This is 100% Chardonnay, and if my facts are correct this is all from fruit outside of Ambonnay. Mostly 2019 with some reserve wine but given the label designation of 2019, I just added it to the database as a vintage tag. My notes should have been clearer but I was so taken by this wine I wasn't listening to Benoit as closely as I could have. Disgorged March 2020, no dosage from organic fruit. This is uber fresh of grapefruit and as it warms up shows tangerine and lemons, with the saline and citrus flavors energizing the wine. For an assemblage and an affordable price, this is a smashing good value and for me one of the very best wines of the trip in terms of value/quality ratio. A winner I will buy much of when it hits the US.
Disgorged February 2022, no dosage from 100% Pinot Noir and a bit of reserve wine but from a base of 2019. This to me is softer than the clear 2019 Yuman. The Rose here shows some cherry pop tart and just not the cracking energy of the 2019 non-Rose Yuman. I like the Rose version but the clear Yuman is the clear winner for me.
As opposed to the Shaman 18 Rose, this is actually has more Pinot Noir in it (and without the still red wine, too). Kind of confusing unless you know the blend. 75% Pinot Noir and 25% Chardonnay. Lemon peel, fennel, more structured than the 18 Rose (and from different vineyard sources than that cuvee, too). Dried pineapple, green apple in a spicy finish, with ginger and more minerality than the 2018 Rose.
From Ambonnay and Bouzy fruit. This also has a little still red added to it. About 70% Chard and the rest Pinot Noir. Disgorged November 2021 without dosage. To me, the Pinot Noir influences the wine here even though it is the minority of the blend. The strawberry notes are very much here, complemented by some yellow apple but even moreso, a cool mango. Finishes with a light minerality.
Disgorged March 2022, from 100% Pinot Noir and no dosage. I believe this fruit was from Hugues Godme, so farmed at least organic. Initially shows some reduction in the aromatic. A rich concentrated palate, with tangy, savory pineapple, raspberry, apple and saline. Also a savory quality to the lemon pith in the finish. I sourced some of this before I left the area as I thought it was excellent.
Disgorged March 2022. About 70% Pinot Noir and the rest Chardonnay. A wine of tension. Linear with powerful front to back direction on the palate. Lime, raspberry, and some light pastry. Finishes with the tension of the terroir, both saline and citrusy acid. This is a bright wine, precise.
Had to add this to the database so I suspect this is a brand new cru for Benoit. Disgorged March 2022 from 100% Chardonnay, no dose. Of all the cru wines we tasted for the visit, this was the most round, yet for me this had an intriguing flavor profile. This cuvee has the palate expression of left to right, so think broad, more approachable than the other cru wines. Yellow apple, orange, lemon curd and even a banana. Very cool stuff. Different for me as to what I think of Marguet.
Disgorged March 2022, no dosage of 100% Pinot Noir. I think some know this plot adjoins to the Krug walled Ambonnay plot, so whether the wall or the farming is enough of a differentiator, one can be the judge but the wines are for sure priced differently! Lots of depth here, with coconut and spicy pineapple. The concentration is very good, too.
Ok, so maybe one of my top two wines of the entire week. This wine really resonated with me. Disgorged March 2022, with no dosage and 100% Chardonnay. Like the 2017 Le Parc cuvee, this has a richness and a concentration that gets my attention. And, I would challenge really experienced tasters to assess this wine as a no dose. Tangerine, honey and pears in syrup. This is just flat out gorgeous and I sourced a few of these to take home, with the hopes that the bottle tasted at the winery is as good and the experience as thrilling as what I will get from the bottles I bring home.
Tasted alongside the 2012 Sapience. I think I am preferring this 2009. Both are 10 years on the lees, from three fruit sources (Laval from Cumières, Leclapart from Trépail and Lahaye from Bouzy). The 2009 seems more brighter and intense than the 2012, and notably this is three years older. Slate and citrus, and even with air and warmth, it fills in with a lemon and red berry compote, pineapple and a lurking generosity. This really needed air and the lifting of the temperature to unfold.
Tasted alongside the 2009 Sapience. I think I am preferring this 2009. Both are 10 years on the lees, from three fruit sources (Laval from Cumières, Leclapart from Trépail and Lahaye from Bouzy). The 2012 shows a spicy dried pineapple with lots of mineral that creates length. Fresh and powerful but not developed or expressive like the 2009, at least for me. We'll have to see in time how this 2012 evolves.
NV Marguet Champagne Premier Cru Yuman 19 Blanc de Blancs
France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
This is 100% Chardonnay, and if my facts are correct this is all from fruit outside of Ambonnay. Mostly 2019 with some reserve wine but given the label designation of 2019, I just added it to the database as a vintage tag. My notes should have been clearer but I was so taken by this wine I wasn't listening to Benoit as closely as I could have. Disgorged March 2020, no dosage from organic fruit. This is uber fresh of grapefruit and as it warms up shows tangerine and lemons, with the saline and citrus flavors energizing the wine. For an assemblage and an affordable price, this is a smashing good value and for me one of the very best wines of the trip in terms of value/quality ratio. A winner I will buy much of when it hits the US.
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NV Marguet Champagne Premier Cru Yuman 19 Rosé
France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
Disgorged February 2022, no dosage from 100% Pinot Noir and a bit of reserve wine but from a base of 2019. This to me is softer than the clear 2019 Yuman. The Rose here shows some cherry pop tart and just not the cracking energy of the 2019 non-Rose Yuman. I like the Rose version but the clear Yuman is the clear winner for me.
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NV Marguet Champagne Grand Cru Shaman 18
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
As opposed to the Shaman 18 Rose, this is actually has more Pinot Noir in it (and without the still red wine, too). Kind of confusing unless you know the blend. 75% Pinot Noir and 25% Chardonnay. Lemon peel, fennel, more structured than the 18 Rose (and from different vineyard sources than that cuvee, too). Dried pineapple, green apple in a spicy finish, with ginger and more minerality than the 2018 Rose.
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NV Marguet Champagne Grand Cru Shaman 18 Rosé
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
From Ambonnay and Bouzy fruit. This also has a little still red added to it. About 70% Chard and the rest Pinot Noir. Disgorged November 2021 without dosage. To me, the Pinot Noir influences the wine here even though it is the minority of the blend. The strawberry notes are very much here, complemented by some yellow apple but even moreso, a cool mango. Finishes with a light minerality.
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2017 Marguet Champagne Grand Cru Verzenay
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Disgorged March 2022, from 100% Pinot Noir and no dosage. I believe this fruit was from Hugues Godme, so farmed at least organic. Initially shows some reduction in the aromatic. A rich concentrated palate, with tangy, savory pineapple, raspberry, apple and saline. Also a savory quality to the lemon pith in the finish. I sourced some of this before I left the area as I thought it was excellent.
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2017 Marguet Champagne Grand Cru Ambonnay
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Disgorged March 2022. About 70% Pinot Noir and the rest Chardonnay. A wine of tension. Linear with powerful front to back direction on the palate. Lime, raspberry, and some light pastry. Finishes with the tension of the terroir, both saline and citrusy acid. This is a bright wine, precise.
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2017 Marguet Champagne Premier Cru Vertus
France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
Had to add this to the database so I suspect this is a brand new cru for Benoit. Disgorged March 2022 from 100% Chardonnay, no dose. Of all the cru wines we tasted for the visit, this was the most round, yet for me this had an intriguing flavor profile. This cuvee has the palate expression of left to right, so think broad, more approachable than the other cru wines. Yellow apple, orange, lemon curd and even a banana. Very cool stuff. Different for me as to what I think of Marguet.
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2017 Marguet Champagne Grand Cru Le Parc
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Disgorged March 2022, no dosage of 100% Pinot Noir. I think some know this plot adjoins to the Krug walled Ambonnay plot, so whether the wall or the farming is enough of a differentiator, one can be the judge but the wines are for sure priced differently! Lots of depth here, with coconut and spicy pineapple. The concentration is very good, too.
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2017 Marguet Champagne Grand Cru Les Crayères
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Ok, so maybe one of my top two wines of the entire week. This wine really resonated with me. Disgorged March 2022, with no dosage and 100% Chardonnay. Like the 2017 Le Parc cuvee, this has a richness and a concentration that gets my attention. And, I would challenge really experienced tasters to assess this wine as a no dose. Tangerine, honey and pears in syrup. This is just flat out gorgeous and I sourced a few of these to take home, with the hopes that the bottle tasted at the winery is as good and the experience as thrilling as what I will get from the bottles I bring home.
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2009 Marguet Sapience
France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
Tasted alongside the 2012 Sapience. I think I am preferring this 2009. Both are 10 years on the lees, from three fruit sources (Laval from Cumières, Leclapart from Trépail and Lahaye from Bouzy). The 2009 seems more brighter and intense than the 2012, and notably this is three years older. Slate and citrus, and even with air and warmth, it fills in with a lemon and red berry compote, pineapple and a lurking generosity. This really needed air and the lifting of the temperature to unfold.
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2012 Marguet Sapience
France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
Tasted alongside the 2009 Sapience. I think I am preferring this 2009. Both are 10 years on the lees, from three fruit sources (Laval from Cumières, Leclapart from Trépail and Lahaye from Bouzy). The 2012 shows a spicy dried pineapple with lots of mineral that creates length. Fresh and powerful but not developed or expressive like the 2009, at least for me. We'll have to see in time how this 2012 evolves.
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