When arriving in Singapore we were treated to a bottle of sparkling wine by our friends. This having been a trip largely without quality wine we were excited to try some sparkling even though it was not something we normally would have bought. This was a New Zealand sparkling called Oyster Bay Brut Sparkling Cuvée and is made with the Charmat method on 100% Chardonnay grapes. For those who do not know the Charmat Method it involves the wine undergoing the secondary fermentation in stainless steel tanks instead of in individual bottles, and after that it is bottled under pressure. It is a method commonly used in Italy for making Prosecco and generally produces fruity and fresh wines. What is often missing for me is the toastines and brioche-like characteristics more commonly found in Champagnes and occasionally Cava. So it is both an unusual choice of country and method for us but we are happy to try new things.
Oyster Bay is probably more known for their Sauvignon Blancs at fairly modest prices for the quality than their sparkling wines but it was interesting to try it. They are a family owned company with a vision to became a premium wine maker and they make a full range of white, red and sparkling wines.
The color is light golden with persistent bubbles. A bit bubbly for my taste but not overly aggressive so nothing disturbing. The nose has hints of grapefruit and floral notes. On the palate it had clear flavour of crisp apple, zesty citrus but also creaminess and in the finish minerals.
For me it was a pleasant surprise (both coming from New Zealand and a sparkling made using the Charmat Method) and it works really well as an aperitif on a hot day or as a companion for some Asian food. It is however clearly a fairly basic cuvée so for me I was surprised when I saw the price in stores here in Singapore. At Cold Storage it was almost 70 SGD (and that was a special promotion, approximately €45). It is available in the UK for around £14 (approximately €19) and that is of course a lot less but for me it would have to be around €10 to be decent value for money. Quality rating it is a nice basic wine so a 2.5 but value for money in Singapore is 0 and if looking at the UK it would be a value for money rating of 2.
The Winecurious 
Oyster Bay is a decent and reasonably priced introduction to NZ Sparkling wine. There’s obviously a lot more bubbles coming out of New Zealand, with great examples including Pelorus by Cloudy Bay, or the various wines by #1 Family Estates. Cheers 🙂
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Thanks for the tip on Pelorus. Will be sure to try it if I find anywhere. Probably will not be reasonable priced here in Singapore but can hopefully find it elsewhere.
Have noted that the Charmat ,ethod seems popukar in NZ, do you know if there are any using the traditional/champagnemethod whe making sparkling?
Thanks for reading!
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The two wines mentionned before are Methode Trad I think 🙂
Pelorus around $60 at Crystal wines. Cheers
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You’re right, the ‘basic’ one has been aged two years in the bottle. Found the Blanc de Blancs at the government run alcohol monopoly back in Sweden for a far more decent price (approx. €24 SGD) so will try it when back home 🙂
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