January 2019 disgorgement. No dose. 70% Chard and the rest Pinot Blanc. This was kinda stinky on opening so I swirled the heck out of the pours I made of the wine. It seemed to relent mostly with air (but have some left for tomorrow for a retaste so we'll see). The palate on this is gorgeous. Lemon curd, yellow apple, pear with something tropical living here, too. My notes say 'reminds me of a really delicious still wine'. Slate, medium weight and in my view really in a great drinking window now.
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Dinner with the wine group (La Bohème, Palo Alto): 2/3 Chardonnay, 1/3 Pinot blanc. Lemon peel, lees; palate is light-medium bodied, no dosage, balanced medium-plus acidity, lovely clean flavors; finish is medium length. Very nice champagne. 90
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Clos de la Marechale Vertical (Decatur, GA): Deeper yellow; yeasty and eggy profile, super fine bubbles, custard, intense acids; does very well for its Extra Brut dryness, 2/3 Chardonnay and 1/3 Pinot Blanc.
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Paul's Annual Champagne Tasting: January 2019 disgorgement. This pours a deeper yellow in color but don't read this as being gold--it's not oxidizing nor going that direction. This was drinking for me in a great spot. There is texture here, plus concentration, which is the feature I really liked. Lemon, melon and a toasty note that infused the wine. Excellent.
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This bottle is a newer disgorgement of the previous 2015 vintage Presence I have wrote about previously in my notes. In fact, the disgorgement I have open is November 2019, whereas the handful of previous bottles were all May 2018. So, this bottle enjoyed an extra 18 months on the lees. Opened yesterday, there's some yellow gold color but no oxidation so don't worry. Two thirds Chardonnay and one third Pinot Blanc farmed biodynamic in the village of Polisot. No dosage and if I recall correctly the elevage is in old wood. Round texture here lying over a tactile impression of wet stone. The soil, the terroir shines through. Yellow apple, melon, bright lemon and tangerine, all floating on beautiful minerality....stoppered up the bottle, retasting 24 hours later. This shows now as more structured, more minerality yet with same freshness from yesterday. And an edit to my comment yesterday about the wine being 'round', I'd not use that remark today. There is more coil and the citrusy lemon more evident. If anything, at least with this disgorgement, the wine shows more open on the first night, then more structured tonight, portending an aging curve and future for the wine that I did not recognize yesterday.
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Very good, but the concordance was better. in every respect. This is a blend of pinot blanc and chard - so i guess this is both a blanc de blanc and a blend (hur hur).
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-- popped and poured -- -- tasted non-blind over 3.5 hours -- -- 2/3 Chardonnay, 1/3 Pinot Blanc -- -- code etched on bottle: LP15 D0119ND --
NOSE: moderately rich and vinous; chalky/mineral; light, crisp, and a bit leafy/green all at once; Chard. aromatics that lean towards the lighter end of the spectrum --- perhaps from the Pinot Blanc?
BODY: rich, golden yellow color; light to medium-light bodied.
TASTE: very dry; nice front palate richness of fruit, dissipating as it moves to the rear palate; steely; very interesting; light Sweet Tarts flavor at the 2.75 hrs mark; Ashley and I both liked it, but she re-buys at $40, and me at $55, so not a re-buy at $80. In the end, very good to low-level excellent, but not exciting.
Liked this a lot, although I think a bit less than the Efflorescence. Nice mineral/fruit combo. No dosage, but plenty of ripe fruit flavors, so it doesn't come across as a mineral bomb or as too austere. Pretty sure this was a Jan. 2019 disgorgement.
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Bottle #5 since release. Like all of the previous bottles, this has the same May 2018 disgorgement date. 70% Chard, 30% Pinot Blanc, no dosage, farmed biodynamic. Opened this yesterday, we finished about 1/2 of it. The wine was impressive yesterday, with a clean, lemony core, along with some apple and melon. Towards the end of yesterday's final glass, some fennel seemed to add a spicy note to the finish. Sealed overnight with a champagne stopper, the bubbles held up just fine for retasting today. This wine is simply sensational. The texture on this has a depth and density, yet no dosage? Amazing. Then, a precision and cut from the acidity, and when it all marries together,. this wine is just world class. Very similar flavor to yesterday, but the mint flavor shows up today, with the lemon picking up a curd-like feel and also a note of toasted wood.. Of all five bottles, this is the the clear winner so far, and my sense is that the additional age is increasing the power and class of the wine. I typically rave about Eloquence and Efflorescence, also made by the domaine, and yet this is right up there too in quality. Overall, more heady than those two wines, with a unique and impressive flavor profile. A brilliant wine!
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Day 1: consumed 1/2 bottle over 1 hour. Fresh with orchard fruit. Not my style preference. Day 2: Let bottle sit open overnight. Still plenty of bubbles. A bit more depth with the slightest oxidation. Day 4: Bottle has been open for 4 days. Still moderate bubbles. Aromas of pear. Flavors of orchard fruits, hint of yeast, followed by a long finish. Much better on day 4. 90-91.
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Another bottle of the May 2018 disgorgement. 70% Chard / 30% Pinot Blanc, no dosage. Green apple, mint, some melon, good precision and delineation, finishing with some lime chew and mineral. The fruit core here is terrific, the wine is built together well and this showed equally well.
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Drank this last night across 4 people. The balance and energy in this cuvee is really terrific. Same disgorge date as the previous bottles too, 05/2018 and no dosage.
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Tasted blind: The nose was not effusive but there was an interesting hint of earth (in a good way). Very clean fruit with bright acidity. Low/no dosage. Very good clean finish. I thought the bubbles had a great texture and the wine just floated off the tongue leaving the mouth feeling refreshed. I preferred this one a lot over 2014 Arcari + Danesi Saten.
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Served blind. May 2018 disgorgement. Melon, green apple with a nice earthy/floral aromatic. It also has the same peach note from the bottle I had last December. Drinks classy, complete yet with nice elegant balance.
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Strange blend, to me at least, since this has 30% Pinot Blanc to complement a base of 70% Chardonnay. I found this to be the most stereotypical no-dose version, in a good way, of Courtin's "_nces," primarily due to the notably tart, green apple and light/subtle fruit core. However, there was something unique about the texture, and I remember wondering if the Pinot Blanc offset the shrillness of the Chardonnay (this sounds like a good thing to say in a tasting note, so bear with me), but what do I know? Either way, I liked it, maybe more than I remember, although others in the group seemed to dig it more.
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Marguet and Marie-Courtin, plus a little Savart and some Still Reds, Too (My House In The South OC): Disgorged 05/18. 70% Chard / 30% Pinot Blanc, zero dosage. There isn't much Chard grown on the M-C slope, and even less Pinot Blanc but Dominique makes a little of this wine, which from what I can tell is the first vintage to produce it. This was the most newly disgorged of all the wines last night, and of note too is that there isn't any of this wine in CT inventory yet. I got lucky finding some in the US and plan to go back and see if the shop has any left, as I will take it all. This wine for me was thrilling. Fleshy, lightly smoky, showing peach and nectarine (thank you Paul for that descriptor, as it was spot-on), along with melon. A few others last night too seemed to like this bottling a lot. Lovely stuff.
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June in Champagne; 6/11/2018-6/16/2018: 2/3 chardonnay, 1/3 pinot noir. Brioche, but 'small' yeast. Beautiful ripeness on the nose, almost pinot blanc-esque, but not at all too ripe on the palate. Balanced.
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4/27/2024 - Frank Murray III wrote:
January 2019 disgorgement. No dose. 70% Chard and the rest Pinot Blanc. This was kinda stinky on opening so I swirled the heck out of the pours I made of the wine. It seemed to relent mostly with air (but have some left for tomorrow for a retaste so we'll see). The palate on this is gorgeous. Lemon curd, yellow apple, pear with something tropical living here, too. My notes say 'reminds me of a really delicious still wine'. Slate, medium weight and in my view really in a great drinking window now.
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6/6/2023 - Richard P Howden Likes this wine: 90 Points
Tart lemony very dry. Classy tasty champagne.
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6/6/2023 - aagrawal wrote: 90 Points
Dinner with the wine group (La Bohème, Palo Alto): 2/3 Chardonnay, 1/3 Pinot blanc. Lemon peel, lees; palate is light-medium bodied, no dosage, balanced medium-plus acidity, lovely clean flavors; finish is medium length. Very nice champagne. 90
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1/22/2023 - Rezy13 Likes this wine:
Clos de la Marechale Vertical (Decatur, GA): Deeper yellow; yeasty and eggy profile, super fine bubbles, custard, intense acids; does very well for its Extra Brut dryness, 2/3 Chardonnay and 1/3 Pinot Blanc.
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6/26/2022 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Paul's Annual Champagne Tasting: January 2019 disgorgement. This pours a deeper yellow in color but don't read this as being gold--it's not oxidizing nor going that direction. This was drinking for me in a great spot. There is texture here, plus concentration, which is the feature I really liked. Lemon, melon and a toasty note that infused the wine. Excellent.
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3/26/2022 - Frank Murray III wrote:
This bottle is a newer disgorgement of the previous 2015 vintage Presence I have wrote about previously in my notes. In fact, the disgorgement I have open is November 2019, whereas the handful of previous bottles were all May 2018. So, this bottle enjoyed an extra 18 months on the lees. Opened yesterday, there's some yellow gold color but no oxidation so don't worry. Two thirds Chardonnay and one third Pinot Blanc farmed biodynamic in the village of Polisot. No dosage and if I recall correctly the elevage is in old wood. Round texture here lying over a tactile impression of wet stone. The soil, the terroir shines through. Yellow apple, melon, bright lemon and tangerine, all floating on beautiful minerality....stoppered up the bottle, retasting 24 hours later. This shows now as more structured, more minerality yet with same freshness from yesterday. And an edit to my comment yesterday about the wine being 'round', I'd not use that remark today. There is more coil and the citrusy lemon more evident. If anything, at least with this disgorgement, the wine shows more open on the first night, then more structured tonight, portending an aging curve and future for the wine that I did not recognize yesterday.
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3/17/2022 - asparagus Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very good, but the concordance was better. in every respect. This is a blend of pinot blanc and chard - so i guess this is both a blanc de blanc and a blend (hur hur).
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7/26/2021 - grafstrb wrote:
-- popped and poured --
-- tasted non-blind over 3.5 hours --
-- 2/3 Chardonnay, 1/3 Pinot Blanc --
-- code etched on bottle: LP15 D0119ND --
NOSE: moderately rich and vinous; chalky/mineral; light, crisp, and a bit leafy/green all at once; Chard. aromatics that lean towards the lighter end of the spectrum --- perhaps from the Pinot Blanc?
BODY: rich, golden yellow color; light to medium-light bodied.
TASTE: very dry; nice front palate richness of fruit, dissipating as it moves to the rear palate; steely; very interesting; light Sweet Tarts flavor at the 2.75 hrs mark; Ashley and I both liked it, but she re-buys at $40, and me at $55, so not a re-buy at $80. In the end, very good to low-level excellent, but not exciting.
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1/24/2021 - grafstrb wrote:
Liked this a lot, although I think a bit less than the Efflorescence. Nice mineral/fruit combo. No dosage, but plenty of ripe fruit flavors, so it doesn't come across as a mineral bomb or as too austere. Pretty sure this was a Jan. 2019 disgorgement.
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10/19/2020 - nynrgtrader@gmail.com Likes this wine: 90 Points
Mineral driven wine with apple, lemon and citrus peel and herbal notes on the finish. Quite enjoyabe.
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10/8/2020 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Bottle #5 since release. Like all of the previous bottles, this has the same May 2018 disgorgement date. 70% Chard, 30% Pinot Blanc, no dosage, farmed biodynamic. Opened this yesterday, we finished about 1/2 of it. The wine was impressive yesterday, with a clean, lemony core, along with some apple and melon. Towards the end of yesterday's final glass, some fennel seemed to add a spicy note to the finish. Sealed overnight with a champagne stopper, the bubbles held up just fine for retasting today. This wine is simply sensational. The texture on this has a depth and density, yet no dosage? Amazing. Then, a precision and cut from the acidity, and when it all marries together,. this wine is just world class. Very similar flavor to yesterday, but the mint flavor shows up today, with the lemon picking up a curd-like feel and also a note of toasted wood.. Of all five bottles, this is the the clear winner so far, and my sense is that the additional age is increasing the power and class of the wine. I typically rave about Eloquence and Efflorescence, also made by the domaine, and yet this is right up there too in quality. Overall, more heady than those two wines, with a unique and impressive flavor profile. A brilliant wine!
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3/4/2020 - Markus IWC wrote: 87 Points
CvP Kvinnor i Champagne, bonusvin
Zero dosage, CH67, PN33
Fattoner, lite volatil, stram, ostig
Vegetativ munkänla, krusbär, jäst toner 87p
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12/26/2019 - Finare Vinare wrote: 92 Points
Disgorged in September 2018. Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay, vinified in barrels without any addition of so2.
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11/9/2019 - Bathtub58 wrote: 90 Points
Day 1: consumed 1/2 bottle over 1 hour. Fresh with orchard fruit. Not my style preference.
Day 2: Let bottle sit open overnight. Still plenty of bubbles. A bit more depth with the slightest oxidation.
Day 4: Bottle has been open for 4 days. Still moderate bubbles. Aromas of pear. Flavors of orchard fruits, hint of yeast, followed by a long finish. Much better on day 4. 90-91.
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8/20/2019 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Another bottle of the May 2018 disgorgement. 70% Chard / 30% Pinot Blanc, no dosage. Green apple, mint, some melon, good precision and delineation, finishing with some lime chew and mineral. The fruit core here is terrific, the wine is built together well and this showed equally well.
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4/13/2019 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Drank this last night across 4 people. The balance and energy in this cuvee is really terrific. Same disgorge date as the previous bottles too, 05/2018 and no dosage.
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4/3/2019 - Vietty Likes this wine:
Tasted blind: The nose was not effusive but there was an interesting hint of earth (in a good way). Very clean fruit with bright acidity. Low/no dosage. Very good clean finish. I thought the bubbles had a great texture and the wine just floated off the tongue leaving the mouth feeling refreshed. I preferred this one a lot over 2014 Arcari + Danesi Saten.
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3/28/2019 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Served blind. May 2018 disgorgement. Melon, green apple with a nice earthy/floral aromatic. It also has the same peach note from the bottle I had last December. Drinks classy, complete yet with nice elegant balance.
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12/18/2018 - Andrew Christiansen Likes this wine:
Strange blend, to me at least, since this has 30% Pinot Blanc to complement a base of 70% Chardonnay. I found this to be the most stereotypical no-dose version, in a good way, of Courtin's "_nces," primarily due to the notably tart, green apple and light/subtle fruit core. However, there was something unique about the texture, and I remember wondering if the Pinot Blanc offset the shrillness of the Chardonnay (this sounds like a good thing to say in a tasting note, so bear with me), but what do I know? Either way, I liked it, maybe more than I remember, although others in the group seemed to dig it more.
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12/15/2018 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Marguet and Marie-Courtin, plus a little Savart and some Still Reds, Too (My House In The South OC): Disgorged 05/18. 70% Chard / 30% Pinot Blanc, zero dosage. There isn't much Chard grown on the M-C slope, and even less Pinot Blanc but Dominique makes a little of this wine, which from what I can tell is the first vintage to produce it. This was the most newly disgorged of all the wines last night, and of note too is that there isn't any of this wine in CT inventory yet. I got lucky finding some in the US and plan to go back and see if the shop has any left, as I will take it all. This wine for me was thrilling. Fleshy, lightly smoky, showing peach and nectarine (thank you Paul for that descriptor, as it was spot-on), along with melon. A few others last night too seemed to like this bottling a lot. Lovely stuff.
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6/12/2018 - KingSlacker999 Likes this wine: 92 Points
June in Champagne; 6/11/2018-6/16/2018: 2/3 chardonnay, 1/3 pinot noir. Brioche, but 'small' yeast. Beautiful ripeness on the nose, almost pinot blanc-esque, but not at all too ripe on the palate. Balanced.
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