If we're going to reach for a sparkling wine outside of Champagne, chances are it will be Belluard's Mont Blanc.

Belluard's Mont Blanc is that compelling in its elegance and focus.

Even in this context, the 2013 Mont Blanc really impresses with its clarity and the general beauty of its composition. It's rigorously detailed with an ultra clear expression of minerals, flowers, spice and yellow fruits.

Belluard is based in the town of Ayse in the Savoie region. Even for Savoie, Ayse is an obscure corner pushed way over to the eastern edge of France, bordering on Switzerland. The local white grape is the rare and esoteric Gringet. In the 19th century, Ayse was famous for the quality of its sparkling wines. Only sparkling wine can be labeled Ayse AOC and tasting Mont Blanc, it really does seem that in this area Gringet is capable of producing very impressive sparkling wine.

Mont Blanc comes from a single parcel (Belluard's highest altitude site) that's composed of iron-stained clay and limestone. From here, Belluard produces a crystal clear and beautifully textural sparkler that never fails to captivate.

This is a wine that I buy at least a few bottles of every vintage to stash in the cellar for its complexity and fascination. It's for this reason that we created special 4-pack pricing. You can expect it to transform over the next 7-10 years.

It's always fun to offer Belluard's Mont Blanc. Most sparklers from outside of Champagne are simply mediocre. Belluard's is stunning. It goes a long way in highlighting just how careful and thoughtful the vineyard work and winemaking is here. Not so long ago, the incredibly astute wine writer David Schildknecht called Belluard's wines "some of the most remarkable... vinous excitement and promise I have witnessed anywhere in France during the past decade." We emphatically agree.

To order, email offers@crushwineco.com

or call the store at (212) 980-9463.

Joe Salamone

Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits

2013 Belluard Mont Blanc Brut Zero