Pongracz is a boutique range of premium South African sparkling wines produced by J C Leroux, the country’s leading specialist sparkling wine producer. This Desiderius is their premium wine.

What’s it like?

Pongracz Desiderius 2002 is truly world class. The 2001 was simply amazing winning a host of gold medals and trophies. The 2002 has only recently been released as it spends 87 months ageing on the lees before bottling. It’s a superb wine although still a little ‘green’. It’s very enjoyable already although I think it will really benefit from 6 months in bottle if you can wait that long. It’s far better than many Champagnes 3 or 4 times the price!

How much? Where from?

Pongracz Desiderius 2002 is extremely limited and only available from one or two retailers in the UK. www.goodwineonline.co.uk apparently have half the UK allocation where it is available at £16.99 which is a real bargain – you can’t even buy cheap Champagne at that price!