Remy started releasing in 2018 so we have to see where the champagnes go, although drinkable they will need age. The jewel in the crown is the Haut Clos, ubfortunately very limited. I also really like his chardonnay from mont Tauxieres, in fact I think Mont tauxieres is one of the real winners of climate change, in the past the champagnes there were better for blending but now they can really stand alone
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To say I have a list is a bit of an exaggeration, I tend to compartmentalize customers. Nobody here is getting Ulysse Collin and this has created a vacuum which is really difficult to fill. I find the Ulysse Collin customers tend to go for thechampagnes I mentioned and rebuy. It would be erronous to say, they are the spitting image of UC’s champagne but how the champagne is made, elevage etc have a lot of similiariaties.
The one thing I take from tasting champagnes is that the differences are not as big as one might imagine. I think what exacerbates the problem is the lack of depth in coverage. With Bordeaux and Burgundy there is almost exhaustive coverage. One of the Chiquet brothers from Jacquesson, estimated that there were 150 to 200 producers doing good work and were worthy of buying or in other words producing champagne in the 90 point + range. Critics tend to concentrate on a certian bunch of producers and a certian style takes precedent over other styles which for instance is not reflected in the demand. For me Bedel is a cult producer and she has a massive following, similiarly Vouette yet these producers do not get the recogniton they deserve, which might be a good thing for the prices.
Look at Egly-Ouriet, for a lot of my customers, they have become outpriced. The Brut tradition was one of the best value champagne in terms of what it offered, a real and in my opinion better alternative is De Sousa’s 3A, in 2021, i recommended this as a substitute and most customers agreed. Last year they increase the price by about 15% and it is no longer the bargain it was.
Look at Dehours, the step up in quality is tremendous, I think he is really giving Selosse a run for his money. The recently released Brisefer is for me much better than the Initial and at a fraction of the price.
William Kelley has high-lighted the difficulties of reviewing champagne but I think if he were to go in greater depth and is open to all styles, then things could get really interesting.
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What Coessens cuvees would you suggest, does the Nature and Extra Brut give good insight into house style? The availability in US across cuvees is pretty scarce.
Thanks.
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8000 kg/hectare was a compromise, the maisons wanted 7000 kg. The problem is 2021 where there was no vintage. If a producer does not have reserves it is basically 8000 kg for two years.
There are already shortages, the maisons like Charles Heidsieck cannot keep up with demand. Ruinart the same.
Look at Cristal 2014, should this have been released, a fundamental element of Cristal’s structure is the grapes from Ay, in 2014 a lot w lost, Roederer still decided to release in my opinion a lesser Cristal from a non-vintage.
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If there were lots of champagnes that were very similar to Ulysse Collin, the vacuum wouldn’t be hard to fill. But it seems there are not, per your post. I’ve been drinking Collin for a decade, so the status of the wines doesn’t interest me. I was buying them in large quantities before they increased in price. I think Olivier had been making the best champagne for years now, especially once the Maillons caught up to the rest of the range (in 2016). It’s clear that you dislike him personally, but I don’t think that’s relevant to the quality of the wines.
What I take from tasting champagne is that some producers make great singular champagne that can’t be replicated. There’s no substitute for a great vintage of facsimile, a Boloree or a Roises. Just like there’s no substitute for Rayas or Mugnier Musigny or Soldera, etc. Sometimes the market gets it right.
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I think over the last three to four years, I prefer the extra brut to the Blanc de Noir, this has more mineral drive/salinity. The big ones for me are the vintage and the Les Sens Boisés.
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I know my taste is not relevant in the bigger picture of things, I have been told that many times. I am in the Ledru school of thought when it comes to wood in champagne, I am not so dogmatic and for me the best compromise is Savart.
Just as you obviously adore Ulysse Collin, there are a lot of people who do not. The problem is the Ulysse Collin fraction are extremely loud on forums and this sort of drowns out everything else.
Give a glass of Ulysse Collin to Guiborat, probably at the moment the best producer of BDB in the CDB, he will spit it out and tell you it is undrinkable.
I did a tasting two years ago with UC’s Perrieres, half of the group loved it, half of the group did not like it. Tell me who is right and who is wrong.
Outside of champagne I don’t really care. We get Rayas, for me it is a fruit bomb, -I have friends who love Rayas and friends who do not like Rayas, who is right and who is wrong.
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Freddy uses a lot of new oak, so this is an odd statement.
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Not really, Savart has told us he wants to emulate Guffens-Heynen wines with his champagnes, the producer he most admires. He does not want oak to impart any toasting notes on his champagnes but rather use oak as an oxidative medium. More interestingly he is starting to use oak derived from the Champagne region believing this is truer to the expression of terroir.
As you probably know Savart weathers the barrels/staves for 5-6 years to get rid of the toast aromas.
It is possible to use oak without imparting a toast aroma. I think it took Savart sometime to find his style, the recent releases are without question fantastic.
The best thing Savart said to us, If my champagnes are not being sold on the secondary market, then I know i am doing something wrong. Somethin UC should take to heart.
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+1 on Dehours which I’ve tried to champion on the “which champagne are you drinking thread”
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Just as you obviously adore Ulysse Collin, there are a lot of people who do not. The problem is the Ulysse Collin fraction are extremely loud on forums and this sort of drowns out everything else.
this is really the crux of the issue in my opinion. there is nothing wrong with people who prefer a certain producer over another, no matter how trendy or cool said producer may be at the moment. however, when adulation becomes very profuse and public it can have a mythologizing effect within the information ecosystem of professional reviews, forums posts, etc. this only creates a misleading environment for the less experienced consumers who may be led to believe producer x’s champagne at $400 on wine-searcher actually has a value of $400 or even that it is markedly superior to the less well known producer y’s $100 offering. it is a shame not just because these behavioral cycles limit the plurality of discourse, but because ultimately it has negative consequences for some earnest and hard working winemakers who are not out there trying to win the attention lottery.
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This is the case across many regions. Allemand in Cornas, Gonon in St. Joseph, SQN in Santa Barbara, Pappy in Bourbon, etc. it shouldn’t be an absolute that price/scarcity dictates quality or take anything away from other hard working winemakers/artists and what they do in the region.
Lots of people want what they can’t have or is seen as unobtainable. Once they taste it, many still want it and many no longer do.
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Ouch. 3 out of 4 I still want.
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Nice to hear. I passed on the Tauxierres the last time around. Maybe will give it a try if there’s a next time. 
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It’s worked for me, and from an offline with some Dallas folks. Fun having a champagne you’ve never heard of and having your eyes light up. Basically blind tasting. I was smitten. 2012 Dehours Brisifer, I think. Just spot on stuff. I mean it’s shit and no one should start buying it.
I really don’t understand that type of comment, as if a producer controls whether a product is sold on the secondary market. It’s a supply and demand issue. Why wouldn’t a producer strive for the greatest possible quality? Inherently, if there is extraordinary quality and low supply, the excess demand will create movement on the secondary market. Invisible hand and all.
Anyway, I’ve never really been blown away by Savart and certainly haven’t considered buying it on the secondary market, but I will say that for what little it counts I think he’s got a really classy label.
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Of course they do with their pricing. Macdonald is instantly flipped by probably half the mailing list. If they raised their prices like Harlan did a while back, the secondary market would evaporate almost instantly.
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I think by secondary they mean retail markets
Not flipping markets. ?
I’m guessing. Vs UC which is gone from retail mostly.
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Oeil de Perdrix for sub-$50 from @ThatcherBakerBriggs has been a bit of a house wine for us for awhile now (though I fear those days may be over)
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I suppose you’re right. I ignored my own invisible hand comment. Make supply equal demand through price inflation. Good call. Cheers, Andrew.