Belgium’s Domaine Mont des Anges recently won gold at the 2024 Concours Mondial de Bruxelles for its Blanc de Blancs 2021. This 100% Chardonnay sparkling wine captures the flinty terroir of Spiennes, offering vibrant, citrusy freshness ideal for pairing with seafood, creamy cheese, or desserts.
The result is a vibrant wine with crisp, fruity flavors enhanced by hints of lemon. It’s the perfect late-summer sparkling wine, as enjoyable with seafood as it is with creamy goat cheese or an ice cream dessert.
The sparkling wines from the Belgian winery Domaine Mont des Anges have once again been recognized for their exceptional quality. This past July, the Blanc de Blancs 2021 took home a gold medal at the 2024 Concours Mondial de Bruxelles held in Sardinia. This cuvée from Domaine Mont des Anges is made entirely from Chardonnay grapes grown on a flinty clay soil plot in Spiennes, in the province of Hainaut. This sparkling wine is the pure expression of its terroir, capturing the delicacy and energy of the grapes while delivering the chalky freshness and liveliness of flint. The result is a vibrant wine with crisp, fruity flavors enhanced by hints of lemon. It’s the perfect late-summer sparkling wine, as enjoyable with seafood as it is with creamy goat cheese or an ice cream dessert.
The sparkling wine Blanc de Blancs 2021 is made from 100% Chardonnay, blending the fleshy freshness of the grapes with a unique terroir. The grapes are grown on the “Les Silex” plot in Spiennes, featuring flinty clay soil dating back to the Neolithic period.
The vinification process for the Blanc de Blancs 2021 is minimally interventionist. During its precise vinification, the wine benefits from micro-oxygenation in the barrel. For this cuvée, barrels previously used for white Burgundy wines from Beaune were chosen, allowing the wine to breathe aromatically and concentrate its freshness. The wine matures fully on its lees until bottling, producing a light, lively foam with delicate bubbles upon pouring.
This sparkling wine shines a deep lemon-yellow with a bright golden glint, adding depth and intensity. On the nose, it opens dynamically, with lemon and chalk aromas enhanced by subtle notes of toast and roasted hazelnut. After aeration, fresh, delicate scents emerge, reminiscent of acacia, cloves, pear, verbena, Vichy mint, daisy, fresh bread, meringue, and green apple. The first taste is pure and lively, with a creamy effervescence and a crisp, fruity texture accentuated by a tonic, lemony acidity. The palate reveals balance and a clear expression of the grape pulp and chalk, leading to a vibrant, creamy finish with a citrus freshness, a touch of salinity, and a fine chalky texture.
For best enjoyment, serve Mont des Anges Blanc de Blancs 2021 at 9°C in a slender glass with gentle curves. This sparkling wine pairs excellently with oysters, scallop carpaccio, sea bream tartare, prawns, mussels, and crab with citrus and saffron cream sauce, as well as sole and grilled turbot. It also complements soft goat cheese or a lemon parfait beautifully.
