Published by Jeremy.
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Although most everyone knows Champagne for its delightful sparkling wine, many other regions around the world make equally delicious bottles in the same method.
In South Africa, these wines are called Cap Classique, and some producers make bottles that could easily rival their French counterparts. Graham Beck's Blanc de Blanc made entirely out of Chardonnay is one such bottle, and was one we were quite glad to try.
Classic Traditional Method Wine from Graham Beck
This Cap Classique from South Africa was deep lemon in color with medium aromas of lemon, lime, pear, cream, toast, almond, pineapple, and grapefruit.
On the palate, it was dry with high acidity, creamy mousse, medium alcohol, body, and finish, plus medium(+) flavor intensity. We had flavors of lemon, lime, pear, wet stone, nectarine, white blossom, toast, cream, pineapple, and almond.
This was a very nice traditional method sparkling wine, and while we would say that the aromas were perhaps a bit more complex on the lees notes compared to the palate, it came together for an all-around well made bottle of sparkling wine. For being about eight years old, this one was holding up nicely and just starting to show some signs of its age.
Sparkling Wine Food Pairing – Shanghai Sesame Noodles
We paired this one with Shanghai sesame noodles with a tahini-based sauce as we thought the lees notes in a sparkling wine could play off the rich notes of the tahini.
The pairing here brought out more tropical fruit notes like pineapple and grapefruit and also had a rather nice texture in pairing with the rich tahini and sesame flavors as well. The lees notes were more masked, which was fine, as these two notes made for a pretty good pairing.
Score: 3 / 5
We'd buy a glass of this one.
Overall, Graham Beck's Blanc de Blanc was a pretty pleasing bottle of traditional method sparkling wine. We always could go for more intensity on the lees notes, but given its age (eight years old) and slight tertiary character starting to develop, it was a pleaser all around. We'd always take a glass of this one.
Graham Beck is located at Scenic Cape Route, R60, in Robertson, South Africa. We purchased this bottle from Wine.com and enjoyed it in 2025..
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