Champagne

The friendly lady at Gallimard told me that only a handful of Les Riceys producers vinify their own wines; the rest send their juice in tankers to the big producers in Epernay etc, get bottles of finished blended Champagne in return, and stick their own labels on them. Apparently the low-profile Les Riceys region provides 24% of the juice for the Grandes Marques... Having been there at picking time, I can confirm that the road north was packed with trucks of grapes and pressed juice.

• NV Gallimard Père et Fils Champagne Cuvée Réserve Brut 86 Points

  France, Champagne

  (9/21/2010)

  Mainly from the 2007 vintage. Light entry, slender mid-palate, dry finish. Typical of the other Riceys pinot noir champagnes tasted on this visit - Hugh Johnson calls them "rustic", which is correct, but they are also a bit thin and lack verve, fruit or resonance. Pleasant though, and amazing value at 12,80 Euros au chai. 86P

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• NV Gallimard Père et Fils Champagne Cuvée Quintessence Vieillie en fût de chêne 87 Points

  France, Champagne

  (9/21/2010)

  Clear oak scent, not quite integrated with the pleasant toast and apple elements. Good juicy entry and a decent, if slightly watery finish, again with a bit of disembodied oak. This may come together nicely in about 1-2 years. Mainly from 2007 juice. 19,50 Euros au chai; gold medal winner Chardonnay du monde 2009. 87P

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• NV Gallimard Père et Fils Champagne Grande Réserve Chardonnay 88 Points

  France, Champagne

  (9/21/2010)

  Very slender, precise scent and entry of bone dry, apple-fruit Chardonnay. Pure, excellent length, medium finish. Great value at 14,50 Euros au chai. The best champagne tasted in Les Riceys (and untypically for the region, a Chardonnay). Made with fruit from the 2007 vintage. 88P

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2005 Gallimard Père et Fils Champagne Cuvée Prestige 84 Points

  France, Champagne

  (9/21/2010)

  Attractive toast /juicy pinot-led scent; alas the welcoming fruity entry vanishes after a few seconds into a watery hole. How come this tastes so thin? Clean but innocuous finish. 84P

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• NV Gallimard Père et Fils Champagne Brut Rosé 83 Points

  France, Champagne

  (9/21/2010)

  Short, non-descript, dry, watery rosé with little fruit or pinot character. Not faulty, just thin and unsatisfying. 83(?)

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2003 Marquis de Pomereuil Rosé des Riceys 82 Points

  France, Champagne, Rosé des Riceys

  (9/20/2010)

  Cloudy muddy pink, just like the other brands of Rosé des Riceys being drunk this evening by other confused diners in "Le Magny", an excellent, cheap and unpretentious hotel restaurant in Les Riceys. We could all have been drinking tasty local champagne, but quite a few of us had evidently been falsely advised by sadistic wine books that this wine is something special. Well, in a way it is. It smells and tastes like many an inferior red burgundy (but without the disgusting green dry tannins - duh, it is a Rosé). But if you like wines which taste of sour, unripe, stalky, pinot noir, smell vaguely of red fuits, and have a nasty sour finish, then this is just your ticket. Inexplicably, this very wine gets ** in the 2011 Hachette Guide, and a glowing description of lots of yummy scents and flavours, which I and my husband are prepared to swear under oath are entirely absent from this bottle, this evening. 82P, because we are on holiday, and are determined to accentuate the positive.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No

• 2002 Remy Massin & Fils Champagne Brut Millésimé 84 Points

  France, Champagne

  (9/21/2010)

  Pleasant but not expressive scent; thin palate lacking fruit and succulence, short and slightly sour finish. As this wine warmed up from the deep chilled temperature at which it was (wisely) served in a restaurant, it became increasingly obvious that the quality of the base wine was only modest. 84P

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• NV Guy Charlemagne Champagne Brut Nature 87 Points

  France, Champagne

  (9/23/2010)

  "Zero dosage". Mouth-watering white peach aroma; light, bone dry entry with an exemplary fine mousse, thin mid-palate, very disciplined, pure and restrained. Short, dry biscuity finish. Not my favourite style of Champagne, but very good. 87(+)

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• NV Guy Charlemagne Champagne Extra Brut 88 Points

  France, Champagne

  (9/22/2010)

  Slightly less expressive scent than the Brut nature, with an appealing brioche character (without yeastiness). This llight impression continues on to the linear palate, which is characterised by a very fine, persistent mousse, and delicate apple fruit. Great value at 16,10 Euros au chai. 88P(+)

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• NV Guy Charlemagne Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Réserve Brut 88 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  (9/22/2010)

  This bottle "mainly" made from 2007 fruit. Expressive, fruity chardonnay nose with no faulty notes, pleasant sour-dough edge. Fine persistent mousse, very pure, almost glacial quince mid-palate, short clean finish. A bargain at 18,30 Euros au chai. 88P(+)

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2005 Guy Charlemagne Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée Charlemagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 86 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  (9/22/2010)

  Strong yeasty - fresh sourdough bread - brioche scent. Not quite right, a bit like fermenting grape juce at a "bready" stage. Palate is however full, noble, with good ripe sweetness and a touch of star fruit. Shame about that off-note on the nose... 86P (?)

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2002 Guy Charlemagne Champagne Grand Cru Mesnillésime Vieilles Vignes Blanc de Blancs 90 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  (9/22/2010)

  Earthy brioche scent, delicious ripe apple fruit, medium finish. If this gains a little more complexity with ageing (which given the vintage, the impeccable pedigree of 100% Mesnil sur Oger juice and the reputation of the producer seems plausible) it might merit an even higher score. The pick of the Charlemagne wines tasted today. 31 Euros /75cl au chai. 90P(+)

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2005 Lamiable Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée Les Meslaines Brut 91 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  (9/22/2010)

  Initially clean, slender, reserved and rather dry on finish. As this wine warms up from fridge temperature, however, it gains depth, breadth and resonance, showing the very high instrinsic quality of the grape juice and its impeccable vinification. Excellent pinot noir, a fine achievement for the patchy 2005 vintage in Champagne, and stunning value at 19,90 Euros au chai. 91P
  
  The retail price of Lamiable's wines abroad seems unjustifiably steep to me (Les Meslaines, for example, costs 34,90 Euros retail in Germany. Assuming the importer gets a discount on his bulk purchase, this is a markup close to 100%. Within the EU, with modest transport costs and no import duties, that is one helluva big profit margin).

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• NV Lamiable Champagne Grand Cru Extra Brut 90 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  (9/23/2010)

  2/3 Pinot Noir, 1/3 Chardonnay. Generous, pure, elegantly fruited aroma, fine persistent mousse, lovely ripe red apple finish. A lot of flavour, a lot of class for 14,90 Euros au chai. 90P

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• NV Lamiable Champagne Grand Cru Brut 90 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  (9/22/2010)

  2/3 Pinot Noir, 1/3 Chardonnay - the same wine as the G.C. Extra Brut, but with a higher dosage. This bottle was disgorged 3 months before tasting, at Lamiable. At this stage the dosage still sticks out a little on the finish, but the rest of the scent/taste profile is fine - rounder, more reminiscent of soft fruits than the red apple characteristic of the Extra Brut. My guess is that this will be perfectly balanced after 1-2 years in the cellar. Great value at 14,90 Euros au chai (see my TN for Les Meslaines 2005 from 22.09.2010 for a comment on the pricing of Lamiable's wines abroad). (88-)90P

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2005 Lamiable Champagne Cuvée Spécial Club 88 Points

  France, Champagne

  (9/23/2010)

  2/3 Chardonnay, 1/3 Pinot Noir. Gentle, very fine mousse, brioche on nose, pure linear palate reminiscent of ripe apples, with no indication of sharpness. Medium-long finish. This went flat in the glass, but then I was whirling it around a lot. 23,20 Euros au chai. 88(-89)P

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No