Small-house Champagne dinner

Aldo hooked us up with some oysters at Osteria Langhe for another great dinner.

• NV Chartogne-Taillet Champagne Cuvée Sainte Anne 90 Points

  France, Champagne

  Disgorged March 2015, and from Premier Cru, so apparently this wasn't pre-arrival for a very long time. Very bright acidity and very deep in flavour. Zippy. Dense and concentrated, with some lovely white fruit and good minerality. A tad bitter on the finish.

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• NV Françoise Bedel Champagne Dis, "Vin Secret" Brut 90 Points

  France, Champagne

  Disgorged October 2014. Funky and mushroomy, but with lots of sappiness and toasted brioche. The palate shows some apricot, as well as other concentrated fruit flavours. There's also some of the funkiness on the palate. Some golden apples and dried fruit on the finish.

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• 2007 Gaston Chiquet Champagne Special Club Brut 90 Points

  France, Champagne

  Beautiful yellow fruit on the nose. Very tight and showing lots of acidity and minerality. Not entirely open for business at this point, but this is still showing lots of electricity. I'd guess there's plenty of potential here.

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• NV Jean Vesselle Champagne Brut Réserve 90 Points

  France, Champagne

  This is likely an older disgorgement, though there wasn't a date on the label. Quite toasty, with rich golden fruit. The palate is a bit more bold, and this is quite acidic, despite the richer palate. Quite expansive -- this was showing very well tonight.

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• NV Dosnon Champagne Recolte Noire 93 Points

  France, Champagne

  Disgorged March 21, 2014; dosage of 7 g/L. Both the discovery and wine of the night. Super zippy and potent, this is focussed on the white end of the spectrum, with some Rainier cherry notes on the palate. I really liked the perfume on this wine.

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• NV Ployez-Jacquemart Champagne Extra Brut Rosé 90 Points

  France, Champagne

  This is a very tart and acid-driven rose, that shows a slight hint of cranberry on the nose. The palate is dominated by tons of acidity -- this is quite lean and bracing, and the cut here is really, really sharp.

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• NV Roger Pouillon et Fils Champagne Premier Cru Brut Rosé 85 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

  I have to say, coming off of the fantastic solera wine that Pouillon makes, I had high expectations for this bottle, but sadly, they weren't really met. Less aromatic and more closed than the Ployez rose. This is a pretty simple bottle of rose that doesn't quite have the same density and concentration on the palate. There's some richness on the nose, but that just doesn't carry through the rest of the wine.

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• NV Philippe Prié Champagne Cuvée Archange 90 Points

  France, Champagne

  This was quite a bold nose, and showing lots of white fruit and florals. The palate is quite elegant, with a bit of lightness, though it doesn't mask the richness. I actually picked up more of the chardonnay on this than pinot.

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• 2002 Maurice Vesselle Champagne Grand Cru Brut Millésimé 88 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  Quite liquorous. Rich and sappy with a slight bit of toast and fruit. Rich and relatively soft, but there's definitely ample acidity -- this is definitely not some sort of blob at all. Perhaps a bit fatter than I remember it being.

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