Half Bottle NV Champagne Tasting

Kirstin and Shane's
Tasted Saturday, January 31, 2009 - Sunday, February 1, 2009 by tarheel17 with 665 views

Introduction

The first meeting of Wine and Chiefs

Flight 1 - NV Blanc de Blancs (3 Notes)

  • NV Guy Larmandier Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut Cramant 87 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    (1/31/2009)

    THe nose was milky, with some minerals and a different sensation than I'm used to in champagne - almost plastic, but not quite. As it warmed, applesauce aromas appeared too. The palate was soft, with more apples. It was pretty good, and came in #2 of the 3 wines in the BdB flight. 87-88

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  • NV Schramsberg Vineyards Blanc de Blancs 86 Points

    USA, California

    (1/31/2009)

    This stood out as the California imposter right away. The nose was almost herbal, with sweet lemon, a weird foot odor, and even a little saltiness.
    The palate was full of lemon, very crisp, but with a watery midpalate. Super sour at the end, with a pretty long finish. I don't dig sour too much, but I would drink this. Up against some 'real' champagne contenders, it was my least favorite of the flight, however.

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  • NV Agrapart Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut 89 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    (1/31/2009)

    My guess is this bottle had 'aged' some years before we opened it. (Bought from a distributor who was liquidating with ridiculously low prices...).
    Anyway, the nose emitted scents of brie cheese and sweet, overripe apples. THe palate had the barest hint of oxidation, but mostly tasted of honeyed apples. A little 'worn' around the edges, the flavors had melded into a very nice pour. My WOTF

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Flight 2 - NV Champagne Blends (5 Notes)

  • NV Laurent-Perrier Champagne Brut L.P. 88 Points

    France, Champagne

    (1/31/2009)

    This had a very generic 'champagne' smell and taste to it. It was hard to describe until other wines in the flight had been poured to compare it.
    Once it had, I still had a hard time distinguishing much of anything special about the wine itself. It was slightly sweeter than others, with a savory palate. Met expectations of champagne, but did not exceed them. Turned out to be my favorite of the large house NV champagnes in the flight, compared to V Cliquot and Nicolas F.

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  • NV Devaux Champagne Brut Grande Réserve 91 Points

    France, Champagne

    (1/31/2009)

    This wine had such a vibrant personality, it was my favorite of the night. THe nose had some honey and soysauce components that made it stand out, and that I found intriguing. THe palate was perky, with a nice dryness at the end. Great stuff. No idea how old the bottle was...

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  • NV Veuve Clicquot Champagne Brut 86 Points

    France, Champagne

    (1/31/2009)

    Never one of my favorite champagnes, Kirstin snuck this one into the blind tasting to see how it would do. And what do you know, it came in 4th place out of 5 (for me).
    The nose was typical champagne to me, but stretching, I found some beeswax and floral aromas. The palate is where this wine doesn't do it for me, though. THe bitterness at the end was only topped for unpleasantness by the Nicolas Feuillatte NV that night.

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  • NV Vranken Champagne Demoiselle Tete de Cuvée EO Brut 89 Points

    France, Champagne

    (1/31/2009)

    My second favorite of the flight. THe nose was full of overripe apples and even a little barnyard-y (just barely, though). The palate was very similar to the Devaux, full, rich, and toasty, but the finish vanished surprisingly quickly. ALl in all, I really enjoyed this wine, and if the finish had been longer, it would have tied for WOTN.

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  • NV Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne Brut 83 Points

    France, Champagne

    (1/31/2009)

    Boy, was this a dissapointment! It clearly stood out unanimously as the least favored of 5 NV champagnes in the flight. Personally, I have enjoyed this wine more than once previously. But the nose was overripe and there was too much bitterness on the palate for me to enjoy it. Too bad, it really is the best 'deal' in champagne out there. I have four more bottles, so I hope to enjoy it on it's own or with food next. It doesn't fare well in blind champagne tastings!

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Flight 3 - ...and a Magnum to finish (1 Note)

  • NV Domaine Chandon Reserve Brut 80 Points

    USA, California, North Coast, Napa / Sonoma

    (1/31/2009)

    From a magnum.
    I found the aroma of stinky feet on this to be off-putting. Luckily, the weird flavor did not appear as obvious on the palate. But in comparison to 'real' champagnes earlier in the night, this was a clear loser. I started drinking water once the mag was popped...

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