tiny, tightly formed bubbles developed but their lives were short lived and they dissipated quickly leaving a little froth on the surface of the wine that looked a bit like the wake of a very slowly passing boat. This all means the “lightly sparkling” or spritz indicated by the producer’s notes are a spot on descriptions of the wine. The closest thing I can compare it to is a Portuguese vinho verde. The Cracklin had a transparent pale gold color and with the bubbles now settling on the surface of the wine, it was time to get down to business.

Sauvignon blanc fans will be surprised by the nose–not present were the tell tale grapefruit and grass aromas typically found in a NZ sav blanc. What was there was more floral and aromatic, almost like a muscadine wine from the southeastern US or a Pinot gris from Alsace with a bit of bottle age to it. I smelled a bit of honey and earthiness, and stone fruit like white peach and passion fruit.

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