Le Guide Hachette is somewhat of a bible as far as French wines go and quite similar to the Michelin Guide concerning restaurants.  Winemakers, merchants and connoisseurs all await its annual arrival. It’s an independent and impartial, region-by-region guide to the leading wines of France, compiled by a huge team of wine experts. There’s also an extra award called the ‘coups de coeur’ which is the highest honor and refers to wines the tasters fell in love with at first sip and typically best in the category.  In the 2012 Guide, Louis Picamelot received the Coups de Coeur for their Cuvee Jeanne Thomas Cremant de Bourgogne…”An obvious reference in Burgundy, born in 1927, estate Louis Picamelot gained an international reputation, thanks to its intuition which lead to the purchase of the “Clos du Chaigne” vineyard or to the investment in the metamorphosis of an old stone house into a modern winery…thanks also to its media operations like its Bourgogne Mousseux shipped with Paul-Emile Victor’s expedition to the Antartic…but all the most thanks to its wines of quality like this Cuvee Jeanne Thomas. A high range cuvee with a scintillating old gold color, the fine rise of bubbles seems to celebrate the generosity of Rully’s terroirs. Issued from Chardonnay (68%) and Aligote (32%) harvested in small crates, this wine blends the minerality of the terroir to a sweetness of rare elegance.  Fresh white flower aromas and flavors of stone fruits provide a full attack on the palate followed by a clear and well-balanced mouth and with a vivid finish…a Cremant for gastronomy for sure.”