View From the Cellar

• By John Gilman
  May/Jun 2009, Issue #21, Recently Tasted Champagne and Sparkling Wine

  (Jacques Picard Blanc de Noirs Brut (Premier Cru)) Login and sign up and see review text.

• By Josh Raynolds
  November/December 2008, IWC Issue #141, (See more on Vinous...)

  (Jacques Picard Blanc de Noirs Brut) Login and sign up and see review text.

View From the Cellar

• By John Gilman
  May/Jun 2008, Issue #15, Recently Tasted Champagne and Sparkling Wines

  (Jacques Picard Blanc de Noirs Brut) Login and sign up and see review text.

Burghound

• By Allen Meadows
  4th Quarter, 2007, Issue #28, (See more on Burghound...)

  (Jacques Picard Brut Blanc de Noir Premier Cru 1er Cru White) Subscribe to see review text.

View From the Cellar

• By John Gilman
  May/Jun 2007, Issue #9, Recently Tasted Champagne and Sparkling Wine

  (Jacques Picard Blanc de Noirs Premier Cru) Login and sign up and see review text.

Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  10/7/2008, (See more on Garagiste...)

  (PICARD Blanc de Noirs) 2002 Champagne Dear Friends, I was able to nab a small amount of this from the cellars at Picard and it's a gorgeous effort. It seems like we've had a number of Champagne offers of late but the reality is that the economic slow-down has not touched the demand for 2002 Champagne. My entire cadre of boutique Champagne producers are already sold out of 2002 wine and I've barely seen a single bottle arrive in the US from any of them (almost 20 different producers). This vintage was truly a "snooze you loose" proposition and the emerging wine-consuming nations sent representatives (and hard currency) to Champagne early to grab as much 2002 wine as they could. Japan alone now consumes so much Champagne, there was nowhere to take the allocation from - except to cut the US bound wine in half. Why? The Japanese pay in advance - the US importers notoriously abuse their 90-120 day terms and in today's climate which would you choose? The point is that one of the top vintages for age-worthy Champagne (2002) will be in short supply here and value is not the order of the day - when I find it, I secure as much as I can. We've offered this wine in the past and I'm convinced it is one of the steals of the vintage - for 100% Pinot Noir that has the ageing capacity many 2005 Cote d'Nuits wines would be jealous of, I can't impress enough the glory that many of these top 2002 wines will shower upon those fortunate enough to open them a decade from now (and most will increase in value just because they are 2002s). While captivating to drink today, this is a stunning effort that will only improve (I urge you to look up other TN's on this as well). I may be beating a dead horse, but, for the $400-600/bottle (or more) that a bottle of 2002 Krug will set you back when it is released, I'd rather have an entire case of this: ONE SHIPMENT ONLY at a terrific price, directly from the cellars at Picard (this wine is now sold out at the winery): 2002 Jacques Picard Champagne Blanc de Noirs 1er (premier cru) (BH92) This wine is on the water and will arrive at some point in 2008. Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Champ7500

• By Jon Rimmerman
  10/11/2007, (See more on Garagiste...)

  (PICARD Jacques Blanc de Noir Brut) Jacques Picard Dear Friends, As you will undoubtedly receive a dearth of offers from a plethora of sources in the next few days for Champagne (spurred by the Burghound reviews), here is something that I think is truly a cut above and the wines are very hard to find - I could barely find any in France. There is nothing like timing - I chose this set of wines a few weeks ago after my trip as I though they had some of the best potential of any of the artisan producers I tasted. These are full of personality, breed and reserve and the compact nature of the fruit is just waiting for a few additional years in the cellar. Burghound reviewed them yesterday and I’m glad we grabbed them when we did as unknown Champagne of this quality is one of the toughest things to find. This is another example (like Carre-Guebels) where it’s impossible for me to pick between the two top wines, the Brut Selection and Blanc de Noir, both are ever so interesting and while I usually opt for some Pinot Mugnier or a dash of Chardonnay in the blend, in this case the 100% Pinot Noir of the Blanc de Noir is not only rare but equally as captivating (and it is a showcase of just how strong the 2002 vintage is going to be in Champagne). Both of these are two more reasons to have hope for the small-production philosophy of the new regime in Champagne. The only problem with producers like Picard is availability - Champagne is quite labor intensive to produce and it requires arguably the most attention to detail of any wine. Quantities produced are like small-batch Burgundies and both are quite limited. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for their respective genre’s with outstanding potential for development NV Jacques Picard Brut “Selection” (Berru) STRICT LIMIT 3/person (this is the “Selection” not a generic Brut) 2002 Jacques Picard Brut “Blanc de Noir” 1er (Berru) EXTREMELY LIMITED - VERY RARE Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Champ7800 Champ7900