Blind. Clean and refreshing. Lime/lemon zest, a bit of stem on the finish. On revisit, as it got warmer, I got something like orange curd. Really well done for 0 dosage BdB.
Blind. Disg. 2016. Nice thick mousse. Red apple, pastry mid-palate, nice lemon zest and acidity on finish. I wasn't getting the "signature" tangerine note on this bottle, so didn't spot it as Vilmart. Perhaps more air or warmer temp would have revealed it? Texturally came across as denser than the other sparklings that night. Showing well at the moment, but will likely improve a bit with age.
Blind. I thought this was a non-champagne and thought it was cheerful. It doesn't have the length/depth of a Champagne, but all parts of this cremant are well done. It went well with Indian food. My apologies in advance for the weird note. I am not quite sure what to make of my handwritten scribblings I took the day of: "smells like Trevi fountain spray" (???), "chalk," "green pear," "no brioche," "wink" "orchard" (my handwriting on this one is evidently illegible).
Brought this to the tasting, so not blind to me. I visited Hermann J Wiemer a few years ago and thought their offerings were nice. Not much on the nose. Very juicy apple, very fruity sweet lemon-ish, cheerful type of sparkling wine. I liked it, thought it went well with the Indian food, and it brought back nice memories.
It does lack the bready notes one typically gets from Champagne. Finished it two days after opening and it lost a lot of its fruit &vibrancy, so I would plan on finishing this the night of opening.
80% Chard, 20% PN, from 5 plots in Oeuilly, all on "lutetienne" (aka Parisian) limestone. Spont. fermented for 6 mo, no malo, bottled May 2006 w/ 0 dosage. Brought this bottle to the tasting, so it wasn't blind to me. Loads of brioche, obviously aged. Lemon, green apple, some gentle spice (maybe nutmeg? hard to place) and a hint of toasted almond. Finish isn't very long. To be honest, my impression the night of is that it lacked complexity for the amount of time it spent on the lees.
Finished the bottle two days later, and it seemed to have more brioch-y nutty notes. I stand by my assessment that this is on the less complex side, but the price point is reasonable for such aging. While it is not falling apart (like some other champagnes I have had recently), there doesn't seem to be a lot of upside in keeping it.
Blind. Oh goodness. This smelled strange - herbal with a medicinal note. It also tasted strange - funky and a bit harsh. Lots of acidity. I literally had no words for this, but then settled on pineapple skin (with spikes). Air did not seem to help. Perhaps an off bottle? It's unsulphured.
Blind. Would never have guessed Marguet since the last few Marguets (different bottlings) I tasted had a lot more oak treatment.
Something like pencil shavings on the nose. Yellow raspberries, yellow apples, an a saline note. Some maturity coming across, but this has aged gracefully. Nice acidity and overall balance.
2016 Larmandier-Bernier Champagne Premier Cru Terre de Vertus
France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
Blind. Clean and refreshing. Lime/lemon zest, a bit of stem on the finish. On revisit, as it got warmer, I got something like orange curd. Really well done for 0 dosage BdB.
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2012 Vilmart & Cie Champagne Premier Cru Grand Cellier d'Or
France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
Blind. Disg. 2016. Nice thick mousse. Red apple, pastry mid-palate, nice lemon zest and acidity on finish. I wasn't getting the "signature" tangerine note on this bottle, so didn't spot it as Vilmart. Perhaps more air or warmer temp would have revealed it? Texturally came across as denser than the other sparklings that night. Showing well at the moment, but will likely improve a bit with age.
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NV Alexandre Filaine Champagne Cuvée Spéciale
France, Champagne
Blind. A bit of flint on the nose. Very juicy apple, a tad of wood, lively lemon zest (maybe a bit of pith too) on the finish. Liked this.
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NV Domaine Pêcheur Crémant du Jura
France, Jura, Crémant du Jura
Blind. I thought this was a non-champagne and thought it was cheerful. It doesn't have the length/depth of a Champagne, but all parts of this cremant are well done. It went well with Indian food.
My apologies in advance for the weird note. I am not quite sure what to make of my handwritten scribblings I took the day of: "smells like Trevi fountain spray" (???), "chalk," "green pear," "no brioche," "wink" "orchard" (my handwriting on this one is evidently illegible).
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2018 Hermann J. Wiemer Cuvée Brut
USA, New York, Finger Lakes, Seneca Lake
Brought this to the tasting, so not blind to me. I visited Hermann J Wiemer a few years ago and thought their offerings were nice. Not much on the nose. Very juicy apple, very fruity sweet lemon-ish, cheerful type of sparkling wine. I liked it, thought it went well with the Indian food, and it brought back nice memories.
It does lack the bready notes one typically gets from Champagne. Finished it two days after opening and it lost a lot of its fruit &vibrancy, so I would plan on finishing this the night of opening.
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2005 Tarlant Champagne la Lutetienne Prestige Millesime
France, Champagne
80% Chard, 20% PN, from 5 plots in Oeuilly, all on "lutetienne" (aka Parisian) limestone. Spont. fermented for 6 mo, no malo, bottled May 2006 w/ 0 dosage.
Brought this bottle to the tasting, so it wasn't blind to me. Loads of brioche, obviously aged. Lemon, green apple, some gentle spice (maybe nutmeg? hard to place) and a hint of toasted almond. Finish isn't very long. To be honest, my impression the night of is that it lacked complexity for the amount of time it spent on the lees.
Finished the bottle two days later, and it seemed to have more brioch-y nutty notes. I stand by my assessment that this is on the less complex side, but the price point is reasonable for such aging. While it is not falling apart (like some other champagnes I have had recently), there doesn't seem to be a lot of upside in keeping it.
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2016 Marie Courtin Champagne Presence
France, Champagne
Blind. Oh goodness. This smelled strange - herbal with a medicinal note. It also tasted strange - funky and a bit harsh. Lots of acidity. I literally had no words for this, but then settled on pineapple skin (with spikes). Air did not seem to help. Perhaps an off bottle? It's unsulphured.
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2012 Marguet Champagne Grand Cru Les Crayères
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Blind. Would never have guessed Marguet since the last few Marguets (different bottlings) I tasted had a lot more oak treatment.
Something like pencil shavings on the nose. Yellow raspberries, yellow apples, an a saline note. Some maturity coming across, but this has aged gracefully. Nice acidity and overall balance.
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