Our Annual Champagne Tasting: My bottle. The first flight of the tasting was brut nature, and this was the first wine of the tasting. While I applaud many extra brut wines and holistic farming, I have a disinclination to the extreme (no sulfur, zero dosage, etc). Some wines challenge that disposition. This wine was really beautiful. A full bodied Bdb, complex with a very long finish. Unusual cepage of 60% Chardonnay, 35% Pinot Blanc and 5% Arbanne, aged in amphora. For me, non-dosed wines show best young, and close to cellar temperature.
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Dinner at Sushi Sato: Pnp. Intense aromas of lemon and chalk, lots of stuffing on the palate, structured and a hint of sweetness. Racy acid with long finish. Needs a lot more time to let the flavors develop.
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Champagne Bookclub (served blind)--Me (Giana in Dana Point): Served blind, composed of a flight with the other amohora cuvee from 2018, the Blanc de Noir. For context, both wines are made in sandstone amphora, this was the first vintage too that Dominique bottled these two wines from this new elevage approach. For contrast, the BdB is a blend, made up of 60% Chard, 35% Pinot Blanc and 5% Arbanne, so it's pretty close in composition to the existing cuvee she makes called Presence. As for the BdN, it's 100% Pinot Noir. Both are bio farmed, no dose, disgorged March 2021. With the BdB, I found the wine to be zesty, with green and yellow apple, along with citrusy tangerine. I would have dug being able to taste the wine again today but none was left. As for the BdN, it reminded me some of the existing flavors and presentation of Efflorescence. Black cherry, really good concentration, with some tangy blackberry and good tension. With air, and allowing the wine to shed the chill, it relaxed and deepened. I preferred the BdN too.
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Tasting with Dominique Moreau of Marie Courtin (Polisot (in the Aube)): Disgorged June 2021. No dose, this is 70% Chard and 30% Pinot Blanc, so think of this as Presence (the same composition) but this is done in amphora. And, there is a tiny bit of sulfur added here, but Presence is sans soufre so there are a few distinctions. This needs air, as the saline and pear are quite powerful, what Dominique calls a 'vertical' wine. The power is front to back, still tight but I did notice this changing in the glass as it warmed and breathed out. My note here is qualified as just information, as I didn't get to taste the wine with more air.
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12/23/2023 - WST Likes this wine:
Our Annual Champagne Tasting: My bottle. The first flight of the tasting was brut nature, and this was the first wine of the tasting. While I applaud many extra brut wines and holistic farming, I have a disinclination to the extreme (no sulfur, zero dosage, etc). Some wines challenge that disposition. This wine was really beautiful. A full bodied Bdb, complex with a very long finish. Unusual cepage of 60% Chardonnay, 35% Pinot Blanc and 5% Arbanne, aged in amphora. For me, non-dosed wines show best young, and close to cellar temperature.
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8/6/2023 - Burgundy Al wrote: 91 Points
Weekend in Michigan with Wine; 8/5/2023-8/6/2023 (Asian Spice House - Buchanan MI): I haven't often been a big Marie Courtin fan, but today's bottle was a great success. Big and bold and yes, slightly more Extra Brut than I'd consider ideal, but so much depth and fresh fruit with enough ripeness and flesh. Very good now.
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3/3/2023 - astroman wrote: 93 Points
Dinner at Sushi Sato: Pnp. Intense aromas of lemon and chalk, lots of stuffing on the palate, structured and a hint of sweetness. Racy acid with long finish. Needs a lot more time to let the flavors develop.
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3/2/2023 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Champagne Bookclub (served blind)--Me (Giana in Dana Point): Served blind, composed of a flight with the other amohora cuvee from 2018, the Blanc de Noir. For context, both wines are made in sandstone amphora, this was the first vintage too that Dominique bottled these two wines from this new elevage approach. For contrast, the BdB is a blend, made up of 60% Chard, 35% Pinot Blanc and 5% Arbanne, so it's pretty close in composition to the existing cuvee she makes called Presence. As for the BdN, it's 100% Pinot Noir. Both are bio farmed, no dose, disgorged March 2021. With the BdB, I found the wine to be zesty, with green and yellow apple, along with citrusy tangerine. I would have dug being able to taste the wine again today but none was left. As for the BdN, it reminded me some of the existing flavors and presentation of Efflorescence. Black cherry, really good concentration, with some tangy blackberry and good tension. With air, and allowing the wine to shed the chill, it relaxed and deepened. I preferred the BdN too.
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5/23/2022 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Tasting with Dominique Moreau of Marie Courtin (Polisot (in the Aube)): Disgorged June 2021. No dose, this is 70% Chard and 30% Pinot Blanc, so think of this as Presence (the same composition) but this is done in amphora. And, there is a tiny bit of sulfur added here, but Presence is sans soufre so there are a few distinctions. This needs air, as the saline and pear are quite powerful, what Dominique calls a 'vertical' wine. The power is front to back, still tight but I did notice this changing in the glass as it warmed and breathed out. My note here is qualified as just information, as I didn't get to taste the wine with more air.
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