Have to agree with the others that the fruit is maturing slowly. Though this bottle did show lessening effervescence. Quite a bit in this particular bottle. Light notes of coffee and nougat hint at maturity on the nose. Same with the custard on the palate. Otherwise this is a moderately rich BdB in expression. Lovely purity of fruit given it's age. Wanting for more complexity maybe. Very nice.
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From magnum. Light straw color. Lemon and bread notes. Nice effervescence and complexity. Perfect celebratory bottle for Christmas eve with family. Plenty of life left; doesn't have that "mature champagne" taste yet despite the bottle age and 13+ years in the cellar.
Side note: not the best bottle in my cellar but possibly the prettiest. Gold leaf and fancy script. Fun to look at. I don't keep many empty bottles for display but I kept this one.
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Bought ten years ago. Craaaaazy! This is a Benjamin Button champagne - just seems to keep getting younger. Right now it's bracy and lemony and tastes like it could have been released yesterday.
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HDH auction tasting at Tru; 9/18/2015-9/19/2015: Bready, and slight apple cider notes. The palate features tons of tart green apple, with just a slight bit of biscuit. I love the acidity and verve on this -- so much energy! A fantastic eye-opening bottle. I should probably pick up some of this.
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Most excellent. Saved this magnum for a special event and opened it today for my grandson's bar mitzvah luncheon. Everyone enjoyed it and had many positive comments. Nice, crisp and citrus flavors dominated and mixed well with the effervescence. Still drinking well.
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From magnum on NY's eve 2013. Crisp, sharp and fairly acidic, not especially round or brioche but more citrus. Liked but did not love the wine, but for me, champagne impressions are especially linked to what sort of time I am having. I would characterize the wine as good but not great
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From magnum, and damn impressive - there's incredible freshness and clarity to the flavours, waves of piercingly bright citrus, pear and green apple fruit at first tinged with yeasty elements, and then it turns more chalky, doughy and savoury with a little air. There's great balance here, powerful acidity keeping it very vibrant and fresh and remarkable persistence. Fantastic.
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Dinner - bring a great bottle (Custom House Tavern - Chicago IL): I found this to be a powerfully rich Champagne that lacked the citrus and linear precision I want to taste in a Champagne this young. I've often been a fan of Dhondt NV, but this vintage Champagne from magnum just didn't work for me tonight at its price level. Others found it much more enjoyable than I did.
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Pretty nose with fresh floral rich notes and nice minerality. Palate is dominated by wall of round fruit, nicd length and creamy feel. Good density, but seems to be missing precision. Good wine, not to my style, a bit chunky.
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No formal note, but this bottles was light and focused with a great acidic snap and a firm, chalky texture. No sign of advanced age at all, I thought it seemed quite young, actually.
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Two or three people have posted that this Champagne has aged too fast and now tastes over the hill. I don't know what's going on with their bottles but that was definitely not the case with this one. Admittedly, this wine, which I bought four years ago, doesn't taste quite as bright and fresh as some of the later-released 2002s such as the Pierre Peters Chetillons, having developed more of a yellow-fruited complexion that bespeaks some development in the bottle, but it is certainly well within the usual spectrum of freshness and youthful exuberance for a Champagne of its age. In fact, it brightened up considerably in the glass as we drank it, with a flavor that had been knocking on the door of butterscotch reverting back to pure fruit. The first glass or so was all about the fruit and then it become more piercing and precise and started to emphasize its mineral side, packed with metal shavings as well as a heavy dusting of chalk which I also noted on my first taste of this back in 2007. The metallic thing and its very, very dry mouthfeel have a character not totally dissimilar to the Jean Milan Grande Reserve "1864," also from Oger, but the opulence of fruit in this one results in a package that's more sumptuous and much less austere. Otherwise this is still not showing much in the way of mature flavors so I would want to hold my other bottles another five years at least.
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I dont have detailed notes but I drank this wine based on the advancing nature of my last bottle. Well this bottle was much fresher, lighter, acidic and in short better. A really nice champagne but I think I liked these better young...
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Not as focused or racy as earlier bottles, but I like the development of the rich/round BdB flavors. What the wine has lost in terms of acidic precision it has gained in texture/depth of fruit. Worth checking back in on in a year's time.
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A really fine champagne that was actually more well rounded than I remember. Still has the toast on the front side, but seemed to show more structure and a bit of acidity to balance it out tonight. We opened a Krug MV after this though and while this was very good, the Krug just showed more class, balance and refinement overall.
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Wow! Explosive with powerful citrus, green apple and white fruited flavours framed by bright yeasty and freshly-baked bread notes, with time this really evolves as savoury truffle-like notes and a chalky minerality emerge beneath the fruit. There's tremendous balance and a sense of seamlessness and fantastic precision to the flavours with bright effervescence and intense acidity underneath, stunning wine (and I definitely need to look for more Champagne from this producer).
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the best thing about this wine is its ethereal texture, sheer and delicate, silky. it feels great in the mouth. the nose is alluring, with oxidative apples, and a chalky floral perfume. but this is not a complex wine at all, it is rather simple actually. does well on the straight forward deliciousness factor, but not a good value.
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So solid. Great length and true grip on the palate with a mouth-coating creaminess from the very fine beading. Tons of freshness. Great now but will surely last a while.
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Grower Champagnes with Duck (New York City, Peking Duck House): Really nice. My best of the evening. Nutty and citrus on the nose and palate. This was complex and I would have liked to contemplate a bottle of this across an evening. Again, very nice.
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This bubbly had way more body than I expected. Loads or toastiness with hints of butterscotch just lended to the complexity. Very concentrated flavors and great presence of a wine. I generally prefer more sharpness and acidity, but there is no denying how solid this bottle is. Amazing value really.
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Last bottle drunk of 10 on New Year's Eve. This one put us over the line so no tasting notes. I have a vague recollection that I was impressed with the first taste but I don't remember the rest of the glass.
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Needed some air to flesh out. Lots of chalk/minerality which I love in BdBs, so focused and racy. Nothing flabby about this Champagne, should reward cellaring. Hold remaining bottles.
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Wow -- what a great wine for the money. Very creamy with fine bubbles and great depth and length on the palate. Extended air brings out the crisp acidity and tightens up the palate a bit -- will likely be better in a few years I guess. Buying more.
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Obviously a very well-made Champagne but it's mostly just showing its potential today. The fact that it was better on day 2 seems to indicate that this will greatly benefit from a few more years in bottle.
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Tight nose to start. Great acidity and minerals on the palate to start, very lean character, bit tight. After and hour or so it started to gain weight and richness especially in the midpalate showing rich yet clean chardonnay, very nice. This is reminiscent of my last taste of this one and again tells me these need a few years to unwind. Will pay big rewards in 2-5 years and beyond.
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Wine Crawl 10: Sparkling Wines (San Francisco, CA): Best nose yet. Shy, but very complex. Piercing white fruits, fresh baked bread, crushed stone minerality. Wonderful stuff. My 1/3, group's 2/3. Tasted blind.
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A dynamic nose undulating between toast and butterscotch sets the tone for this energetic, nimble bubbly that shimmers in the mouth with Grand Cru elegance and remarkable tactility, helped along by a dusting of chalk and of course the bubbles themselves that give the wine a fine-grained texture almost like the tannins in a very fine, silky red wine. It is real tough to justify luxury-brand Champagne when this much character and class comes packaged for $50.
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A very feminine champagne. Rich, heady mousse. Exuberiant bubbles. Soft mouth with nice citrus and chalk elements. Long, clean finish. 2002 will not beat out 1996, but it should be better than 1998. Has the makings of a excellent wine. It just needs a bit more time.
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Immediately upon pouring, I knew that this champagne was something special. A bright golden hue filled with delicate strands of bubbles showcased a luxurious heady mousse that seemed brimming with texture and vibrancy. Intoxicating aromatics of baked fruit, yeast, and roasted nuts is nothing short of compelling. A round decadent palate of oven baked apple pie topped with toasted almond seemed to ball, focus, and remain concentrated well into the finish of the wine. The bubbles and firm acidity gave the wine structure and a depth into a lengthy finish of mineral, chalk, and vanilla nut. For an unfinished diamond (only a 2002 vintage and 5 years of age), this has the potential, in a decade, to be fit for a king.
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This champagne producer is so obscure it's not even listed in Juhlin's tome. The address is Oger and since it's a blancs de blancs, perhaps the fruit is all grand cru. For sure its a really elegant style of chardonnay dominated by light tones of grapefruit, lemon and a bit of chalk. Surprisingly large bubbles, but not too gassy considering its youth. K thought it was too slight, but I am encouraged to think it will fill out with time.
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3/1/2023 - skipwine wrote: 87 Points
Very slow to open and showing lots of age on the nose and palate. Not going to get any better.
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11/25/2021 - WetRock wrote:
Have to agree with the others that the fruit is maturing slowly. Though this bottle did show lessening effervescence. Quite a bit in this particular bottle. Light notes of coffee and nougat hint at maturity on the nose. Same with the custard on the palate. Otherwise this is a moderately rich BdB in expression. Lovely purity of fruit given it's age. Wanting for more complexity maybe. Very nice.
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12/24/2020 - Magnolian Likes this wine: 92 Points
From magnum. Light straw color. Lemon and bread notes. Nice effervescence and complexity. Perfect celebratory bottle for Christmas eve with family. Plenty of life left; doesn't have that "mature champagne" taste yet despite the bottle age and 13+ years in the cellar.
Side note: not the best bottle in my cellar but possibly the prettiest. Gold leaf and fancy script. Fun to look at. I don't keep many empty bottles for display but I kept this one.
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7/26/2017 - sdr wrote: 88 Points
Not very impressive although no flaws. A lemony champagne without much finesse or complexity.
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7/3/2017 - Keith Levenberg Likes this wine: 90 Points
Bought ten years ago. Craaaaazy! This is a Benjamin Button champagne - just seems to keep getting younger. Right now it's bracy and lemony and tastes like it could have been released yesterday.
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9/19/2015 - acyso wrote: 93 Points
HDH auction tasting at Tru; 9/18/2015-9/19/2015: Bready, and slight apple cider notes. The palate features tons of tart green apple, with just a slight bit of biscuit. I love the acidity and verve on this -- so much energy! A fantastic eye-opening bottle. I should probably pick up some of this.
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9/7/2013 - lkatz Likes this wine: 92 Points
Most excellent. Saved this magnum for a special event and opened it today for my grandson's bar mitzvah luncheon. Everyone enjoyed it and had many positive comments. Nice, crisp and citrus flavors dominated and mixed well with the effervescence. Still drinking well.
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1/8/2013 - Mr T wrote:
From magnum on NY's eve 2013. Crisp, sharp and fairly acidic, not especially round or brioche but more citrus. Liked but did not love the wine, but for me, champagne impressions are especially linked to what sort of time I am having. I would characterize the wine as good but not great
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5/27/2012 - salil wrote: 92 Points
From magnum, and damn impressive - there's incredible freshness and clarity to the flavours, waves of piercingly bright citrus, pear and green apple fruit at first tinged with yeasty elements, and then it turns more chalky, doughy and savoury with a little air. There's great balance here, powerful acidity keeping it very vibrant and fresh and remarkable persistence. Fantastic.
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8/11/2011 - Burgundy Al wrote: 88 Points
Dinner - bring a great bottle (Custom House Tavern - Chicago IL): I found this to be a powerfully rich Champagne that lacked the citrus and linear precision I want to taste in a Champagne this young. I've often been a fan of Dhondt NV, but this vintage Champagne from magnum just didn't work for me tonight at its price level. Others found it much more enjoyable than I did.
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8/11/2011 - KenK wrote: 89 Points
Pretty nose with fresh floral rich notes and nice minerality. Palate is dominated by wall of round fruit, nicd length and creamy feel. Good density, but seems to be missing precision. Good wine, not to my style, a bit chunky.
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5/15/2011 - jlm wrote:
No formal note, but this bottles was light and focused with a great acidic snap and a firm, chalky texture. No sign of advanced age at all, I thought it seemed quite young, actually.
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5/9/2011 - Keith Levenberg wrote: 93 Points
Two or three people have posted that this Champagne has aged too fast and now tastes over the hill. I don't know what's going on with their bottles but that was definitely not the case with this one. Admittedly, this wine, which I bought four years ago, doesn't taste quite as bright and fresh as some of the later-released 2002s such as the Pierre Peters Chetillons, having developed more of a yellow-fruited complexion that bespeaks some development in the bottle, but it is certainly well within the usual spectrum of freshness and youthful exuberance for a Champagne of its age. In fact, it brightened up considerably in the glass as we drank it, with a flavor that had been knocking on the door of butterscotch reverting back to pure fruit. The first glass or so was all about the fruit and then it become more piercing and precise and started to emphasize its mineral side, packed with metal shavings as well as a heavy dusting of chalk which I also noted on my first taste of this back in 2007. The metallic thing and its very, very dry mouthfeel have a character not totally dissimilar to the Jean Milan Grande Reserve "1864," also from Oger, but the opulence of fruit in this one results in a package that's more sumptuous and much less austere. Otherwise this is still not showing much in the way of mature flavors so I would want to hold my other bottles another five years at least.
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4/1/2011 - Ekoostik wrote: 91 Points
I dont have detailed notes but I drank this wine based on the advancing nature of my last bottle. Well this bottle was much fresher, lighter, acidic and in short better. A really nice champagne but I think I liked these better young...
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1/9/2011 - spacewrangler wrote: 92 Points
Not as focused or racy as earlier bottles, but I like the development of the rich/round BdB flavors. What the wine has lost in terms of acidic precision it has gained in texture/depth of fruit. Worth checking back in on in a year's time.
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1/2/2011 - Ekoostik wrote: 91 Points
A really fine champagne that was actually more well rounded than I remember. Still has the toast on the front side, but seemed to show more structure and a bit of acidity to balance it out tonight. We opened a Krug MV after this though and while this was very good, the Krug just showed more class, balance and refinement overall.
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11/13/2010 - indiscriminate palate wrote:
Berserkfest weekend (Very brief notes over sushi): Loads of autolytic elements - brioche, toast. Long finish of sour pear, some lime. Very good!
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11/13/2010 - salil wrote: 94 Points
Wow! Explosive with powerful citrus, green apple and white fruited flavours framed by bright yeasty and freshly-baked bread notes, with time this really evolves as savoury truffle-like notes and a chalky minerality emerge beneath the fruit. There's tremendous balance and a sense of seamlessness and fantastic precision to the flavours with bright effervescence and intense acidity underneath, stunning wine (and I definitely need to look for more Champagne from this producer).
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5/30/2010 - cellarid wrote: 92 Points
Solid. Famous wine Internet celebrity says this is Roulot with bubbles. I get that. Lieu dit tho.
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3/5/2010 - 1800kidney Likes this wine: 90 Points
Birthday Bash with Most of the Family and Close Friends (Chez nous, Napa Yacht Club): Traditional send-off for major birthday events! brut-style, with the expected finesse and suppleness of a blanc de blancs.
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9/9/2009 - brooklynguy wrote: 89 Points
the best thing about this wine is its ethereal texture, sheer and delicate, silky. it feels great in the mouth. the nose is alluring, with oxidative apples, and a chalky floral perfume. but this is not a complex wine at all, it is rather simple actually. does well on the straight forward deliciousness factor, but not a good value.
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9/5/2009 - cellarid wrote: 92 Points
So solid. Great length and true grip on the palate with a mouth-coating creaminess from the very fine beading. Tons of freshness. Great now but will surely last a while.
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9/2/2009 - LoireFan wrote: 92 Points
Quite nice and would purchase again. From magnum.
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7/7/2009 - Cheryl wrote:
Grower Champagnes with Duck (New York City, Peking Duck House): Really nice. My best of the evening. Nutty and citrus on the nose and palate. This was complex and I would have liked to contemplate a bottle of this across an evening. Again, very nice.
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3/5/2009 - Ekoostik wrote: 93 Points
This bubbly had way more body than I expected. Loads or toastiness with hints of butterscotch just lended to the complexity. Very concentrated flavors and great presence of a wine. I generally prefer more sharpness and acidity, but there is no denying how solid this bottle is. Amazing value really.
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2/18/2009 - 1800kidney wrote: 90 Points
Festive...very nice, not as dry as one might expect, but finess and suppleness of a blanc de blancs..
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12/31/2008 - lewrose@gmail.com wrote:
Last bottle drunk of 10 on New Year's Eve. This one put us over the line so no tasting notes. I have a vague recollection that I was impressed with the first taste but I don't remember the rest of the glass.
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8/9/2008 - spacewrangler wrote: 95 Points
Needed some air to flesh out. Lots of chalk/minerality which I love in BdBs, so focused and racy. Nothing flabby about this Champagne, should reward cellaring. Hold remaining bottles.
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6/29/2008 - cellarid wrote: 93 Points
Wow -- what a great wine for the money. Very creamy with fine bubbles and great depth and length on the palate. Extended air brings out the crisp acidity and tightens up the palate a bit -- will likely be better in a few years I guess. Buying more.
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12/26/2007 - JamesSanders wrote:
Cork seemed a little more compressed than might be expected of a 2002 and I hope this bottle was a little off. Seemed a little flat and tired.
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12/21/2007 - Pacherant wrote: 95 Points
Bloody delicious. Light, toasty, but not too much. A really elegant yet powerful champagne.
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12/15/2007 - 60ouvrees wrote:
Obviously a very well-made Champagne but it's mostly just showing its potential today. The fact that it was better on day 2 seems to indicate that this will greatly benefit from a few more years in bottle.
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12/10/2007 - Paul Lin wrote: 87 Points
Vintage Champagne (Grape Radio - Tustin, CA): A bit two dimensional right now. Nevertheless, a smooth and polished champagne with notes of Gala apple and straw. 87-88 points.
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12/10/2007 - WetRock wrote:
Tight nose to start. Great acidity and minerals on the palate to start, very lean character, bit tight. After and hour or so it started to gain weight and richness especially in the midpalate showing rich yet clean chardonnay, very nice. This is reminiscent of my last taste of this one and again tells me these need a few years to unwind. Will pay big rewards in 2-5 years and beyond.
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12/8/2007 - 5laton wrote:
Wine Crawl 10: Sparkling Wines (San Francisco, CA): Best nose yet. Shy, but very complex. Piercing white fruits, fresh baked bread, crushed stone minerality. Wonderful stuff. My 1/3, group's 2/3. Tasted blind.
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9/26/2007 - Keith Levenberg wrote: 93 Points
A dynamic nose undulating between toast and butterscotch sets the tone for this energetic, nimble bubbly that shimmers in the mouth with Grand Cru elegance and remarkable tactility, helped along by a dusting of chalk and of course the bubbles themselves that give the wine a fine-grained texture almost like the tannins in a very fine, silky red wine. It is real tough to justify luxury-brand Champagne when this much character and class comes packaged for $50.
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8/25/2007 - Paul Lin wrote: 90 Points
A very feminine champagne. Rich, heady mousse. Exuberiant bubbles. Soft mouth with nice citrus and chalk elements. Long, clean finish. 2002 will not beat out 1996, but it should be better than 1998. Has the makings of a excellent wine. It just needs a bit more time.
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6/4/2007 - Cavalry19D wrote:
Immediately upon pouring, I knew that this champagne was something special. A bright golden hue filled with delicate strands of bubbles showcased a luxurious heady mousse that seemed brimming with texture and vibrancy. Intoxicating aromatics of baked fruit, yeast, and roasted nuts is nothing short of compelling. A round decadent palate of oven baked apple pie topped with toasted almond seemed to ball, focus, and remain concentrated well into the finish of the wine. The bubbles and firm acidity gave the wine structure and a depth into a lengthy finish of mineral, chalk, and vanilla nut. For an unfinished diamond (only a 2002 vintage and 5 years of age), this has the potential, in a decade, to be fit for a king.
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3/9/2007 - sdr wrote: 90 Points
This champagne producer is so obscure it's not even listed in Juhlin's tome. The address is Oger and since it's a blancs de blancs, perhaps the fruit is all grand cru. For sure its a really elegant style of chardonnay dominated by light tones of grapefruit, lemon and a bit of chalk. Surprisingly large bubbles, but not too gassy considering its youth. K thought it was too slight, but I am encouraged to think it will fill out with time.
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