Black cherry quality in a Blanc de Blanc Champagne...how?

Last night we enjoyed a bottle of Pertois-Lebrun l’extravertie, and I had the most unique quality on the palate, considering this is made of Chardonnay grapes - black cherry! This wine had brioche and creamy citrus, but clearly a note of black cherry both on the nose and the palate.

I looked at the producer’s tech sheet, here, and find nothing that could suggest why I’d get that particular note on this wine.

We both enjoyed it very much, but I wanted to open up discussion to see if anyone knows why it might give that off? Perhaps a ‘bad bottle’, only in that unique character, as certainly the wine showed no flaws - great effervescence, complex and interesting, long finish, etc. - any/all of which could suffer if it is a bad bottle.

Drank out of Zalto Champagne glasses, each with a Luxardo cherry on the bottom of the glass. (kidding!)

Any ideas? Is this even possible? I do plan to grab some more of this wine, at only $50 ish, it’s a fantastic sip, and I’d like to see if I keep getting that black cherry thing.

I always use ‘black cherry’ as a descriptor that one dies not normally associate with white wines or sparkling - but why not? If that’s what you get, that’s what you get!

Cheers

I’ve gotten red cherry from Donnhoff riesling. Never dark cherry from any Chardonnay-based bubbly. Let’s take a poll and see if your palate is whacked.

I haven’t gotten that note in bubbles (that I can recall) but tasting a distinct Bing cherry note in Riesling is not unusual.

Tom

I drove to Hi-Times to buy a bottle to check Todd’s palate. Advertising on the wine indicates a licorice and anise note, no cherry. Will check back after opening.

Terroir? Clone?

I’ve sometimes picked up a distinct blackberry note in New Zealand Granny Smith apples – a very dark fruit scent and taste in a whitish fruit. I assume it’s because fruits have a wide array of esters.

FYI, I’ve never picked up the blackberry thing in North American Granny Smiths.

Research conducted at great personal sacrifice.

Perhaps it has something to do with the ‘aromatherapy’ they claim in the sheet to be using in the vineyard? /s

But for real, I’ve gotten dark cherry liquor notes in wines that I know have had flor on them, especially Sherry. It’s possible with the low intervention method they allowed flor yeast to develop in the barrels… The granny-smith note they describe is another indicator for me. $.02

I already told Todd this, but sometimes when I taste breads or pastries that are heavy on almond extract, I think they taste like cherry. Almond would not be unusual in a BdB, and perhaps Todd’s brain similarly tricked him into saying something suuuuper dumb like “this chardonnay tastes like black cherries!”

None of my BdB notes contain “cherry” as a descriptor. However, across a small-but-varied selection of dry white wines I have used the term; that selection is no longer “small” if I expand “cherry” to also include “red berry” and “red fruit”.

Looking at the analysis of fermented Chardonnay grapes there are several different esters and aromatic alcohols that could, depending on the ratios, give off fruity notes reminiscent of cherry.

Tom

it’s in the fridge now . . . salesman who found me the bottle in the disarray of the Champagne section told me it was very lemony. I couldn’t bring myself to ask about black cherry.

Does it taste like ?

Yeah, nor would I - yet I come here for the public shaming, why the hell not? It’s the first time I’ve ever experienced anything like it.

No, Kane, it wasn’t almond extract, you doofus

Did you forget to mention you were drinking under a cherry tree?

Hard to say with a one off. Could be how the dosage played with the apple notes in a young wine. Weirded things have happened. I’ve had some young BdN drink just like a BdB. If you get the note consistently then its something. Otherwise it just could have been an outside influence. I know I’ve had plenty of instances where some unexpected note lingered around that I couldn’t shake and didn’t expect at all.

try as I could to leap to Todd’s palate defense, I find no cherry in this bubbly. It’s very clean and delicious chardonnay with apple and citrus. So I went through Todd’s medicine cabinet and found this:

I think Todd was hitting the gummies. The Floyd’s are Cola flavored!

next time spit out your chewing tobacco.

Thank you for this thread. That is all!

Calling it like he sees/tastes it. I’ll back Todd as the next Stanley Cup referee!