Skurnik Tasting

Prince George Ballroom in NYC
Tasted Monday, October 21, 2019 by MC2 Wines with 400 views

Introduction

Unfortunately didn't take very detailed notes this night so these will all be more general impressions.

Flight 1 - Pehu-Simonet (6 Notes)

First time for me with this champagne and I must say I'm surprised we don't hear more about it (although was prob not the top of popularity as we picked this table mostly because there was room at it and it was serving champagne). Will be keeping an eye out now. Most of the wines very reasonable in price and the ones that are higher end seem to deserve the extra amount. A mostly delicate style of champagne. Very enjoyable.

Flight 2 - Chartogne-Taillet (4 Notes)

This has been one of my favorite small producers of champagne since we had the St Anne at a tasting earlier in the year. I was mostly excited to try the single vineyard Les Barres wine as we've gotten a few offers for that and I've liked most everything else I've had from this producer.

  • NV Chartogne-Taillet Champagne Cuvée Sainte Anne

    France, Champagne

    2016 base with 2015 reserve wine (60/40 blend). This continues to be a favorite for me esp with the price point. It's a more interesting style of champagne, more of the spice and slightly different than your standard toasty form. Very easy drinking. Very enjoyable. I'm glad we have some coming.

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  • NV Chartogne-Taillet Champagne Le Rosé

    France, Champagne

    Perhaps not my absolute favorite from this producer. I find this wine to be enjoyable, but it misses a bit in the interest factor. Not overly complex. Very smooth and nice set of bubbles but it disappears quickly and doesn't quite leave a lasting impression. This was in a short tasting format and I do remember enjoying the wine more when I had the afternoon with it. 2016 base.

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  • NV Chartogne-Taillet Champagne Chemin de Reims

    France, Champagne

    Perhaps a bit overshadowed by the Les Barres which came right after it esp because that was the wine that I was most interested in getting to try. This is 100% Chardonnay. Still manages to have a bit of difference to it which makes the wine stand out more. Not quite the Pinot spiciness, but this is more nuanced than just a chardonnay toastiness. Interesting.

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  • 2015 Chartogne-Taillet Pinot Noir Champagne Blanc de Noirs Extra Brut Les Barres

    France, Champagne

    First time with this wine and I was very excited to get to try it (it was in fact the reason we made the visit to the table). Definitely met expectations. More interesting and different. More power than the St Anne. A wine that is made for longer term age it seems. Still very refined and well done. Enjoyable.

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Flight 3 - Pierre Gimmonet & Fils (8 Notes)

This is a producer that I've always enjoyed but I had no idea the breadth of their offering. If asked I would have said they make maybe 2 or 3 champagnes total. The higher end of the line were very nice indeed and the lower continues to be a real bargain (and generally a good place to go on restaurant wine lists since it punches above its weight so the mark-up doesn't feel so ridiculous). All were very high acid in style and really built to last which is great since I love old champagne.

Flight 4 - Vilmart & Cie (4 Notes)

This is one of the earlier champagnes that I got into that were outside the big houses. I expected to like this set a bit more. They ended up being good but came across as a touch heavier after the Gimmonet

Flight 5 - Aubry

This is a fun little producer that we've enjoyed with friends in the past. Appreciate how reasonably priced these are and of course the one wine with the 7 different champagne varietals is interesting (although in the context of the broader champagne tasting I could see why more wines have shifted towards Chard/PN/PM).

Flight 6 - Lallement

One of the smallest producers there (3.5 hectares). Wines were nice and easy. Remember thinking they were a bit on the lighter side which wasn't bad.

Flight 7 - Dehours & Fils

Like that they have a PM focus although these just didn't speak to me as much as some other wines at the tasting.

Flight 8 - Mousse et Fils

Have had many of these in the past but this time around just wasn't quite as excited about them as I have been in the past.

Flight 9 - Egly Ouriet

Very familiar with these wines from previous experience. All were new releases and all drinking quite well. More on the powerful side as well but very powerful and at the same time vibrant in style.

Flight 10 - Pierre Peters

Was more impressed with these wines than I had been in the past. All were quite good esp some of the higher end ones.

Flight 11 - A. Margane

Drank a bunch of these in the past. Fun to get to try the line-up again. Was probably too far into the night to really be thinking through them.

Closing

A few take aways - Pehu-Simonet should have been on my radar before. Gimmonet is as good as I thought and has a much broader range than I realized. And Chartogne-Taillet continues to be a winner across the board.

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