Caelum Eclat Reserva Gold Extra Brut

Agrelo, Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza

Tasting notes

Pale gold in the glass with fine, delicate bubbles. The nose shows toasted hazelnut, fresh bread and spice, the mark of a barrel-aged base wine and long time on the lees. The palate is fresh yet broad and dry, with a long finish.

Pairs with

• Grilled sweetbreads (mollejas) with lemon
• Beef carpaccio or steak tartare
• Oysters and shellfish
• Aged hard cheeses
• Mushroom risotto

Where it comes from

Luján de Cuyo, just south of Mendoza city, is the historic heart of Argentine winemaking, and Agrelo is one of its higher districts, with vineyards around 1,000 metres above sea level in the Andean foothills. In this dry, desert climate, elevation brings cool nights that help grapes keep their acidity, which matters for sparkling wine. Mendoza is known above all for Malbec, but Bodega Caelum takes hand-picked Chardonnay from vines planted in 2009 and turns it into a bottle-fermented sparkler. The name Eclat is French for brilliance or burst. The base wine spends a year in French oak, then undergoes its second fermentation in bottle and rests at least four years on the lees. With 6 g/l of sugar it falls into the extra brut category, and only about 2,000 bottles are made each year.

Chardonnay base wine aged 12 months in French oak, second fermentation in bottle (traditional method), at least 48 months on the lees, riddled in pupitres and disgorged with expedition liqueur; 6 g/l total sugar.

Serving

Serve at 10–11 °C in a tulip-shaped white wine glass, which shows the toasty, nutty aromas better than a narrow flute.

Technical sheet

From the winery Caelum

A family estate in Agrelo that spent a decade growing grapes before it started bottling its own wine.

About the winery →