Small Tasting & Dinner with Friends: Light color with a medium mousse and lingering bead. Notes of lemon, apple, vanilla crème and blanched almond. Fine texture. Flavors of green apple and citrus. Excellent and drinking very well at the moment, but with plenty to go- no need to rush.
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Definitely brut dry; electric acidity. Green apple and a hint of apple seed bitterness on the finish. Amazing purity. Unbelievably long finish. Tasted vs piper heidseck vintage same year. Piper is richer , a little less dry, with oxidized apples by contrast. Piper is more appealing to me due to its decadence.
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Second year I a row I have drunk this on NYE. What a difference a year makes. Still stellar. For purity, flavor, color, bead, and balance, one of the best Champagnes I have had for the money. 5-12-17-9: 93/100.
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Kicked off Thanksgiving and paired with various appetizers. Warm bubbly with some orange, pear, and green apple mixed with graham crackers and hints of butterscotch and cinnamon toast on the finish. Creamy, dense mouthfeel gives it some weight, yet it's fresh, juicy, and full of minerality. Still tight and rounding into form so will be best 2025-2032. Technical score: 93. Enjoyment score: 91.
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Consistent with prior notes. Fine bubbles that form a wonderful cream in the mouth. Crisp lemon, apple and pear flavors. Fresh. Electric core of acidity with a mineral backbone. More candied or baked apple with air. Very very good and improving - but still not ready. Hold. Disgorged 5/6/20.
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Special Clum, hmmm. I wanted to like this more than I did.
Brunch w a few peeps in Napa. Nice bubbles, good brioche flavor. Decent balance. Finish OK. Decent acid. Decent all around just wished it was more particular on all fronts. 91/92. I'd say drink up as based on this bottle its at peak and will starting falling apart in a few years.
Drank over several hours. First glass was the best, maybe 92, last glass not so, maybe 89, not a good sign! I Of course not like a top red where last glass always best. Hmmmm.
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Courtesy of tlv. Light color. Biscuit, unripe pear, almond and citrus notes. Almond and orchard fruit with a subtle toasty quality in the finish. Hints of lemon curd as well.
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What a crazy New Years. All alone, in a power outage, in the dark, with only a flashlight, hoping my Champagne is still cold enough to enjoy. Luckily, it is. And tastes wonderful. it is now past 1:00 January 1, 2023, and the power is now back on. So I have a chance to rate this after my phone had died earlier and is now recharged. Weirdest NYE in recent memory, especially not spending it with my wife, Hiroko, of 20+ years. On to the review. Good small bead. Very distinctive nose, with bread and something I can't quite put my finger on, but very pleasant that adds lots of complexity. Really beautiful in the mouth, with lovely limestone and yeasty elements to the flavors. Pitch-perfect balance. I really like this, and am glad I bought two bottles. 5-12-17-9: 93/100.
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Wonderful apple character — apple butter, apple pie — also baked lemon, red cherry, cranberry, red currant. Toasty mineral finish. Rich. Complex. Complete. Continues to improve. Disgorged 5-6-20; drink or hold.
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New Year’s Eve Champagne. This is a well-made Champagne but is not in my preferred style. Still, I can appreciate that, for those who enjoy the style, it is very good.
Disgorged October 22, 2020 (date printed on the glass of the bottle itself toward the bottom).
Ultra fine bubbles. An almost equal balance between apples cooked in butter and bread dough with some hints of spiciness. Rich and full body. Good acidity if I’m trying to be objective, but I really wish they had not done full malolactic for 2012, even if it is the house style. It softened the acidity too much for my taste. Perhaps disgorging earlier and/or lowering the dosage might have helped with this, but either approach could have created other problems (again for my preferences). The long finish adds an ephemeral hint of lemon and some nuttiness (not enough to be marzipan though the empty glass does smell like marzipan after a few minutes).
Let me stress that, despite my critique, I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would when first smelling it. That’s probably because the flavors and antioxidant qualities of the lees aging (almost 8 years if my math is right) dominate (and might even counteract?) any prior oxidative effects that probably accompanied the full malolactic fermentation. Not to say that this comes across as reductive. But it’s not especially oxidative either. It’s fairly balanced in that sense. I usually want a more reductive style but if you enjoy this style, then aging will probably tease out more complexity.
On the issue of aging, I see that some notes from early 2021 here and on WB, and even Galloni’s note from 11/20, talk about lots of citrus and bright fruit flavors. If those disgorgements happened at the same time as my bottle, there simply wasn’t enough time for the Maillard-like reactions with the dosage to fully take place. Those need at least 6 months to pan out, which is why disgorgement dates matter so much in tasting notes for any Champagne (except maybe non-dose). I think the profile for the long haul will be more like this note and Wine_Poobah’s note from Nov 2021 have it.
I won’t object to drinking more of this but, since it isn’t my preferred style, I might sell my remaining bottles.
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Yeasty apple aroma. Rich ripe apple and yeast flavors — kind of like apple pie — with a nice lemon finish. Well balanced with an electric core of acidity and obvious minerality. It’s drinking well now but continues to improve.
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Extremely bubbly. Complex fruity apple, cherry, grape and brioche aromas. Very rich cherry (red and black), ripe red apple, lemon, lime, and yeast flavors. Very complex with lively lemon acidity and tons of minerality. Hold — this is going places but isn’t there yet.
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3/9/2024 - AllRed wrote: 93 Points
Small Tasting & Dinner with Friends: Light color with a medium mousse and lingering bead. Notes of lemon, apple, vanilla crème and blanched almond. Fine texture. Flavors of green apple and citrus. Excellent and drinking very well at the moment, but with plenty to go- no need to rush.
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1/27/2024 - Iceman611 wrote: 94 Points
Definitely brut dry; electric acidity. Green apple and a hint of apple seed bitterness on the finish. Amazing purity. Unbelievably long finish. Tasted vs piper heidseck vintage same year. Piper is richer , a little less dry, with oxidized apples by contrast. Piper is more appealing to me due to its decadence.
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12/31/2023 - MicklethePickle Likes this wine: 93 Points
Second year I a row I have drunk this on NYE. What a difference a year makes. Still stellar. For purity, flavor, color, bead, and balance, one of the best Champagnes I have had for the money. 5-12-17-9: 93/100.
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11/23/2023 - jlhkiss Likes this wine: 92 Points
Kicked off Thanksgiving and paired with various appetizers. Warm bubbly with some orange, pear, and green apple mixed with graham crackers and hints of butterscotch and cinnamon toast on the finish. Creamy, dense mouthfeel gives it some weight, yet it's fresh, juicy, and full of minerality. Still tight and rounding into form so will be best 2025-2032. Technical score: 93. Enjoyment score: 91.
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11/3/2023 - Wine_Poobah Likes this wine: 96 Points
Consistent with prior notes. Fine bubbles that form a wonderful cream in the mouth. Crisp lemon, apple and pear flavors. Fresh. Electric core of acidity with a mineral backbone. More candied or baked apple with air. Very very good and improving - but still not ready. Hold. Disgorged 5/6/20.
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8/6/2023 - essenceofreal wrote: 91 Points
Special Clum, hmmm. I wanted to like this more than I did.
Brunch w a few peeps in Napa. Nice bubbles, good brioche flavor. Decent balance. Finish OK. Decent acid. Decent all around just wished it was more particular on all fronts. 91/92. I'd say drink up as based on this bottle its at peak and will starting falling apart in a few years.
Drank over several hours. First glass was the best, maybe 92, last glass not so, maybe 89, not a good sign! I Of course not like a top red where last glass always best. Hmmmm.
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5/19/2023 - AllRed wrote: 92 Points
Courtesy of tlv. Light color. Biscuit, unripe pear, almond and citrus notes. Almond and orchard fruit with a subtle toasty quality in the finish. Hints of lemon curd as well.
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1/1/2023 - MicklethePickle Likes this wine: 93 Points
What a crazy New Years. All alone, in a power outage, in the dark, with only a flashlight, hoping my Champagne is still cold enough to enjoy. Luckily, it is. And tastes wonderful. it is now past 1:00 January 1, 2023, and the power is now back on. So I have a chance to rate this after my phone had died earlier and is now recharged. Weirdest NYE in recent memory, especially not spending it with my wife, Hiroko, of 20+ years. On to the review. Good small bead. Very distinctive nose, with bread and something I can't quite put my finger on, but very pleasant that adds lots of complexity. Really beautiful in the mouth, with lovely limestone and yeasty elements to the flavors. Pitch-perfect balance. I really like this, and am glad I bought two bottles. 5-12-17-9: 93/100.
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3/27/2022 - Es7e2003 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Notes of yellow apple, Anjou pear and lemon-lime. Fresh and lively, yet quite approachable. High acidity and long finish. Long life ahead.
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2/27/2022 - Wine_Poobah Likes this wine: 95 Points
Wonderful apple character — apple butter, apple pie — also baked lemon, red cherry, cranberry, red currant. Toasty mineral finish. Rich. Complex. Complete. Continues to improve. Disgorged 5-6-20; drink or hold.
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12/31/2021 - guillermo- wrote: 93 Points
New Year’s Eve Champagne. This is a well-made Champagne but is not in my preferred style. Still, I can appreciate that, for those who enjoy the style, it is very good.
Disgorged October 22, 2020 (date printed on the glass of the bottle itself toward the bottom).
Ultra fine bubbles. An almost equal balance between apples cooked in butter and bread dough with some hints of spiciness. Rich and full body. Good acidity if I’m trying to be objective, but I really wish they had not done full malolactic for 2012, even if it is the house style. It softened the acidity too much for my taste. Perhaps disgorging earlier and/or lowering the dosage might have helped with this, but either approach could have created other problems (again for my preferences). The long finish adds an ephemeral hint of lemon and some nuttiness (not enough to be marzipan though the empty glass does smell like marzipan after a few minutes).
Let me stress that, despite my critique, I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would when first smelling it. That’s probably because the flavors and antioxidant qualities of the lees aging (almost 8 years if my math is right) dominate (and might even counteract?) any prior oxidative effects that probably accompanied the full malolactic fermentation. Not to say that this comes across as reductive. But it’s not especially oxidative either. It’s fairly balanced in that sense. I usually want a more reductive style but if you enjoy this style, then aging will probably tease out more complexity.
On the issue of aging, I see that some notes from early 2021 here and on WB, and even Galloni’s note from 11/20, talk about lots of citrus and bright fruit flavors. If those disgorgements happened at the same time as my bottle, there simply wasn’t enough time for the Maillard-like reactions with the dosage to fully take place. Those need at least 6 months to pan out, which is why disgorgement dates matter so much in tasting notes for any Champagne (except maybe non-dose). I think the profile for the long haul will be more like this note and Wine_Poobah’s note from Nov 2021 have it.
I won’t object to drinking more of this but, since it isn’t my preferred style, I might sell my remaining bottles.
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11/20/2021 - Wine_Poobah Likes this wine: 95 Points
Yeasty apple aroma. Rich ripe apple and yeast flavors — kind of like apple pie — with a nice lemon finish. Well balanced with an electric core of acidity and obvious minerality. It’s drinking well now but continues to improve.
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9/15/2021 - KenPlace wrote: 94 Points
Great champagne. Everything you expect from a special club.
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3/19/2021 - Wine_Poobah Likes this wine: 95 Points
Extremely bubbly. Complex fruity apple, cherry, grape and brioche aromas. Very rich cherry (red and black), ripe red apple, lemon, lime, and yeast flavors. Very complex with lively lemon acidity and tons of minerality. Hold — this is going places but isn’t there yet.
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11/21/2020 - bigdogsteve Likes this wine:
Great Sparkling wine!
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