Timberlay Crémant de Bordeaux Brut: A Little Bordeaux Sparkle Without the Champagne Price
Bordeaux is hardly the first place that comes to mind when someone mentions French sparkling wine. Champagne steals the limelight, Alsace sells its Crémant with considerable success, and the Loire has a sparkling tradition of its own. Bordeaux, meanwhile, quietly produces some thoroughly enjoyable bottles that rarely receive much attention.
Timberlay Crémant de Bordeaux Brut is one of them. Pale gold, brisk and gently creamy, it offers fresh orchard fruit, a delicate floral perfume and a modest suggestion of brioche. The bubbles are lively, the acidity is refreshing, and there is enough softness on the palate to keep the wine from feeling thin or aggressively sharp.
At €15, it is a cheerful alternative to inexpensive Champagne, although its modest complexity makes it better suited to a lively aperitif than to serious contemplation.
The Basics
- Producer: Château Timberlay
- Wine: Crémant de Bordeaux Brut
- Vintage: Non-vintage (NV)
- Appellation: Crémant de Bordeaux AOC
- Region: Bordeaux, France
- Location: Saint-André-de-Cubzac, Gironde
- Grapes: 80% Sémillon, 20% Merlot
- Style: White Brut sparkling wine
- Production method: Traditional method, with secondary fermentation in bottle
- Alcohol: 12% ABV
- Bottle size: 750 ml
- Serving temperature: 6–8°C
The Estate and Its Bordeaux Roots
Château Timberlay stands in Saint-André-de-Cubzac, on the right bank of the Dordogne, north of Bordeaux. Its history reaches back to the fourteenth century, long before sparkling wine became part of the region’s modern commercial landscape.
The estate is better known for its still Bordeaux wines, but Crémant offers a rather different expression of the area’s vineyards.
Bordeaux’s oceanic climate is far removed from the severe continental winters of Champagne. Clay, limestone and sandy soils appear throughout the region, supporting the familiar Bordeaux varieties, including Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot.
For white Crémant, Sémillon is particularly important. In still wines, it can produce broad, textured whites with moderate acidity. In sparkling wine, its generous character helps soften the sharper edges of the bubbles.
Merlot is a more surprising presence in a white sparkling wine, but red grapes can produce white wine when the juice is separated promptly from the pigmented skins. Its inclusion gives the blend another dimension without turning the wine pink.
The appeal of Bordeaux Crémant lies partly in this freedom from the usual Champagne formula. Rather than automatically relying on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, producers can explore a different combination of grapes while employing the same fundamental bottle-fermentation technique.
How It’s Made
Timberlay is produced using the traditional method, with the second fermentation taking place inside the bottle.
The base wine is prepared first, then bottled with yeast and sugar to initiate another fermentation. Carbon dioxide becomes trapped in the wine, creating its bubbles.
During maturation, contact with the spent yeast can add texture and the familiar pastry-like notes associated with bottle-fermented sparkling wine.
The bottles are subsequently riddled and disgorged to remove the sediment, before the final dosage establishes the Brut style.
This is the essential distinction between Crémant and simpler tank-fermented sparkling wines: fermentation in bottle allows the bubbles and the wine’s texture to develop together.
The principle is shared with Champagne, although grape varieties, ageing decisions and vineyard conditions create very different results.
For an interesting comparison with another French traditional-method sparkling wine, consider Domaine J. Laurens’ Crémant de Limoux, which draws on a different southern French winemaking tradition.
Tasting Notes
Colour: Bright straw yellow with delicate golden reflections. A fine, persistent stream of bubbles rises through the glass, forming an attractive white mousse.
Bouquet: Fresh apple and pear emerge first, followed by white flowers, lemon peel and a discreet suggestion of freshly baked bread. The aromatic profile is open and inviting, with a touch of hazelnut adding warmth. There is no great mystery here, but the fruit is clear and the yeasty notes remain pleasantly restrained.
Palate: Lively, supple and refreshingly dry. The bubbles provide a cheerful, slightly creamy opening, while citrus acidity gives the wine an energetic backbone. Apple and pear dominate the middle palate, accompanied by a faint pastry note and a delicate bitter edge. It is an uncomplicated combination, but the texture has more substance than many inexpensive sparkling wines.
Finish: Clean, lightly citrusy and moderately persistent, with a hint of toasted bread and a gentle, mouthwatering bitterness. The bubbles fade smoothly rather than leaving a harsh carbonic bite.
Our Verdict
Timberlay Crémant de Bordeaux Brut is a charming, inexpensive sparkler with lively bubbles, agreeable fruit and just enough brioche character to make the traditional method worthwhile.
It lacks the mineral tension and depth of a serious Champagne, but demanding those qualities from a €15 bottle would be rather absurd. Its modest aromatic complexity is the principal limitation; its freshness and inviting texture are the reasons to buy it.
A cheerful Bordeaux Crémant that offers considerably more pleasure than prestige.
Price
€15.00 for a 750 ml bottle.
Food Pairings
Paella, vitello tonnato, chicken curry, pulled pork, empanadas.
