Gourmetklubbens Champagneresa
Champagne Region, France
Tasted October 16, 2014 - October 18, 2014 by thewiz with 412 views
Flight 1 - Day #1 - Pommery Visit (4 notes)
Very nice visit to the caves and getting Pommery's story as well as a the story of Champagne. Sadly the tasting room was not up to my standards with a very odd lightning of the room and the glasses left much to desire. A little bit too much "pop" for me.
Light yellow with a stream of tiny bubbles.
Nose with yellow apples, citrus and sulphur. Soft palate with a strong lemon peel finish.
Light yellow colour with a red hue and tiny bubbles.
Nose showing red apples, minerals and citrus. Vigorous palate of unripe green apples and a yeasty finish.
Light yellow colour with fine bubbles.
Nose is intense showing sulphur, gun powder, grape fruit and liquorice. Soft and lovely creamy palate with a nice long finish.
Light yellow colour.
Sulphur, citrus and minerals on the nose in the beginning. Opens up in the end showing plums and chocolate. Intensive palate showing minerals and sulphur and a nice long finish.
Flight 2 - Day #1 - Dinner in Reims (2 notes)
Nice nose of minerals and citrus and a nice taste of gooseberry and black currants.
Evolved nose showing forest floor, autumn leaves and truffle. Nice tannines and a nice long finish.
Flight 3 - Day #2 - Vilmart Visit (3 notes)
Very nice and personal visit to Vilmart & Cie that was very different from the visit to Pommery. Much more localized and personal, not as much industry as with the visit to Pommery. Much more personality in the wines as well, but then it's been a long time classic for years also.
Light yellow colour with extremely tiny bubbles.
Citrus and minerals. Very youthful palate with high acidity and a long finish showing grape fruit.
Light yellow colour with fine and tiny bubbles.
Nose showing green apples, minerals, citrus. Youthful with high acidity combined with a creamy palate and a long finish of unripe green apples.
Light yellow colour with tiny bubbles.
Youthful nose with intensive tone of oak nutmeg, citrus and minerals. Nice long finish showing grape fruit.
Flight 4 - Day #2 - Legras & Haas Visit (5 notes)
Also a very nice and personal visit to Legras & Haas sitting in their 'living room' together with Jerome trying through their range of different wines and hearing his thoughts on developing Champagne as well when to drink and what to eat. It felt like a very nice meeting!
Yellow colour with tiny bubbles.
Nice on the nose showing bread, yeast and spicyness in a more mellow tone and at the same time a smoother and shorter finish compared to other cuvées from Legras & Haas.
Light yellow colour with a stream of tiny bubbles.
Nose showing hazelnuts, minerals and citrus. Softer than the Extra Brut, showing green apples and a soft mousse and a long flowery finish.
Light yellow colour with a green shimmer and extremely fine bubbles.
Nose opens up with green apples, nougat, flowers and minerals. The palate is austere with acidity and lemon, but ends in a soft creamyness and a nice long finish showing lime peel and saltiness.
Light yellow with a green shimmer and extremely tiny bubbles.
Nose very expressive showing fudge and almond. With an intensive palate of lemon, almond and minerals with a nice long finish.
Copper colour with tiny bubbles.
Nice nose showing red berries, forest floor and with a round and soft palate with a nice long finish.
Flight 5 - Day #2 - Selosse Visit (3 notes)
For our second day of tastings we stayed at Les Avises hotel that is in conjunction with Selosse in Avize and it was a true delight, well worth the money, both for the personality of the rooms as well as for the breakfast and dinner arrangements as well. Adding the visit together with Anselme's son Guillaume in the cellars getting a guided tour of their philosophy as well as trying their wines was magnificent. I've tried several of Selosse's wines the last decade and have always liked them a lot. but after visting and getting even better insight to their way of working with all parts of making their cuvées from the vineyards into the cellars was truly magnificent.
Yellow colour with very tiny bubbles.
Oxidative tones of mature apples, plums and chocolate combined with lighter tones of minerals and citrus. After a while there's butter and oak. Powerful and nice long finish.
Golden yellow colour with a stream of tiny bubbles. Very mature nose showing a nice mixture of chocolate, plums, nuts and yellow apples. Nice sweet honey notes as well. Incredibly smooth and nuanced palate with a creamy finish of smooth lime peel.
Very nice glass development, already very nice and available and will last many years to come.
(At the same time we also did barrel samples of the just fresh started 2014 vintage, that looks to be promising as well.)
Turbid amber colour.
Very oxidative an a 'dark' nose showing raisins, vanilla fudge and honey. Sweet palate showing raisins that ends in a nice smooth finish.
Flight 6 - Day #2 - Dinner at Les Avises (2 notes)
Nose of minerals, smokiness, sulphur and gun powder. Refined on the palate with a long smooth citrus finish.
Nose showing stone, minerals, citrus in a youthful style. Very dry and crisp palate with a razor-sharp acidity and a nice long finish.