Community Tasting Note
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thewiz Likes this wine: 89 points
October 11, 2017 - (Disgorged in March of 2017, base year 2010)
Light yellow colour with a very fresh and youthful nose showing flowers, minerals and freshly baked bread. Broader on the palate with a taste of red apples and biscuits and a distinct acidic finish showing lovely notes of red grapefruit bitterness.
This cuvée is a good showing with a bit broader and more available palate compared to the 2008 based cuvée I’ve had so many times in the last couple of years. It took quite a while to open up and should really benefit from a few years of extra cellar time. Best 2018-2028.4 people found this helpful 5,657 views
3 Comments
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PSPatrick commented:
7/9/18, 3:50 AM - Thank you for your detailed and helpful note. I could not agree more. To me, any champagne needs two years in the cellar to round off the edges. I don't understand why so many people keep insisting that NV champagne can't age (and to put it the other way round: what makes vintage champagne more age-worthy than quality NV champagne?). Cheers!
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thewiz commented:
7/24/18, 7:49 AM - Thank's! I couldn't agree more on that most NV champagne gain by being kept in the cellar for a couple of years extra.
I wouldn't say that "all" or "most" vintage champagne is better to gain from extra cellar time compared to other quality NV bottles. There are some vintage champagnes that has even less acidity and "backbone" to handle cellaring than standard NV bottles does.
But most of the time a vintage champagne is made when the quality of the grapes are better than normal, therefor they are better to withstand extra cellar time (compared to the same producers 'standard NV'). But if that means 5-10-20 years of cellar time is dependant of the producer and the quality of the grapes from that partical year. The same goes for NV made in 'better' years (with more acidity) are likely to withstand longer cellar time better as well.
But up until the last decade or so, almost no producer informed about the base year of the NV champagnes, and didn't say how much of reserve wines where included. So it's not until now that it's starting to be more and more easily accessible when a specific bottle was disgorged and what base year it is.
Greetings!
(If you have Instagram you could follow my "thoughts" and latest tests of champagne on my IG account "ettfotose".) -
PSPatrick commented:
7/24/18, 7:57 AM - Thank you for responding and sharing your view! It looks like we are very much on the same page if it comes to aging champagne. And yes, it is as astonishing as it is frustrating that the champagne houses got away with not indicating base vintage or disgorgement date on bottles for such a long time!
No Instagram account (gosh, I am suddenly feeling old), so I guess I have to keep following your thoughts on CT ;)
Cheers!