# L’Écume VDF Sparkling (2022)

- **Producer:** Julien Altaber
- **Colour:** rosé
- **Type:** sparkling
- **Grapes:** Aligoté, Gamay
- **Region:** Burgundy, France
- **Style:** Natural
- **Alcohol:** 11.5%
- **Average price:** €24
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now
- **Serving temperature:** 6–10 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** strawberry, apple, grapefruit, peach, blossom, brioche, pastry, bread

## About this wine

Sextant is the micro-négociant project created in 2007 by Julien Altaber, a natural winemaking protégé of legendary Burgundy producer Dominique Derain. Based in Saint-Aubin and managed alongside Carole Schwab, the estate focuses on low-intervention expressions of Burgundian terroir. L’Écume, translating to 'the foam', is a vibrant Pétillant Naturel bottled under the Vin de France designation, combining organically farmed fruit grown on clay-limestone and granitic soils.

## Interesting facts

- Julien Altaber grew up in a dairy farming family before joining natural wine pioneer Dominique Derain in 2002.
- The name 'L’Écume' translates to 'the foam' or 'the froth', referencing its vibrant natural effervescence.
- Made via Méthode Ancestrale, where primary fermentation finishes in the bottle without dosage or added sulfites.

## Food pairing

The high acidity and gentle natural effervescence cut effortlessly through rich fats, making this sparkling rosé an ideal match for creamy cheeses, charcuterie, and delicate poultry dishes.

## Wine making process

Crafted using the traditional Méthode Ancestrale, this sparkling wine is made from direct-pressed Aligoté and Gamay grapes. Primary fermentation occurs spontaneously with indigenous yeasts in fiberglass tanks. The wine is bottled unfiltered and unfined while still fermenting at 15 g/L residual sugar, allowing carbonation to form naturally inside the bottle. Aged six months on lees with zero added sulfur dioxide.