OK, here goes:
Champagne Touring
Sept. 28-Oct. 4, 2010
After a fine week in Paris, Roelanda and I arrived at our hotel, Castel Jeanson, in Ay on Tuesday, 9/28. Their ownership is the H. Goutorbe family whose champagne house is 3 doors away so we took advantage of this and had a glass of their NV cuvee prestige to start off this week of bubbly. We dined nearby at the recently relocated restaurant, les Vieux Puits, now situated in the hotel, Saint Georges. For a small village, this was a classy dinning room, quality food by chef Oger with a varied menu having 4 price options for pris fix. We had a bottle of NV rose from Andre Roger which was a first exposure and just an OK wine that never did open up and was served very cold in a wider mouthed stem as opposed to a flute as were most of the Champagnes we tasted at the houses we visited during this trip.
The next day we set out on our appointments, mostly private, arranged in advance primarily by email communication, although 2 appointments were graciously set up by Todd McGowan with Taittinger and Patrick Will with Philipponnat. Special kudos to Brad Baker for providing an enormous amount of direction and information that served to structure most of this trip. Our biggest challenge was to be able to find each location without GPS and using maps and directions provided by non English speaking folks. Im happy to say, we never were late for a visit and we learned quickly how to travel the main and back roads using destinations instead of highway numbers. Also, I have to state that we were treated royally throughout our week in Champagne. We tasted many wines that are not normally provided and given extra special attention, time and consideration for whatever reason. We left many places thankful for the experience and appreciating what had just happened and wondering what we did to deserve it. All of the information and tasting notes herein is as accurate as possible although there may be some error from the translation or communication issues. Should anyone detect any inaccurate comments, I welcome the correction. Also, I recognize that all wines we tasted were from the source and not subjected to the effects from travel, handoffs, storage and other issues that can change whats in the bottle. Interestingly, some producers stated they found little difference in their wines in the US from their home site. A further note, we ate at some really fine restaurants for lunch and dinner that are not mentioned here as Im focusing more on the wine experience which is primarily what we came for. Im happy to share that info with anyone interested.
** We had 2 appointments Wednesday afternoon, 9/29, first at Ayala where we were surprisingly treated to a tour by the president of the company, Herve Augustin, who is #2 at Bollinger which bought Ayala 5 years ago and is located 2 blocks away. After the tour, we tasted:
Ayala NV Brut Majeur Non Dosage- comprised of 40% pinot noir [PN] and chardonnay and 20% pinot Meunier [PM}, this was a treat; well rounded, soft and fresh with good acidity; impressive.
Ayala NV Brut Majeur- of the same blend, this was not as stately and yet offered pleasant, fruity and crisp notes with a shorter finish.
Ayala NV Blanc de Blanc [BdB]- a blend of 3 grand crus from the Cotes des Blanc; dosage=8 grams per liter; even and steady throughout with a creamy and rich texture.
Ayala 99` brut Millesime “low dosage”- 80% PN, 20% chard, all grand cru; very generous and elegant full bodied wine.
Ayala 00 Perle dAyala- 80% chard, 20% PN, mostly grand cru; loved this; it`s bigger and more expressive than those before and twice the price at 60 Euro here.
Ayala NV rose- 51% chard., 39% PN, 10% PM; delightful, light in color and weight, strawberries and raspberries; nice rose.
** Our 2nd appointment on Wednesday was a tough ticket, Champagne Bollinger. First declined, I persisted and was offered a visit which turned out to be a real treat. Our hostess was Sonia de la Giraudiere who was quite knowledgeable and at the outset led us into the very tiny vineyard of the VVF, Vieilles Vignes Foule, from which only 200 bottles are made. This is the only vineyard that escaped the phylloxera destruction that plagued the region over 100 years ago. We tasted:
Bollinger NV Special Cuvee- it had an inviting honeyed nose, was very rich and full bodied and citrusy with good acidity from an 06` base wine; 7-9 gm/L dosage; 60%PN, 25% chard and 15% PM; 35 Euro at their shop.
Bollinger NV rose- loved this; same blend, base wine and dosage; lots of cherries in a soft and creamy texture; 60 Euro here.
Bollinger 2000 Grand Annee- according to Sonia, there is no difference in the Grand Annee and the RD except the RD requires at least 8 years before its eligible for disgorgement and its dosage is at 3 gm; 70% PN, 30% chard; 100% grand cru; 7 gm dosage; disgorged 4/10; fabulous, big, rich, creamy red fruit with a little pepper and saltiness; should evolve into a fine wine for the future; I bought more at 75 Euro. Will it make it home?
** The next morning, Thursday, 9/30, we visited Ruinart which was highly recommended for the tour of the caves and not so much for the wines which turned out to be special IMO; our guide was the attractive, informed and professional Julie Murez who I would want in my winery as the #1 public relations person. She provided a lot of interesting history which I found intriguing such as Dom Ruinart and Dom Perignon were both monks and friends and buried in the same place. Their bottle shape comes from the 18th century. The house originated in 1729. They use primarily chardonnay contrasted to krug who is primarily pinot noir. After a fantastic tour of the cellars and the incredible deep and lengthy crayeres [chalk mines], we were joined for our tasting by their cellar master, Frederic Paniotis, who spent 3 years in Napa and is a close friend of Brad Baker [The Champagne Warrior}:
Ruinart NV BdB- from 1er cru [grand cru only for the Dom Ruinart], this was a mouthful of citrus, apples and kiwi fruit nicely balanced; 12.5 % ETOH; disgorged in June, 2010; base wine from 06`. 50 Euro here.
Ruinart 98 BdB- with a little toasty pepper and spice in the nose and a darker color than the NV, this exploded into a beautifully complex and balanced wine with a lingering finish; base wine from 07; disgorged 12/09; 12.5 %; 150 Euro; loved it.
The 02 will be released at the end of this year prior to the 00 which needs more time.
We were surprisingly gifted a bottle of the NV rose upon departure. Since I am writing and saving this as we go, we have now opened this wine on Sunday with the following notes:
Ruinart NV rose- just what we needed on our day off as we are passionate about rose and this is delightful which we knew going in; Geoffroy red, rich and creamy with some toast early on and throughout, fresh and ripe red cherries with a lingering finish which invites the next taste for which we are obliging; delightful. I`ve had a lot of this wine in the US and although very good, it never tasted this good.
** Our next visit was Krug where we were again met by the capable and attractive guide, Julie-Amadine Michel, who would also qualify for the personal relations selection of my imaginary winery. Unlike all other appointments, we started with a full glass wine, in this instance, the MV Grand Cuvee, a stellar beginning. She told us about my friend, Todd McGowan, who visited one time bringing in a 59 Krug that stopped the entire work force for a taste. I can easily believe this and wished I was there to witness the scene. We enjoyed a great tour and a lot of information I wanted to know about Krug, such as the Collection requires 15 years aging before release; the label change occurred in 04; they have 51 employees; the pinot meunier is added for its spicy quality from 6-12% and the vineyards require a lot of minerality for it to shine and it does not generally age well; their current vintage release is 98`.; 40% of the vineyards sourced are their own. We tasted:
Krug 98 Clos du Mesnil BdB- this was a real treat and very appreciated as it is not normally opened for guests; only 12,000 bottles made; released 12/08; first ever vintage was 79`; gold in color; bracing acidity; loaded with toasted caramel, butterscotch and vanilla, it was soft, rich and full bodied with great depth and length; some coconut in the nose lingered and then dissipated; certainly youthful and on the green side, this will be a big winner in time.
Krug 98- considered by this house as an underrated vintage, this wine shined for such a “tough” vintage; a lot of toast initially with citrus and light pineapple and grapefruit notes, it was bigger and more complex than the MV IMO; disgorged in 08; about 52% chard which is the same as for the 81 which Ive had a few of recently and it is showing extremely well from magnum;
Krug MV Grand Cuvee- well, we get another bottle at this point, a good thing; this was even better that the first one although from the same lot; gold, more nutty and flavor, rich, complex and full bodied; the MV has from 6-12 vintages and is aged for at least 6 years; the base for this one is from 03`; an already great day just got better and then….
As we left, Julie gave us another MV for the road. It will not return to the US.
** The next morning, Friday, 10/1, we go to Taittinger, one of my favs, where we are joined by 4 others from Orange County for the tour and tasting which was led by a young, reserved and rehearsed Lydia von Bonneveld who hails from the Netherlands originally so she and Roelanda connected and spoke Dutch most of the time which was OK as the rest of us talked a lot of wine geeky stuff. After the tour, we tasted:
Taittinger NV Brut Reserve- served very chilled in a small bowled stem, it was a light, easy and simple drink which evolved a little bit over time; made from 45% chard, 30%PN, 25% PM; 31 Euro here. The “store” was just outside of the tasting room and 2 people had moved into the area and were waiting for us to finish to sell to us; it seemed very contrived and sort of strange although I respect that this is a business and they undoubtedly sell a lot of wine on premises. As I understand this is true for all of the houses we visited, we did not encounter this aura at any other place. There were masses of groups of people who were concurrently lining up for a tour of the caves and a more generic experience and I assumed they would be shuttled to the store eventually.
Taittinger 99 Comtes de Champagne BdB- aged for 8-10 years, released 1/09, disgorged toward the end of 08; chilled and therefore muted at first, it opened up into a rich and creamy, toasty and spicy joyful wine obviously needing time and promising the wait to be worthwhile.
Taittinger NV rose- 35% PN and PM, 30% chard; again very chilled, light strawberries at first and more cherries later on; pleasant and a fine candidate for a house rose; 40 Euro here.
** We next visited Philipponnat where our pretty, Italian, young and well educated in wine hostess, Nicoletta de Nicolo, first walked us up the street to the classic vineyard, Clos des Goisses. The steep slope suggested the name, Goisses which implies a “ tough job”. I immediately picked up on the fact it was south facing, a rarity here and it was very close to the canal of the river Marne. We climbed the stairs up into the vineyard which was divided into 2/3 PN and 1/3 chard. It breathed class and dignity. Average age of the relatively short and small vines is 25 years old. After a tour of the winery and a lot of neat information such as a new release of an 09` no dosage forthcoming and they buy 2/3 of all of their fruit, we tasted forever, not a problem:
Philipponat NV Royale Reserve- 45% PN, 30% chard, 25% PM; 8 gm; 06 base; disgorged in 09; light in color and body, dry and pleasant with a lot of acidity.
Philipponat NV Royale Reserve “no dose”- released in 09` in France and now in Italy in a new special shaped bottle; light in color; crisp, pure and elegant; good acidity, fresh and clean and a great hot summer wine which has biscuit and bread dough notes; disgorged 9/09.
Philipponnat NV rose- same blend plus 8% of still PN added into the 1st fermentation; disgorged 10/08; soft and creamy mousse with strawberries and raspberries; peach colored; 06` base; I have had a lot of this wine and it is consistently enjoyable.
Philipponnat 04 Grand Blanc BdB- similar to the 99 in that the fruit was not too ripe, this rocked from the outset; an inviting nose followed by an elegance and full body; disgorged 2/10; 5 gm dosage; excellent.
Philipponnat 02 Reserve Millesime- to be renamed blanc de noir when released from 07 vintage on; 70%PN, 30 chard; disgorged 7/09; 5 gm; a blend of numerous villages mostly from the Maueril sur Ay; rich and creamy, full bodied and wonderful.
Philipponnat 02` 1522 Brut Millesime- all grand cru; 60% PN from one vineyard, Leon, in Ay; disgorged 9/08; 4 gm; spicy mango and papaya, somewhat dry finish.
Philipponnat 00 Clos des Goisses- 65%PN, 35% chard; disgorged 10/08; 4-5 gm; a serious full bodied wine with very ripe red fruit, bracing acidity and a slight toast and nuttiness; in this context, I liked the 02 brut Millesime even more.
Philipponnat 02` Clos des Goisses rose- only 2,000 bottles made; great balance and depth loaded with fresh cherries; a mouthful of joy.
** With CdG on our palates and smiles on our faces, we walked 1 block from our hotel to Rene Geoffroy on Saturday morning, 10/2 where we were greeted by Renaud, a friend of the owner/ winemaker, Jean- Baptiste Geoffroy who was called away; they own 100% of their vineyards and have a house rule of no ML and just recently relocated into this premises We tasted:
Rene Geoffroy NV Brut Expression- their entry level wine made from 1er cru from the Cumieres vineyard; 45%PN, 40% PM, 15% chard; a real grapey OK start to the morning; 14.5 Euro here.
Rene Geoffroy 00` Extra Brut Millesime- 70% chard, 30% PN; disgorged 1/10; 4 gm; a little oak with a lot of apple/ pear fruit, balanced, complex and good acidity; in a wider shaped bottle as were the next 2; liked it a lot; 48 Euro.
Rene Geoffroy NV Brut Rose de Saignee- again from the 1er cru Cumieries, 100% macerated PN with 7 days of skin contact; mostly 06 base with some 07; 9 gm; with its distinguished red color, this very familiar powerful rose has lots of strawberries/ raspberries and some black currant; 23 Euro.
Rene Geoffroy NV Extra Brut Blanc de Rose- 40% chard, 60% PN all 1er cru; 3 gm; a brighter red, this has delicious red grapefruit and strawberries with great finesse; a complete opposite to the above rose, this one is more feminine than the masculine counterpart; their both good; 36 Euro.
** We were originally set up to taste at H. Goutorbe earlier in the morning, but Nicole, the wife of Rene, invited us to join in for lunch at their winery with food and wine critics from Germany. One of them encouraged me to discover the German wine glass manufacturer, Esch, who makes stemware that serves to allow wines to open up earlier than others. I`l check this out. Rene Goutorbe is a passionate about wine as I am and he pulled out all of the stops [as I would do]. All wines were served very chilled and opened up with time in a wide bowl with a narrow rim stem. With our palates pretty well prepared from Geoffroy, we tasted:
H. Goutorbe NV Brut Cuvee Tradition- 75%PN, 23%chard, 2% PM; disgorged 4/10; 9-10 gm; 80% of base wine from 06` plus older reserves; very friendly, rich and fresh with high acidity; liked it; 14.95 Euro here.
H. Goutorbe NV Cuvee Prestige- tasted the first day, inconsistent notes regarding the make up, but this one came from the owner vs. an employee; 64% PN all from Ay, 36% chard; 9-10 gm; similar style to the Tradition as all cuvees were; 16.30 Euro.
H. Goutorbe 03 Cuvee Millesime- a tough vintage; rare to find many 03, a hot year with decreased yield for their vineyards; a decent drink again that jumps right out of the gate; high acidity; 75% PN, 25% chard from 1.5 hectares in Ay; 17.80 Euro
H. Goutorbe 02` Cuvee Millesime Special Club- made within a special club of 25 members with specific quality controlling factors; gold color, more richness here with caramel, a little butter and some spice; wonderful; disgorged 1 year ago; 9.8 gm; WS 94 pts showing a price at $86, 25.30 Euro here.
H. Goutorbe 97` Cuvee Millesine Special Club- medium yellow color, even more richness and full body with the buttery, caramel notes; disgorged about 7 years ago; 75% PN, 25% chard; a real treat.
H. Goutorbe 87` Cuvee Millesime [not Special Club]- lots of apricot, caramel and butterscotch in this obvious older wine still very viable and enjoyable.
H. Goutorbe NV Ay Rouge- Ive not had a still wine from Champagne and this was just simply wonderful pinot Id drink anytime; from grand cru with a base primarily from 08`, of medium red color, very fruit forward with some complexity in a medium body.
H. Goutorbe 98 Ay Rouge- all grand cru; lots of ripe red fruit with cherries on top of all other character, vibrant, rich, seemingly young and drinking great now and wondering what it will evolve into; this is good pinot! Im surprised and impressed.
H. Goutorbe NV Rose- from grand cru, lots of spice, ginger strawberry, raspberry; pleasant and a steal at 16.95 Euro.
Upon departure from their hotel, we were gifted a bottle of the 03` Cuvee Millesime by Rene as he and Nicole greeted us at 7:00 am in the morning before we returned to Paris to drop off our rental car and take the train to Amsterdam. They treated us like family the entire stay.
** Henri Giraud is our last stop of the day just a few blocks from the hotel and Goutorbe. The owner/ winemaker and 12th in the generation, Claude, is away. His father, Henri, is deceased. Awaiting us is Marie, another young, cute tasting room hostess also knowledgeable and impassioned with all things vin. The winery is small, 250,000 bottles per year. They own 10 hectares in Ay. They have been up scaled on the map from Robert Parker scores in the 90s for many of their wines. We tasted:
Henri Giraud NV BdB Espirt de Giraud- disgorged about 5 months ago; 9-10 gm; strange nose=strong perfumy like what I get in some magazine fragrance ads; could not get a handle on this one; 25.30 Euro here; fortunately, it gets better after this wine…
Henri Giraud NV rose Espirit de Giraud- nice nose of rose petals, floral, got a little of the perfume, but much milder and this is much more approachable; 70%PN, 30% chard; RP 91; 30.50 Euro.
Henri Giraud NV Hommage a` Francois Hemart Ay- grand cru; 70%PN, 30% chard; a powerful, balanced wine with finesse; very expressive for a NV and yet easy on the palate; lots of red fruit; 7-9 gm dosage; a RP 92; 69.90 Euro.
Henri Giraud NV Henri Giraud Brut Code Noir- 100% grand cru PN; nice fragrance of the ripe red cherries that dominate; some of the perfumy overtones in a good sense; a really good wine; RP 93; 71.40 Euro.
Henri Giraud 00` Fut de Chene [oak barrel] Ay- grand cru; 70%PN, 30% chard; spends 1 year in oak; very tasty, creamy, rich, vanilla red fruit in balance and integrity; RP 92; 126 Euro.
Henri Giraud 06` Coteaux Champenois Blanc BdB Ay- grand cru; the first vintage of only chard from Ay, vinified 11 months in oak barrels; rose floral nose, somewhat dry with apples and citrus notes; a 2,160 bottles made; a good wine; 71.40 Euro.
**After a day of rest and the gifted bottle of Ruinart NV rose, we`re off to H. Billiot on Monday, Oct. 4. We were met by one of the daughters, Laetitia, of the owner, Serge Billiot. All their wines are from owned grand cru vineyards from Ambonnay with a total of 4.75 hectares. Annual production ranges from 45- 50,000 bottles. We tasted
H. Billiot NV Cuvee Tradition Brut- base wines come from 05, 06 and 07`; the same blend for all 4 wines we tasted is 75% chard, 25% PN; 9-10 gm; this entry level wine is full of minerals from the nose on, very tart and citrusy and a little chalky and as with the others, has an unusual very light peach color; 16.50 Euro here.
H. Billiot Cuvee Reserve- same blend and base; 10-11 gm; very different with a mild toasty nose, much richer, more viscus, similar tart, malic and more full bodied; 17.50 Euro.
H. Billiot 03` Brut Millesime- not released in the US due to decreased acidity and fear it will not travel; starts off chalky followed by flavors of apricot, mango and peach finishing dry; almost no dosage; same blend; 21 Euro.
H. Billiot 04` Cuvee Millesime- again, same blend; nicely balanced, good acidity, more fruit of nectarine and peach.
The wines were all good and well made as far as I could tell and yet not my style.
We were again gifted with a bottle of wine, this time their NV Cuvee rose [19 E] which we drank on our first night in Amsterdam:
H. Billiot NV Brut Rose- copper red color, taste of cranberries, red cherries and a little sweet pink grapefruit, from grand cru PN and chard; disgorged 5/10; loved it and would drink it as an aperitif or at the end of a meal or anytime by itself.
** After a fine lunch at Le Mesnil in Les Mesnil Oger, our last and one of the best stops was at Pierre Peters where the 7th generation, Rudolph Peters, met us for another private tasting. He took over for his father, Francois, who retired 3 years ago. Pierre is his grandfather. He is a real genuine and passionate person and I know Ill seek out his wines for years to come. He treated us with glee and I have to think we had an extraordinary tasting. At least it was for us. Our only experience with his wines prior to this visit was the top of the line 00 Cuvee Special Millesime Les Chetillons which I love dearly and have a tough time holding off on even knowing as good as it is now, it will be even better in 10-15 years plus. I made pages of notes and will condense some of the more salient points as this is already way long. The Les Mesnil is more limestone than chalk. He make 6 wines that are all grand cru chardonnay, therefore BdB, except the Cuvee de Reserve and 1 rose [only because the exporters demanded it to fill out the lineup]. His prices are so much less than what we pay e.g. the 00 Les Chetillons is 33.90 Euro and the minimum I have paid is $90. The first ever vintage was 71 and the bottle shape changed to the current one in 82`. He now uses a special cork which is treated to avoid corkiness and other infiltrations made by MYTIK DIAMANT. He jaunted back and forth to his underground cellar to pull out additional wines after we tasted the first 4 of his lineup:
Pierre Peters NV Cuvee de Reserve- from an 07` base, 7 gm dosage; 40% reserve wines from 15 different vintages; crisp and elegant with mild acidity which leads into more minerals from the outset with a characteristic chalky after taste; 18 Euro
Pierre Peters NV Extra Brut- 05 base, not to US, 2 gm; from 4 plots described as having 4 different characteristics that match the colors of white, orange, brown and gray e.g. orange is fruit with citrus; very pleasant; 19.55 Euro. Pierre Peters L Sprit de 2005 Millesime- same blend as the Extra Brut; 4.5 gm; wonderful, rich and full body, chalky not creamy, a little cinnamon with tasty applesauce notes;
Pierre Peters Rose for Albane- as stated above, PP is 100% chard, so he had to look for just the right PN to produce this wine. Once he discovered it, he made a trade with the grower for some of his own fruit 5 years ago. Then he decided to do this in a saignee method for the 40% and blended in 60% chard; salmon color, of red grapefruit, lots of finesse, easy on the palate, dry; liked it and saved some for later on; 21.50 Euro.
Pierre Peters 00 Cuvee Speciale Millesime Les Chetillons- this is the winner of a wine I have had and cherish; this particular bottle was disgorged 1 year ago and Rudolph says it too long, should be 8 months maximum and not that good after tasting it so he jumps up, runs down 2 long sets of stairs to the cellar which we eventually toured and brings up the next wine. The Les Chet is from 3 plots, the oldest of which is 45 years old and is always a blend of 3 factors- chalky, from the middle of the hill vineyard and consistency in balance. He states this wine is made to be consumed first in 12-15 years and on; he told us the 02 will be released in Nov. 10 although I just read in the latest issue of the Champagne Warrior tasting notes from Brad that is is a dynamite wine and not to be missed. We did here, but Im stoked at what we experienced. 33.90 Euro for the 00 and 36.10 for the 02.
Pierre Peters 97 Cuvee Speciale Millesime Les Chetillons- special it is; “ this is our Oenoteque”; of medium yellow color, darker than the 00, this is right on mature with viscosity and just simply fantastic; disgorged in 93`.
Pierre Peters 95 Cuvee Speciale Millesime Les Chetillons- I though we had finished with the 97 and we toured the storage cellar which houses both his library wines and his fathers entire collection of all wines. I noticed many rare older gems from Alsace, Burgundy, Bordeaux and beyond. The 95 was unlabeled, seemingly very evolved and showing great with full and rich texture and a creaminess amidst the vibrant peach and other stone fruit notes. We were asked to guess the vintage. I said 96 or 95 or 90 and Roelanda nailed it.
Now we`re finished except that the last 2 wines stayed on my palate the next day as we left for Amsterdam on Tuesday, October 5 for another week of fun, good Belgium beer and undoubtedly a little bubbly from our stash collected over this past week. We shall return to the Champagne region with vigor, familiarity, advance reservations in some of the restaurants and a GPS and fill in many of the holes we missed during this visit. Life continues to be good.
Thrilled beyond belief. I have my list of growers I’d like to visit; however, I don’t think they are as easy to arrange appointments as it is to visit places in California or Italy.
