Cuvée César Clairette de Die

The Clairette de Die is a sparkling speciality of the Rhone valley, inland from the Mediterranean coast, similar in latitude to the Piedmont, but slightly further from the cooling Alps.  It’s flavours are particularly of pears, apples and peaches with musky Moscato overtones, all bursting forth from a lively little bubbles of natural sparkle.

This is the French equivalent of the Piedmont’s Moscato d’Asti (ie a sweet sparkling wine based on the Muscat Grape) and as such it’s worth comparing the two:

Clairette de Die             Moscato d’Asti

Grape                                Muscat and Clairette           Muscat only

ABV                                                  7.5%                                  5.5%

Both benefit from the floral delights of the muscat grapes but also exhibit all their sweetness.  The French have worked to off-set this by adding some Clairette grapes to the mix, a grape known to add body and acidity to a wine.  And the French too are fermenting some extra alcohol which further adds body and bitterness to offset the sweetness.   For me this combination is probably a winning equation, giving a slightly better balanced drink with a still attractively low ABV.  But lovers of the Muscat sweetness may prefer the Italian version: its muscat flavours are unadulterated with any other grape and this shows through in the richness of its flavours.  And of course it is lower in ABV.  So the choice is yours.