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Tete de Cuvee Rose Tasting
Brookhaven, GA
Tasted November 16, 2023 by Rezy13 with 134 views
Introduction
Let's figure out who makes the best Rose Champagne.
Flight 1 - Starters (2 notes)
White
2000 Marquis de Laguiche (Joseph Drouhin) Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot
Golden; ripe rich and waxy, lacks a little focus but powerful and delicious; a bottle brought back from the Drouhin this definitely exceeds expectations.
White
2015 Jean-Claude Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Boudriotte
After the powerful 2000 Drouhin Laguiche Morgeot this seemed a bit simple and easy going, definitely needs more time to develop that Ramonet depth and complexity.
Flight 2 - LVMH Flight- Single Blind (4 notes)
We knew what the wines were. You'd think matching them up would be pretty easy...
Rosé - Sparkling
2007 Ruinart Champagne Dom Ruinart Brut Rosé
Lovely nose, rich brioche, rounded, fleshy, cranberry, orange peel, candied fruit, fine bubbles, poised and well put together, a little understated; is this Dom?
Rosé - Sparkling
2008 Dom Pérignon Champagne Rosé
Great nose, sexy, doughy, creamy with laser precision, zippy and driven on the palate, great balance and contender for WOTN; Krug right?
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Rosé - Sparkling
N.V. Krug Champagne Brut Rosé
(24th Edition) Wow nose, big and kind of sloppy after the 2008 Dom Perignon, almost excessive amount of yeast, very red fruit, lots of sour cherry, sulfur, eggy.
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Rosé - Sparkling
2008 Veuve Clicquot Champagne Brut Rosé La Grande Dame
Waxy, round nose, more orange in color, high acid, maybe the weakest in the lineup but tough competition; this has to be the La Grande Dame.
Flight 3 - Baller Rose- Single Blind (4 notes)
We also knew what these were but had to match them up.
We did much better in this flight with that.
Rosé - Sparkling
2006 Perrier-Jouët Champagne Brut Rosé Belle Epoque
Soft salmon color; super bready, powerful, big and fleshy, lower acid, approachable, heavier, opulent, higher dosage; PJ- yes.
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Rosé - Sparkling
2013 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut Rosé
Pale peach; intense nose, driven, serious, not much red fruit here, marzipan, nutty, wild strawberry, focused and so delicious, beautiful floral notes, intoxicatingly good; was hopeful Goisses would be the standout but no- tried and true Cristal is a stunner this vintage.
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Rosé - Sparkling
2008 Philipponnat Champagne Juste Rosé Clos des Goisses
Pale peach; high toned, seems aged, oxidative, tangerine, interesting, mango, skirts red fruit, a little blousy and disappointing, where is the acid drive?
Rosé - Sparkling
2007 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Rosé Brut
Freshest color, duller red; powerful yeast and breadth, structured, big red fruit, a touch sour, opulent; I'd prefer this with more time or aeration.
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Flight 4 - Cult Flight- Single Blind (3 notes)
This was the easiest flight to nail. Also some tremendous and unique wines.
Rosé - Sparkling
N.V. Jacques Selosse Champagne Brut Rosé
(2020 disgorgement) Amber orange color; exotic nose, sour orange and cherry, Extra Brut, citric, natty, cinnamon, hibiscus, floral, complex, gingerbread, cloves, a good bit of tannic grip on the palate; unique and very good, this style is so distinctive, without peers; the next day this shows a little more of what others talk about with blue fruit Pinot Noir and the super nutty and oxidative Chardonnay base- it was still unique but lacked the elegance and floral components that made it so attractive the night before.
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Rosé - Sparkling
N.V. Egly-Ouriet Champagne Grand Cru Brut Rosé
(2021 disgorgement, 51 months on lies) Pale salmon; rich and yeasty nose, sweeter than Selosse (even at 2g/L so probably just riper fruit), driven acid, white pepper and sesame seed, barrel influence, honeyed, heavier feel to this; steak wine.
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Comments (1)
Rosé - Sparkling
N.V. Krug Champagne Brut Rosé
(2nd bottle of 24th Edition- added again because some didn't feel the bottle in the first flight was representative) Soft pale red color; sulfur and yeast, pent up, opulent, needs air, generous, tough in this flight for the dosage puts this in a different camp; 100% positive that this would crush most nights but this is stiff competition.
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Flight 5 - Dinner and Reds- Blind (5 notes)
Billecart was with dinner and the reds were all served blind. Wow, you go to a Rose Champagne tasting and a monumental red Burgundy tasting breaks out.
Rosé - Sparkling
2008 Billecart-Salmon Champagne Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon
Deeper color; intense nose, so yeasty, round and caressing profile; intense acids on the palate, searing which suggests a very long lived wine, some medicinal tangerine and red fruit; very good even though it is so young.
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Red
2012 Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg Ruchottes-Chambertin
Deeper maroon; great nose, lots of spice, still some reduction to resolve, meaty, peppery, fleshy, mushroom, lovely, deep and layered; this is next level stuff- fantastic.
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Red
2014 Domaine Bizot Echezeaux
Deeper core with maroon violet rim; high toned, spicy, floral, whole cluster, tea, stemmy, exotic, fun and meaty, full of mesquite, stewed tomato, black peppercorn and almost green, so much going on in the nose I could smell this forever; a bit more tannic and firm on the palate; wow!, called 2013 Bizot Echezeaux- so distinctive.
Red
2017 Emmanuel Rouget Echezeaux
Young looking, juicy reddish maroon; sexy nose, vanilla, juicy red fruit, high toned with good depth, spice, mushroom, sour fruit, warm rocks, young but serious, long lacy finish, raspberry coulis; clearly special and in need of more time to soften and develop.
Red
2017 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Echezeaux
Juicy red and dark fruit, grapey and so youthful, violets, pepper, plum, powerful, some stem, meaty, fine yet tight tannic structure, blue fruit, powerful and not super expressive very near a pop and pour; structured and powerful this was much younger than another bottle several months ago.
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Closing
LVMH Flight Winner: 2008 Dom Perignon- a crusher that made us all realize we need more '08 DP Rose.
Baller Flight Winner: by a mile the 2013 Cristal, pricey but may be one to pull out when you need the nuts.
Cult Flight Winner: Selosse- one of those with the haunting flavors and complexity that are hard to forget. A polarizing wine that most did not like.
Red Burg Winner: gotta go with the Bizot for just how damned unique it is. Like the Selosse it has a lot of appeal in just the aromatic department but I recognize the brilliance and enjoy the heck out of it!