VALUE IN CHAMPAGNE? - Todd’s (9/28/2016)
Last night my tasting group me to taste thru some Champagne. The goal was to find Champagnes that offer some value in the world of Champagne. While there is a lot of value in Cava or Prosecco, there is less in these wines. Even though we all had a different order, for the most part, everyone had the wines at 89-91 points. The Ohio prices seems to require spending $45 for a good bottle and a lot more than that for a great bottle. I remember a time, about ten years ago, when Farmer Fizz was offering a better value. That doesn’t seem quite as true anymore, at least locally. While 89-91 is a very good wine, for $50, I expect that.
The wines were served with a variety of cheeses, breads and nuts. We consumed the wines over 2.5 hours. First blind, and then revisiting.
An opener
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NV Gonzalez-Byass Palomino Fino Jerez-Xérès-Sherry Tío Pepe (Muy Seco-Extra Dry) - Spain, Andalucía, Jerez-Xérès-Sherry
I think I liked this more than the group. What to serve for an opener to a Champagne tasting? This worked. Fino sherries are often a bit difficult at first. Light gold/bronze in color. The nose is oxidized with almonds and dried flowers. On the palate, this is a bit smokey. Bone dry. Slightly medicinal. It begs for food and really improved with some assorted salted nuts. Some blue cheese actually would have been even better. I like this. It is interesting, deep and something to slip at the beginning of the night. More research is required. (87 pts.)
The Champagne flight
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NV Marie Demets Champagne Tradition Brut - France, Champagne
Certainly one of the best values on the night. The group was divided on this finishing high or low but not in the middle of people’s rankings. This is a Fass Selection Wine. Light gold in color. I found the nose almost vacant. Not tight just not much going on. Maybe it was my glass. Much better on the palate with green apples. Slightly sweet. Good acidity. Nice mousse. Good finish. With air and warmth it improved a bit. $30 (90 pts.) -
1997 Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne Brut Rosé Cuvée Palmes d’Or - France, Champagne
The group liked this more than I as well. Orange/ruby in color. There is a lot of fruit on the nose. Red apples and cherries. The froth is a bit light at this point. There are some blood oranges on the palate. I may have detected some TCA, but it might have just been old/musty as it went in and out. It got no first place votes but no last place votes either. There is a nice intensity about this wine but it never rose to great heights for me. (89 pts.) -
2006 Duval-Leroy Champagne Cuvée Design Paris - France, Champagne
This is showing some age on it, but I liked it very much. If you like aged Champagne, this is good, but its time to drink up. Deep gold in color. The nose has a slight mushroom note. Lots of small bubbles. A bit of baked bread. Piercing acidity on the palate really cuts thru the age. Some citrus. Long finish. (91 pts.) -
NV Pannier Champagne Brut Rosé - France, Champagne
Another wine I liked more than the group. This was my WOTN. Strawberries and raspberries on the nose. A slight toast. On the palate, strawberries on orange citrus. Slightly sweet. Nice acidity. This is a lively wine with decent power. (91 pts.) -
NV Veuve Doussot Champagne L by VD - France, Champagne
Light gold in color. The nose has seltzer on it. More mineral driven than fruity. On the palate, this is soft. Juicy acidity though. Not a lot of bubbles. Some citrus, mostly orange. Long finish. (89 pts.) -
2000 Pol Roger Vintage Brut (Extra Cuvee de Reserve) - France, Champagne
This was the groups WOTN. It is quite good but not inexpensive ($95). Deep gold in color. Slight mushrooms with a bit of ginger ale. On the palate, slight amount of bubbles. Good acidity. There is a nice level of complexity. Very focused. Some citrus, slight ginger. Long finish. (91 pts.) -
NV Larmandier-Bernier Champagne 1er cru extra brut Longitude - France, Champagne
Slight pink-gold in color. Lots of bubbles. Some grapefruit on the nose. Pretty big nose. On the palate, the grapefruit continues, but also some strawberries. Long finish. (90 pts.) -
NV Alfred Gratien Champagne Brut - France, Champagne
Gold with a slight, slight pink in color. The nose is pretty tight. Smoke with some citrus notes. On the palate, this is slightly sweet with green apples. Also a chalky note, both of which make me think of Chablis. Not quite that level of acidity though. Good finish. (89 pts.)
An interesting dessert
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NV René Geoffroy Ratafia de Champagne - France, Champagne, Ratafia de Champagne
18% Alc. Pale ruby in color. This is really interesting. I had never heard of this category or type of “Champagne”. No bubbles. The nose has some alcohol, some cherries and a slight sweetness to it. On the palate, this is slightly sweet with cherries. The alcohol is noticeable in the texture but there is no heat. (89 pts.)
For anyone not getting e-mails from Lyle Fass Selections, I strongly encourage it (no affiliation, yada, yada). He is finding some great values in the wine world including the Marie Demets line in Champagne. Send him an e-mail at lyle@fassselections.com to ghet on the list.
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