NV Terres Secretes Cremant de Bourgogne Brut Rose 750 ml

Pink Burgundy Bubbly—a Dead-Ringer For Champagne

Delivering the delicate, red berry pleasures of rosé Champagne at a fraction of the price, the Terres Secrètes Brut Rosé is an exemplar of Crémant de Bourgogne at its finest. It’s a stellar bubbly that will leave you thrilled, and make your holiday guests swear that you broke the bank to keep the great Champagne flowing. With pedigree rooted in the chalky and clay-based soils of Burgundy’s Mâconnais region, this bright, over-delivering bubbly is the perfect Champagne look-alike to pack away by the case. Here’s why.

Crémant is produced in eight French regions, but none come as close to Champagne as the Burgundian bottlings, which usually contain the same grape varieties as those of sparkling wine’s most hallowed region. A blend of nine different vintages, Terres Secrètes consists of 80% structured Pinot Noir and 20% crisp, bracing Chardonnay, boasting beautiful complexity from two full years in the bottle on the lees. $19.99 on cases with shipping included on just 6.

No matter how much you are willing to shell out for a bottle, every sparkling wine drinker should be well-versed in Crémant, the traditional-method sparkling wine authorized in only eight French regions. Crémant must be made via the labor-intensive méthode traditionnelle, governed by the same kind of vinification and élevage standards that guard Champagne’s quality. Although these regulations are slightly relaxed—Crémant requires only nine months aging on the lees, while Champagne demands 12-15, for example—the Crémant category represents the elite of France’s non-Champagne sparklers.

Of the eight regions where Crémant is produced, Crémant de Bourgogne most resembles the classic Pinot and Chardonnay blends that define Champagne. Terre Secrètes is grown in the Mâcon, the southern Burgundy zone long known for producing some of the best value wines in the region, and they have cut no corners with their Brut Rosé. Two years of aging on the lees—well-exceeding Champagne’s lofty standards—imbued this bright, red-fruited bubbly with a silky, weighty texture and extremely fine mousse. A generous, delightful dead-ringer for rosé Champagne, Terres Secrètes deserves plenty of space in your cellar—or better yet, your fridge.