Brad Baker, Isiah wants your take

It’s either low sugar or no sugar or both?

It might go something like this:

Like the TN Robert Parker gave to Jack Donaghy’s LI sparkling wine - “Donaghy Estates tastes like the urine of Satan after a hefty portion of asparagus.”

On 30 Rock

Looks more like blatant self-promotion than anything useful.

I’ve actually had the Rosé.

• NV Cheurlin Champagne “Rose de Saignee” - France, Champagne (7/17/2020)
  Bought as a curiosity because of connection to old Piston Isiah Thomas.
  Pretty color, very good acid cut. Midpalate with quite effusive strawberry/red currant flavor. Not bad but not a rebuy for me.

I must admit that I have never heard of this brand before. Well, actually not this Isiah Thomas guy either.

However this was pretty amusing, from the Cheurlin website; “Richard Cheurlin, a master of his craft is sought by Champagne houses throughout France for his expertise and reputation.” I’m sorry, but… Champagne houses throughout France???

And; “Known for his business savvy and philanthropic endeavors as much as his storied athletic career, Isiah and his wife Lynn wanted a healthier, great tasting champagne without the added sugar. Isiah is quick to point out, “it had to be reasonably priced and it definitely couldn’t come with a headache the next day. It took years but that’s exactly what we found in Cheurlin Champagne.””

No particular reason you should have heard of him. He is among the — pick a number between 1 and 10—NBA point guards in history.

I have seen the Cheurlin wines on the shelf recently, but have not tried them. I have had the Richard Cheurlin wines (grower in Celles-sur-Ource) and they are quite nice. All the Cheurlins in the Aube/Cote des Bar are related and the basic Cheurlin label has been the Negociant label of the family (or portion of the family) though I never really knew which family or family members owned it; I am guessing the force behind it now must be Thomas Cheurlin who also has his own negoicant label which Isiah Thomas’ import company also brings in. Richard Cheurlin serves as the winemaker and/or oenologue for the Cheurlin brand. Richard’s kids also help him out and have their own label too and so do other Cheurlin relatives. It gets kind of confusing…

In general, the Cheurlin label we are talking about here has been after growth and expanding with exports. Looks like they are doing that. I’m not so sure I agree with the marketing angle that Isiah & Co. are using (low calorie, low sugar, no headaches) and some of the statements are just strange such as ‘Largest American Owned Champagne Company in the United States’ - I am sure they can twist this to somehow be correct as ‘largest’ is relative and I would guess Isiah is referring to his ownership of the something that resides in the US. Maybe the import arm, import rights, and possibly some portion of the brand/name? I doubt he owns any of the land or winery, but could be wrong. Still am not sure his statment is correct, but whatever. Another good one is the claim that Cheurlin is the ‘Largest Producer of First Press Champagne in the World.’ Huh? First, the statement makes no sense and second, well, I would love to see the twisted data behind this one.

Isiah was a great basketball player and seems to have done well in the business world. I doubt we or I am his target customer, but I will happily try the wines. I would not be surprised to see them be pretty decent. Now lets see MJ do a Champagne so Isiah can walk out of the building without shaking his hand.