2006 Pascal Doquet Champagne Premier Cru Le Mont Aimé

Community Tasting Notes (10) Median Score: 92 points

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  2/25/2023 - forceberry wrote: 91 Points

  100% Chardonnay from 1er Cru vineyards. Aged in stainless steel tanks (64%) and oak fûts (36%). Bottled in April 2007, disgorged on May 2nd, 2017. 12,5% alcohol, dosage 3,5 g/l - ie. Extra Brut.
  
  Medium-deep lemon-yellow color. The nose feels subtly green-toned but otherwise quite ripe an nuances with aromas of Granny Smith apple and some birch leaves, a little bit of ripe lemony citrus fruits, light nutty notes of slivered almonds, an autolytic hint of leesy yeast, a touch of chalky minerality and an evolved whiff of bruised apple. The wine feels dry, focused and harmonious on the palate with a medium body and bright flavors of mealy red apple, some nutty notes of chopped almonds, a little bit of ripe lemony citrus fruits, light leesy notes of yeast, evolved hints of bruised apple and roasted nuts and a touch of chalky minerality. The brisk acidity and very fine yet also crisp and persistent mousse lend good sense of energy and structure to the wine. The finish is long, zippy and quite complex with dry, layered flavors of bruised apple, some evolved nutty tones, a little bit of ripe lemon, light sweeter nuances of dried yellow fruits, a hint of slivered almonds and a touch of baked apple.
  
  This was a surprising experience: I had tasted this wine 6½ years ago, in late 2016. That wine was - obviously - a different disgorgement, since this wine that we tasted now was disgorged only in 2017, ie. later than when I had tasted the earlier disgorgement of 2006 Mont Aimé. The wine I had tasted earlier was noticeably more darker-toned, emphasizing power and toasty qualities, whereas this wine was less weighty, more mineral and even slightly green-toned in character, contrasting greatly the style of these two different disgorgements. However, that wine also seemed like it wasn't really meant for further aging, whereas this wine seemed still relatively youthful, showing lots of potential for further development. I'd say this wine is more in line with a traditional Blanc de Blancs style, but perhaps ultimately the earlier disgorgement wine was more impressive, more complex and more enjoyable. Maybe by a tiny margin, but still. Yet again, it's fully possible this later disgorgement just needs more time to reach the same level of complexity - and it's entirely possible this wine might continue to evolve and improve even further. At 44,95€, this was a good purchase.

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  10/21/2022 - retired_and_roving Likes this wine:

  Two Months in Roma; 9/6/2022-10/28/2022 (Rome, Italy): From the wine list at Roscioli Salumeria, Rome. Disgorged October 2017. This was outstanding, very much in the bready, rising dough, honey and creamy mouthfeel mode. Wonderful with assorted salumi, caponata and burrata with cherry tomatoes.

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  8/19/2022 - Vancouver wrote: 93 Points

  This bottle is 100% 1er cru chardonnay disgorged in July 2017, so about 10 years on its lees. It was dosed at 3.5 g/l.
  
  Gorgeous deep lemon to light golden appearance. The appearance is fully consistent with the age of the wine.
  
  Pronounced and evolved aromas of honeyed lemon, peach , white flowers and plenty of autolytic notes. Just to need to make sure you are not serving too cold to get all the aromatics (it opened up as we progressed through the bottle which we did not put in ice bucket).
  
  Beautiful mouthfeel with medium body and plenty of zingy acidity-just delicious. The finish is medium plus to long.
  
  Anyone's guess how this will age- I would opt to drink over the next 5 years if stored properly.

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  6/10/2022 - NickA Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Simon's Dauvissat dinner (Lorne): Le Mont Aimé is an outlying butte of yellow chalk, silex and sand that is completely different in its geological makeup than the rest of the Côte des Blancs. Organic Chardonnay, full malo, matured half in enamel and half in old oak. This bottle seemed at a lovely point in its evolution, with an aromatic, complex nose that included honeysuckle, exotic soap and a hint of cream. Both soft and energetic on the palate, with a long, lactic finish. Would have been fun to spend more time with this wine.

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  7/8/2020 - julen789 Likes this wine: 89 Points

  DG 09/2019
  This bottle needed some air to open up. Predominantly fruity nose with lots of coconut, guava, dragon fruit, lychee, mango, pineapple, and ripe citrus fruits; with time it showed fresh butter, some mushroominess, toasted bread, some raw nuts, toasted sunflower seeds; freshly cut white flowers, candle wax, and cacao butter; a mineral presence with some gunpowder and wet stones.
  We’ve drunk various bottles of this 2006 with different disgorgements; this is the youngest, and it showed. Needs more time to develop complexity; too austere at this stage, but with a lot of potential (as with all of Pascal Doquet’s wines).
  89pt

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