Frank Family in Calistoga has been one of my favorite wineries for years, and I've particularly enjoyed their sparking wines. But we've had barely any California sparkling over the past few years. Most of it is either affordable and disappointing, or decent but overpriced. Instead, we've been drinking French cremants, Spanish cavas and Italian lambruscos, typically for $9-12 a bottle. (You have to choose carefully among the latter two, but there are good ones to be found--perhaps my favorite bottle at the moment is Barbolini's Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro, a rich, musty red that's a steal at $12. And the French are uniformly good in the same price range--note that we're not drinking actual Champagne, but sparklers from various towns in Burgundy or Limoux in the Languedoc.)
So it was with a sense of curiosity and excitement that we opened a bottle of Frank Family's NV Blanc de Blancs. This was probably the first wine that gave me an appreciation for quality sparkling, and it felt like the return of an old friend. And it was...fine. A perfectly good accompaniment to the French cheeses that were kicking off our meal, but mere decency was something of a disappointment. It lacked the richness and creaminess I expect of a Blanc de Blancs (which I prefer), and at $28 it was no better than the $9 J. Laurents Cremant de Limoux we had last week. Well, at least we have a case of the latter and just one more bottle of the Frank Family.
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