A Visit From Françoise Antech

If you’ve been following our social media, you might have noticed that one of our favorite women winemakers from France was out last week visiting California. Françoise Antech, the sixth-generation winemaker from her eponymous estate, was on a quick tour of California and managed to stop in all of our stores, holding three staff tastings and two public tastings. Her incredible energy and enthusiasm was absolutely infectious, and her knowledge and stories were a highlight of the week.

Antech, located in Limoux, has been making sparkling wines in the south of France for over a century. With a unique matrilineal heritage, the estate has been handed down through all the women in the family (except for Françoise’s father who unfortunately had no sisters). Françoise started working in the winery with her father and uncle in 1996 and has since then taken over the operations. She is fiercely dedicated to authentic winemaking, incorporating both the traditions of the estate as well as modern practices.

For the tasting, she opened four bottles: the Blanquette de Limoux Brut Nature, 2017 “Cuvée Eugenie” Cremant de Limoux, a magnum of the 2016 “Cuvée Eugenie” Cremant de Limoux and the Antech “Emotion” Crémant de Limoux. In a country that is home to the great Champagnes, it is easy to forget sparkling wines from any other region. But if you do, you are greatly missing out. These are delicious wines that offer great value for the quality they deliver.

Antech Blanquette de Limoux Brut Nature

This traditional Limoux sparkler is based on its regional grape with 90% Mauzac, 5% Chenin Blanc and 5% Chardonnay. Francoise is particularly proud of her Mauzac, which only grows in the south of France. Its high acidity is extremely well suited for sparkling wine, and with an early harvest with low brix, she creates an elegant, refreshing bubbly. To further express the purity of the fruit and maintain that crisp, clean palate, the wine is made with no dosage. The result is a bright, bone-dry sparkling wine with flavors of green apple and citrus.

2016 Antech "Emotion" Cremant de Limoux Brut Rosé

When tasting this sparkling wine, the word that kept coming to mind was “pretty.” The bottle’s presentation and the wine’s beautiful pink hue make a great early impression. Pop the cork and the light, delicate palate, fine red fruit flavors and lifted citrus notes are equally as lovely. The blend is Chardonnay, Chennin Blanc, Pinot Noir and Mauzac. This is definitely a party-pleasing wine if there ever was one.

2017 Antech "Cuvée Eugenie" Cremant de Limoux & 2016 Antech “Cuvee Eugenie” Cremant de Limoux

We were able to try two vintages of the “Cuvée Eugenie,” and I don’t know what was better - tasting the wine or hearing the stories behind it. The Crémant gets its name from Françoise’s great aunt, who was instrumental in developing the Antech wines. Losing a fiancé in the first World War, she never married and instead dedicated her time to winery. She lived to be 96 years old, and Françoise, who remembers her fondly, chose to name their flagship sparkling wine in her honor. The blend is 70% Chardonnay, 20% Chenin Blanc and 10% Mauzac. The nose shows beautiful exotic fruits and fragrant acacia aromas, followed by a lovely, balanced palate filled with grapefruit and citrus. This is by far one of the best sparkling wines you can find for the price at under $15 a bottle. The 2016 magnum gave just a little something extra, as you might expect from an additional year in bottle and a larger format. Lovely and smooth, this magnum makes a perfect sparkler for the holiday table, or frankly any day. “Life is too short,” Françoise pointed out. “Everyday, you need to wake up in the morning and find a good reason to open a bottle that night!” I couldn’t agree more!

-Megan Greene