Bubbles 2014

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Tasted Saturday, November 15, 2014 - Friday, December 19, 2014 by paul clark with 456 views

Introduction

We've had a lot of Champagne the past few weeks. It is an annual tradition in this house. I bought a few 6-packs of various wines three years ago and we open one bottle of each wine every year, making this the 4th bottle. It has been a tremendously interesting experience.

All of the wines are well made, I can recommend each for various reasons (and to various tastes). Personal favorites have been Selosse's Substance, Vilmart's Cellier d'Or 2006 and then a dog fight between Prevost, Lassaigne and Laval (the last two being far too young).

Flight 1 (7 Notes)

  • 2004 Dehours Champagne Extra Brut Côtes en Bosses

    France, Champagne

    (11/22/2014)

    Strong orange agrume. Almond with a tendency towards marzipan. Chicken broth. Very fresh, complete, tight on the palette. Very approachable and easy but great with food. After time it moves towards the chardonnay side. Cool butter, fresh nuts, round, rich. Very good. Hold for a few years, it's only going towards better places and on opening it is a little pinot meunier. That's not an insult, but it is to say that it's a shame to miss the chardonnay today.

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  • 2006 Vilmart & Cie Champagne Premier Cru Grand Cellier d'Or

    France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

    (11/29/2014)

    Classic truffles and buttery apples. Meursault with tension. Excellent. Unmistakably chardonnay. Went excellently with Trappe Échourgnac (a cheese finished with liquor made from chestnuts) and even better with brie aux truffes.

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  • NV Jacques Selosse Initial

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    (12/6/2014)

    Dégorgement in Aug 2009

    Toast, a lactic character, apple and a strong chalk note. A slightly smoky and black truffle note. The lactic, butter and cream note is predominate with the fruit and chalk aspects providing diversification. With time there is a strong note of nuts (walnuts) that evolves.

    Extremely good and well suited to an apéro. On the palate the wine is full but lithe, ripe but fresh. Extremely well made, classic and a nice counter point to the Substance last week which was a very different wine.

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  • 2002 Pierre Moncuit Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut Millésimé

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    (12/8/2014)

    Fresh apples, a bit one dimensional. Very young, taught. A few hours later it shows some diversity of character but little beyond a note of agrumes and a bit of salty caramel. Perfectly classic if not a little bit uninteresting.

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  • NV Jacques Lassaigne Champagne Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Le Cotet

    France, Champagne

    (12/19/2014)

    2008 dégorgement. Lemon, feve tonka, cumin. A subtle dose of lactic notes, butter. Paired perfectly with "flutes" (salty pastry with loads of butter). Chalky. Almost dusty on the palate. Incredibly young. Plays the line between classic and "bobo" very smartly.

    Not at all rich, rather tense and nervy wine. But with a lot of savory flavors.

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  • 2006 Georges Laval Champagne Premier Cru Brut Nature Les Chênes

    France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

    (12/14/2014)

    Lemon, chalk, cloves and a slight note of sweet yeast. Extremely youthful, ripe and fresh. A herbaceous note, cerfeuil.

    On the palate the wine is gourmand, full and well balanced by its acidity. Minerality of the wine is tense, almost tannic. The wine is broad and carries a smokey finish.

    Extremely complex even if it is tightly wound today. And terribly easy to drink...

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  • NV Jacques Selosse Substance

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    (12/13/2014)

    Dégorgement in Aug 2009

    Dried lemons and a salty sherry nuttiness are the primary notes. An undertone of lime with a light smokiness. Delicately truffled.

    This champagne is very atypical. There isn't any creaminess or lactic notes. It shares a lot in common with Chardonnays from the Jura, with agrumes being the primary note. Extremely good, marked by it's freshness coupled with profoundly rich characteristics.

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