The nose smells lean, giving forth aromas of mineral, oceanic saline, brioche, talc, and almonds. It enters the palate so softly, super fine and luxurious mousse with a persistent finish. The palate reveals brioche, honey and toasted almonds with a saline mineral finish. The nose is much more expressive than the palate at this juncture, but the texture of this wine is outstanding.
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Gorgeous and elegant like an old Baby Krug style champagne at it's peak at present. Nice yeasty toffee/carmel flavors wrapped around buttery apple and toasted nutty hint. Very evolved with long finish and good acidic cut carried 2ndary and tertiary levels that develop in glass and palate. Shared with WWS Pete & Heidi on Christmas Eve.
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Dinner with James Mead (Taste Paradise, Ion Orchard): Took awhile to get going when first poured, but when it did, it was really solid. Guessed it as a 1998 on the palate, but the yellow gold colour really suggested more age than the wine actually carried. Lovely nose also seemed rather developed. Just that slightly oxidative hint on the edges, so that flowery tones and sweetish apple fruit was paired with a white meat component, some slightly browning fruit and some yeasty, nutty notes. Very expressive, and really nice - this more or less just bloomed out of the glass on first pour. The palate was a little less "together" at first, but it slowly knitted together with time in the glass. It was really nice when it did. Consistent gentle beading gave the wine a nice velveteen texture, which framed lovely flavours of flowers, with some toffee nut, lots of Brands chicken essence, along with some sweet apples and rather fleshy cherry fruit, so that the wine from attack to mid-palate was all friendly and charming. Past that though, this just zoomed into lime and lemon territory, with a really dry, minerally finish. Respectably long here, and it blossomed with time in the glass to show a whole panoply of new flavours, with some white plums and kumquats nestling amongst the minerally notes. Very nice - lots of character on this wine. I thought it was starting to drink really nicely, with the acidity nicely integrated into the body of the wine and secondary flavours starting to emerge. However, one or two more years of bottle age certainly would have pushed it up a notch higher.
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No formal notes, but the nose on this was absolutely spectacular, with a certain nutty component. Definitely drinking beautifully today, but I imagine it will hold and still gain in complexity and elegance with time.
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Great stuff, full of bright white fruits overlaid with biscuit, nutty and creamy notes with a faint oxidative element. There's a rich, almost velvety texture to this that makes it very easy to drink, with nice acids and good effervescence still keeping it fresh and nicely balanced.
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clear, vibrant yellow/gold. Nose of toast and yeast, lemon-y and buttery. Paired wonderfully with terrine de foie gras and pont le vecque. Looking forward to a better 2010.
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Grower Champagnes at Todd's (Chateauneuf de Todd): Toast and biscuits on the nose. Clearly in the more oxidized style with nice complexity showing some notes of nuts and citrus. This is a couple steps up from the NV bottle though very similar in style.
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Very slightly corked - too bad. The nose is not quite as expressive, and a very slight mustiness on the palate just disappoints since I know how incredible it can be...
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The yeast on the nose is just insane, and it's about the most beautiful yeast you could imagine - not brewer's yeast, or the yeast you can smell in micro-brewed beer (yes, same thing, only one is in a finished product), but what I would imagine the perfect iteration of yeast would be - slightly sweet, slightly musky, and just rich as can be.
I found that this Champagne, like most, I would imagine, is rather closed up when cold. As it reaches near room temperature is when the nose blossoms. I sat there with my nose in the glass just inhaling its awesomeness.
Not at all disappointed in sipping it either, as it has beautiful crispness, and just the right amount of bubbles to keep it popping in your mouth. More of the beautiful yeast and some green apples or red apple skin come out clearly, and well balanced. No bitterness whatsoever, just seamless transition from one experience to the next, right up to the finish, which is of baked apples - seemingly combining the yeast and fruit into a spectacular dessert.
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4/7/2020 - christyler wrote:
Holding up at 22 but not at peak. Nice acidity, brassy and deep. Not bad, but also not that good.
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3/29/2014 - PDX-S wrote:
The nose smells lean, giving forth aromas of mineral, oceanic saline, brioche, talc, and almonds. It enters the palate so softly, super fine and luxurious mousse with a persistent finish. The palate reveals brioche, honey and toasted almonds with a saline mineral finish. The nose is much more expressive than the palate at this juncture, but the texture of this wine is outstanding.
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12/24/2012 - Vinomark wrote: 92 Points
Gorgeous and elegant like an old Baby Krug style champagne at it's peak at present. Nice yeasty toffee/carmel flavors wrapped around buttery apple and toasted nutty hint. Very evolved with long finish and good acidic cut carried 2ndary and tertiary levels that develop in glass and palate. Shared with WWS Pete & Heidi on Christmas Eve.
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9/17/2012 - BobJohnson1 wrote:
Golden color. Nose of butter cake. Fully mature. Really nice, but time to drink up.
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11/18/2010 - Paul S wrote: 92 Points
Dinner with James Mead (Taste Paradise, Ion Orchard): Took awhile to get going when first poured, but when it did, it was really solid. Guessed it as a 1998 on the palate, but the yellow gold colour really suggested more age than the wine actually carried. Lovely nose also seemed rather developed. Just that slightly oxidative hint on the edges, so that flowery tones and sweetish apple fruit was paired with a white meat component, some slightly browning fruit and some yeasty, nutty notes. Very expressive, and really nice - this more or less just bloomed out of the glass on first pour. The palate was a little less "together" at first, but it slowly knitted together with time in the glass. It was really nice when it did. Consistent gentle beading gave the wine a nice velveteen texture, which framed lovely flavours of flowers, with some toffee nut, lots of Brands chicken essence, along with some sweet apples and rather fleshy cherry fruit, so that the wine from attack to mid-palate was all friendly and charming. Past that though, this just zoomed into lime and lemon territory, with a really dry, minerally finish. Respectably long here, and it blossomed with time in the glass to show a whole panoply of new flavours, with some white plums and kumquats nestling amongst the minerally notes. Very nice - lots of character on this wine. I thought it was starting to drink really nicely, with the acidity nicely integrated into the body of the wine and secondary flavours starting to emerge. However, one or two more years of bottle age certainly would have pushed it up a notch higher.
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9/19/2010 - David Paris (dbp) wrote:
No formal notes, but the nose on this was absolutely spectacular, with a certain nutty component. Definitely drinking beautifully today, but I imagine it will hold and still gain in complexity and elegance with time.
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4/8/2010 - salil wrote: 92 Points
Great stuff, full of bright white fruits overlaid with biscuit, nutty and creamy notes with a faint oxidative element. There's a rich, almost velvety texture to this that makes it very easy to drink, with nice acids and good effervescence still keeping it fresh and nicely balanced.
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1/2/2010 - slogan wrote: 93 Points
clear, vibrant yellow/gold. Nose of toast and yeast, lemon-y and buttery. Paired wonderfully with terrine de foie gras and pont le vecque. Looking forward to a better 2010.
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6/13/2009 - WetRock wrote:
Grower Champagnes at Todd's (Chateauneuf de Todd): Toast and biscuits on the nose. Clearly in the more oxidized style with nice complexity showing some notes of nuts and citrus. This is a couple steps up from the NV bottle though very similar in style.
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2/28/2009 - Todd French wrote:
Very slightly corked - too bad. The nose is not quite as expressive, and a very slight mustiness on the palate just disappoints since I know how incredible it can be...
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2/15/2009 - Todd French wrote: 97 Points
The yeast on the nose is just insane, and it's about the most beautiful yeast you could imagine - not brewer's yeast, or the yeast you can smell in micro-brewed beer (yes, same thing, only one is in a finished product), but what I would imagine the perfect iteration of yeast would be - slightly sweet, slightly musky, and just rich as can be.
I found that this Champagne, like most, I would imagine, is rather closed up when cold. As it reaches near room temperature is when the nose blossoms. I sat there with my nose in the glass just inhaling its awesomeness.
Not at all disappointed in sipping it either, as it has beautiful crispness, and just the right amount of bubbles to keep it popping in your mouth. More of the beautiful yeast and some green apples or red apple skin come out clearly, and well balanced. No bitterness whatsoever, just seamless transition from one experience to the next, right up to the finish, which is of baked apples - seemingly combining the yeast and fruit into a spectacular dessert.
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1/2/2009 - Spencer wrote: 94 Points
This is fantastic now. Crisp, mineral, nutty, deep. Hard to put this wine down.
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12/31/2008 - slogan wrote: 94 Points
Had this with wonderful broiled lobster tails. Deep gold color, wonderful yeasty nose, marvelous wine. A great way to greet 2009.
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