May 11, 2024 - OK, details first -- 60% pinot noir, 40% chard. 55% 2019 vintage, 45% 2017/2018. Disgorged Jan 2023.
Medium copper. Scant coarse mousse. Brioche and pear on the nose.
In the mouth, grapefruit fruit and acidity, brioche on entry. Singing citrus acidity. Slippery and salivating saline texture. Long but linear finish, clean and refreshing. Really enjoyable.
March 13, 2024 - 65% PN, rest Chardonnay. Benefits from air, naturally. Good minerality and acidity, some softness and richness from PN. Paired several types of fresh oysters and jambalaya nicely.
January 9, 2024 - A new batch for me: 50% 2016, 50% 2015/2014; 65/35 PN/C; disgorged December 2019, zero dosage.
I very much enjoyed the previous incarnation based on the 2015 vintage, but for me this isn't quite up there.
On the nose, minerality in spades, plus just the tiniest hint of menthol. The palate is quite austere and direct - again saline and chalky minerality, some citrus bite, a hint of green apple, but really rather lacking in fruit or complexity. The finish is clean, drying and mineral.
Overall I feel that the zero dosage isn't helping here. It's still a decent wine, but not up to the previous batch.
December 24, 2023 - Fresh bright and energetic. Very young with some bright fruit and lemony spine
December 8, 2023 - Vendemmia: 50% 2017 / 50% 2016/2015. Sboccatura: febbraio 2021. Colore giallo paglierino con riflessi dorati brillanti. Bolla fine e di buona persistenza. Al naso intense note di mela cotta, scorza d’agrumi (limone e pompelmo) e fiori bianchi. In bocca è ricco e teso, grazie a una buona mineralità e a una fresca sapidità. Malgrado una leggera ossidazione, che si percepisce in bocca sul finale, risulta uno champagne piuttosto completo e identitario, pregevole per la sua intuitiva semplicità.
October 24, 2023 - Lovely apple character, fresh, with just a tiny little hint of bruised fruit character to it. Very crisp and clean and tight on the palate. Very intense and linear. For my palate needs some time to loosen up a bit.
This producer leans in the natural direction, no sulfur, and then something that I just missed. There is some parcel by parcel fermentation in carbois and then all natural yeast from the vineyard.
Mostly oak, a little bit of stainless steel. 36 months on the lees, 80% oak and 20% steel. Does go through malo. This disgorgement 55% 2019, 25% 2017 and 2018.
Verzy is a very large mineral component with a much smaller fruit compontent on the inside is the producers idea.
Most growers of his generation point to hiim as one of the best growers of his generation.
October 19, 2023 - Dgt 05/2017. 80% of 2013's harvest.
Nose of apple, smoke and spices.
Impactful mouthfeel with dense juice, the touch is virile. There is an oxidative side, the woodiness comes out with a nice spicy structure and smoky notes which is strange considering that the aging only contains 25% wood. Simple but very pleasant structure, beautiful acidic framework, coherent and distinguished whole. Salty and chalky finish, which I would have liked to have been longer given the taste of the mouth. However, at €35, we do not regret our purchase.
Very good champagne.
October 15, 2023 - From memory - some natural characteristics, but super charming and satisfying, i am impressed :)
September 17, 2023 - Served alongside the l'Ascendant cuvee. I preferred this cuvee just slightly over that one. 60% 2015 and 40% 2013 and 2014. 1.5 gms of dosage, disgorged October 2018. 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay. Apple, chalk/mineral, with some distinct reduction in the wine when first opened, which seemed to lighten with time, yet there was still a smokiness in the finish. Green apple, what one could even say is a crushed apple, with spice. Lightly rocky finish. My buddy who brought this to the table said he picked it up for about $45 at BevMo or Total Wine, where it was normally in the high $80s. Perplexed that M-L would end up there, and it seems several locations had it. For the price they have it marked to, that is a strong deal.
September 5, 2023 - 60/40 PN/C. 60% from 2015, 40% reserve wine from 2013/14. Disgorged October 2018, dosage 1.5g/l.
Bright straw gold in colour. Fine mousse.
After a little air, the nose offers honey, but also a minerally note.
On the palate, bruised apple, again that just slightly sweet hint of honey, and a finish which is long, starting with candied lemon and ending on a crisp, slightly saline note.
Overall this is an interesting and quite complex wine - a sipper not a chugger, and good with food (some cheese is bringing out various flavour notes for me).
At the ~US$47 that I paid this is OK, albeit not stunning, QPR.
But note that I understand from experts over at WineBeserkers that the style of this wine changed around 2020, so more recent bottles may be rather different.