2014 Marguet Champagne Grand Cru Chouilly- France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru (4/15/2021)
– popped and poured –
– tasted non-blind over a couple hours –
– 100% Chardonnay –
– no dosage; disgorged: Feb. 2019 –
Airy, bright Nose with juicy Fuji apple dominating. Light/airy, and dry on the palate. Very dry, but the fruit here is rich, juicy, and crystalline. Remarkably stunning from the first sip to the last. This comes across as clean, refreshing, and delightfully focused. Extremely moreish. Gut impression score: 95 - 96. Absolutely spectacular! I struggle to imagine how a no-dosage blanc de blancs could get much better than this. Not sure I’d age this very long, and with how good it is today I don’t really see the point in doing so, either. Unbelievably delicious!
That’s quite a note! I’ve not really explored Marguet as there are too many different bottlings for me to get a handle on. But maybe I’ll start with this one.
NOSE: buttery popcorn; Golden Delicious apple; and – somehow – a cool little oceanic bit comes in, too.
BODY: active bead; medium-light bodied.
TASTE: very dry; apple, especially on the finish; rich, but taut and energetic; too acidic for Ash to love it (she estimates she’s around 90 pts on this); not sure this bottle is any better than the one I had 14 months previously, so perhaps this is simply a fantastic immediate drinker – I do question if this has the stature to age well, but I don’t really care – it’s delicious now. Excellent pairing with sushi, although – quite frankly – something more austere, or more mineral-laden, would have been even better. I love this wine, and regret not buying more than I did — won’t be making that mistake again. My gut impression score for this bottle is in the 92-94 territory.
