Last Sunday Tasting of the Year-Champagne!!

• NV Champagne Suenen Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  Yellow, minimal sparkle. Attractive nose of biscuit and flowers. Medium weight. Dry, toasty, some caramel, moderate acidity. First experience with this house, very nice straight ahead wine.

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• NV Pierre Péters Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Cuvée de Réserve

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  Light yellow, very frothy. Bright, lemony nose. Lighter weight, excellent sense of stone and dry citrus. Long and classic BdB. This never seems to disappoint (except for the price creep, that is).

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• 2006 Huré Frères Champagne L'Inattendue Blanc de Blancs

  France, Champagne

  Full yellow. Completely different aromatics than the Peters-this is yeasty, nutty, and quite oxidative in style. Medium weight, some vanilla. Good acidity, low dosage, little fruit, very woody finish. This struck me as dull and unexciting.

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• 2008 Veuve Fourny & Fils Champagne Premier Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs Millésime

  France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

  Palest color of the bunch today. Fine mousse. Delicious nose of fresh cut flowers and citrus. Light weight, really elegant Blanc de Blancs feel. Tart citrus and herbs with a good dusting of rockiness and a long, dry finish. This is a beauty.

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• NV Paul Bara Champagne Grand Cru Brut Réserve

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  Full yellow, not too lively in the glass. Strong scent of ginger. Full bodied (in sharp contrast to the Fourny before it). Some wood present. Tart red fruit, soil filled, tannic finish. Long, serious, and dry, but by my recollection, I think I prefer the flavors of Bara's rose.

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• NV Edmond Barnaut Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Noirs

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  Medium color, quite lively bubbles. Unfortunately, sulfurs mutes the aromatics. Big, round wine with an oaky base. Moderately sweet, harmonious and long with a strongly stony finish. Very rich, spicy finish. Obviously a lot of wine here if the sulfur ultimately dissipates.

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• NV J. Lassalle Champagne Premier Cru Brut Chigny-lès-Roses

  France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

  Very faint pink atop amber color. Moderately active mousse. Pure strawberry aromas. Light weight, great minerality. Very beautiful and delicate with a sharply etched, very clean, dry finish. Absolutely lovely and probably on balance, my favorite wine of this excellent flight.

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What a great way to ring out the year! A distinctive group of reasonably priced Champagnes, including a few growers with whom I've had little or no experience. The Veuve Fourny Blanc de Blancs and Lassalle rose were particular standouts and great values. The Pierre Peters cuvee is a model of consistency.