Pale gold color; whiff of peach on light nose; peach, apple, raisin on the palate.
Excellent acidity, vigorous and persistent bubbles remind you this comes from world-famous Champagne maker. Clean, fresh, nice bite and zest on the finish. Blend of 40% chardonnay, 35% pinot noir and 25% pinot meunier gathered from more than 30 different vineyards; a 17.5g/l dosage and four years cellar aging yields a rich, round, creamy, smooth, slightly sweet experience.
City Lights is classified as “sec”, which in the complicated world of wine means relatively sweet (in sparkling wine, see below), although the acidity and bubbles balance the slight sweetness. Demi-sec in Champagne is even sweeter, and this is not demi-sec, it more is just sweet enough to be sec.
Just to mess with your mind, in still wines sec (it is the French word for “dry”) means it is not sweet and the still wine has little or no residual sugar after fermentation. In sparkling wines/Champagne, however, sec means it leans toward sweet. To review: “sec” is the French word for “dry” and in still wines, sec means that it is not sweet, but in sparkling wines sec means it is slightly sweet. It would not be wine or French if it was not occasionally contradictory and confusing.
It is virtually impossible to go wrong with Taittinger, and this certainly will please those who enjoy a touch of sweetness while avoiding being cloying sweet. $59
Taittinger website
Second photo: Taittinger château
