Brochet Zero Non Alcoholic Sauvignon Blanc Review
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We’ve written about two other non-alcoholic sauvignon blancs, one from a larger winery and another one from a start-up, and the overall consensus is that it’s possible to maintain what we love about sauvignon blanc in a dealcoholized version. The Brochet Zero Sauvignon Blanc is new to Canada, from Soft Crush importers, and it’s a perfect juicy bottle of non-alcoholic white to match your oysters, salty cheese and other elevated fare.
A sauvignon blanc is a varietal that originated in the Loire valley in France. The name comes from two french words sauvage and vigne meaning ‘wild vine’. It’s now a leading varietal in all wine regions around the globe, due to its popularity among the ABC crowd (anything but chardonnay).
People either love or hate Sauvignon Blanc. If you’re not familiar with how to describe a Sauvignon Blanc, it’s a varietal high in acidity with hallmark fresh cut “grass” or “straw” notes. There are often elements of grapefruit and mineral that balance out the herbaceous taste. Tasting a Sauv Blanc next to a Chardonnay can almost be disgusting, as the two varietals are on the opposite ends of the flavour spectrum. Since it’s such a light wine, it’s a challenge to dealcoholize and keep the flavours intact.
The Brochet Zero is an enigma of a white wine, that keeps you coming back for more.
On the nose, it’s unbelievably pungent with the familiar Loire Valley aromas of fresh grass, gooseberry and passion fruit. Quite a surprise, as other non-alcoholic sauvignons thus far have been a much milder olfactory experience.
On the palette, Brochet has a very juicy kiss. There is a tart citrus note of gooseberry, balanced nicely with very ripe fruit - indecisive on whether it's peach or passion fruit. There is a very nice acidity to this glass, which gives it a pop on your palette and then leaves a nice lemony punch at the end. This makes it a perfect wine to pair with salty cheese and anything that pairs well with citrus.
This isn’t as dry a wine as you might expect from a Loire Sauv Blanc, however, no points taken off since this is extremely hard to do with a dealcoholized sauvignon blanc.
For a non-alcoholic wine, Brochet Zero is very low in sugar at 1.8g per 100 ml. This is probably the lowest sugar rating on any bottle of non-alcoholic wine in Canada, so although it tastes juicy, the sweetness is deceiving as it's not from sugar.
Overall, this non-alcoholic wine will surprise you at every turn, and is somewhat of an enigma. For some, it’s going to be a wine you’ll kick your shoes off and curl up on the couch with but if you aren’t a fan of juicy whites you may not like this.
Available through Dry Variety Drinks ($19.99) and Upside Drinks ($18.99).
