TN: a bunch of Total Wine winery direct Champagnes

WINE TALK
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I recently moved to an apartment building with a Total Wine at retail, and being the lazy and impulsive person that I am, I have given them a fair amount of business. Here are some perfunctory tasting notes on mostly unknown (at least to me) winery direct bottles.

De Margerie Grand Cru NV:

Very attractively styled with lots of rich, almost candied Pinot Noir fruit, and almost no acidity to speak of. I am going to give it the benefit of the doubt and say the half bottle I bought had been sitting around for a long time under the bright lights and may have been fatigued. I would guess a 750 would be a lot more energetic and I would be willing to revisit this one in the future. 86 points. $24.99.

Chanoine Heritage Rose NV:

I drank this over two days, only because it did nothing for me on day one. Nondescript and overly fruity with little autolytic character or mineral notes. Indistinguishable from any well made new world rose sparkler selling for around $20. On day two, this shed it’s excess fruit, added a bit of body, and revealed some yeasty character and a mineral spine that was hidden on day one. Delicious and an easy repurchase decision, though I will wait a year before opening the next bottle. 89 points. $30.00

Marie de Moy Premier Cru NV:.

My recollection of this wine is pretty vague. I recall thinking the dosage was slightly too high but it had a pretty flavor profile that seemed slightly Chardonnay dominant. Good yeasty character, easy drinking, perhaps a little anodyne. Fair value, roughly on par with most sub $40 Champagnes I have tried. Wouldn’t purchase again, but I certainly wouldn’t turn my nose up at it. 87 points. $38.

Gervais Gobillard Brut Rose Authentique NV:

Creamy and relatively soft with lots of strawberry fruit. A bit one note, though it’s a very attractive note. I wanted more complexity and minerality for the price but this was a lot of fun to drink. Not a repurchase for me but I think this would be a hit at a party, and given the premium Rose Champagne is trading for, possibly a great bargain for someone else. 88 points. $40.00.

Charles Coquet Dandy Grand Cru:

Delicate candied lemon and apple flavors up front with nothing in the middle and only a subtle rancid yeast note on the finish. Wine had some really disjointed oak notes and was really profoundly unpleasant. I have had plenty of mediocre Champagnes, but prior to this bottle, never had one I couldn’t drink. Total Wine, to their credit, didn’t hesitate to refund this purchase when I expressed how much I hated it. 50 points. $54.00.

Mailly Blanc de Pinot Noir Grand Cru.

Wow! This is one of the few winery direct wines I have had many times before, and I fall in love with it all over again every time it touches my lips. Very full bodied and rich, yet somehow manages to maintain a noble sense of elegance under all that weight. Seductively creamy with almond, peach, cherry, mushrooms, buttered pastry, and subtle smoke and tobacco notes on the long finish. Hedonistic and complex. 94 points. $54.00

Marie de Moy Blanc de Noirs.

I am going to refrain from rating this, as this was opened right after the mind blowing Mailly, and it never stood a chance. Very youthful in comparison with a peachy attack and a finish that was dominated with floral Meunier notes. A touch bitter, though I didn’t perceives any bitterness on the second day. I think the wines biggest flaw is youth and it was definitely better on day two. Would purchase again, but probably won’t, as it is seriously outclassed by the Mailly at a very similar price point. $46.00

Virginie T Extra Brut.

Brawny and bone dry but not at all austere. Quite rich in the middle, actually. Pinot heavy and very toasty with a strong mineral spine and a very, very long and complex finish full of mushroom flavors. Drank without food, and it was lovely, but this is fundamentally a Champagne to drink with a meal. I think it has the heft to stand up to duck and would like to try that combo. 91-92 points and a definite rebuy. $54.00

Pommery 2008 Grand Cru Royal.

Obviously I have heard of Pommery, but I don’t think I have ever tasted any of their wines, This was a lovely introduction. Bold in flavor, while still quite light on the palate with lots of zingy acidity. Concentrated citrus fruit flavors, some lovely herbal notes, and a creamy and yeasty character. Dangerously easy to drink. 93 points. $54.00

I know total wine gets a bad rep for the focus and pushy sales on mediocre winery direct wines, but my experience so far has been pretty good with both Champagne and Bordeaux. I am certainly not dissuaded from continued exploration.

I should note that the prices are the register prices. I have yet to pay full price on any purchase and am not sure why. I am guessing they send me online coupons for the winery direct wines which automatically get applied when I check out.

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Bravo! Love your notes. Have had Mailly and concur. Please give us a Bordeaux version of this.

Aloha!

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Nice writeup. I saw that Coquet brand was on sale before Christmas but took a pass and bought another bottle of the Mailly at $38 and the Tsarine at $37. Both champagnes I’ve enjoyed before.
Glad I took that route.
I’ll have to check out the Pommery Vintage some time.
Thanks!

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Yes TW has an impressive selection of bordeaux but good gracious the shelf prices are obscene, even with discount coupons. Over the holidays the Pommery was on sale…I think for about $40 if I recall correctly?

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fyi: a little birdie told me Pommery will no longer be eligible for coupons in the new year. If you like it, especially with it’s sale price + coupon, now is the time to stock up.

Note: the change may vary by state

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I never seem to get coupons from them anymore. Even for the ‘Winery Direct’ wines. I would note that I believe there is an automatic discount if you purchase six or more bottles which might explain your mysterious pricing.

Thanks for the notes. I might look into a couple of these. I doubt I would have ever given them the chance myself.

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Love this! I have gotten burned on a lot of winery direct grand/premier crus from Total Wine. To make things worse, any time you hang around the Champagne section the sales people will push the winery directs on you with claims that this one sells to Krug or this one borders Salon’s holdings. In my experience, it seems like they must sell every decent grape to the major houses and bottle the scraps.

Awesome to see that there are actually decent bottles if you know where to look!

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Drink these all the time and they are around $40 now. I love the brioche notes on the Margerie. Its my breakfast champagne and I enjoy 1/2 btls in the hot tub many mornings for under $20. The Mailly notes are spot on also but not a fan of the Pommery. My local TW has had 2 of the 3 on the free tasting bar most days

If you want to stay on top of discounts and coupons download the app onto your phone

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Scott, excellent work.

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Thanks for the notes. Not much of a Total Wine fan in MN as our local wine shops are far superior and offer way better deals. Drinking the NV Charles Heidsieck for $29.99 from a local shop and great value.

Small example they have Tensley Santa Barbara for $33 with tax and get it for $22 with tax from Thomas Liquors in St. Paul.

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You would love the NV Charles Heidsieck Reserve Brut for $29.99 at Haskell’s.

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I want your life, sir!

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In all seriousness, is it a particularly soft wine or should I blame bottle variation?

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Our local stores have much better selections. I just come here for last minute/impulse purchases. Certainly not finding the C.H., or any other champagnes for that matter, for $30. Except maybe Feuillatte. I used to reliably find L. Aubry at that price. Those days are, sadly, long gone.

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Feuillatte has really gone downhill lately.

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I had a couple more over the holiday weekend:

Mailly Grand Cru Grande Reserve Brut: This is the entry level cuvée with 75% PN and 25% Chardonnay. I won’t bother with a distinct tasting note, as the flavors and aromas are nearly identical with the Blanc de Pinot Noir, but this isn’t quite as full bodied and creamy or mature and complex as the BdN, but it is all those things, and and it’s a little brighter and easier to quaff. I had this a few years ago and don’t remember it being this good. A hell of a bargain at $38 with my 15% off coupon. 91 points.

Tsarine Premium Cuvée: I won’t score this as it was just a sample in that little plastic thimble they serve it in. It was pleasantly yeasty with a strong grapefruit flavor on the finish, which I quite enjoyed. I believe this is an extra dry champagne, but I didn’t notice the sugar. I don’t think I would pay the $50 sticker price but I liked it.

Mailly BdN Grand Cru: Had to go back for another bottle. This wasn’t as mature or as full bodied as the previous bottle, to it’s detriment, but it was still dynamite. 92 points.

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Went back to clean them out of the Mailly BdN, since I had a 20% off 6 coupon, and they only had five bottles, so I threw in a random bottle and hoped for the best. I selected the de Venoge Cordon Bleu. Let’s just say my luck ran out. I wanted to like it. It has a nice round body and feels great in the mouth, is balanced with a lot of acidity, and has a nice minerality. Unfortunately, it also has an obnoxious, over the top applesauce character that overpowers everything else. I don’t think it’s objectively bad wine but it certainly isn’t for me.

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Excellent taste on the Mailly. I love their Champagnes. :slightly_smiling_face:

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They are remarkable. It’s surprising to me how much they fly under the radar but I think they only export 300,000 bottles.

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Tried a few more this weekend:

Mailly Grand Cru 2013 extra brut. Excellent. Typical Mailly full bodied style with Almond, coffee, and mushroom notes predominating. Has an apple pie flavor in the background and a saline mineral freshness that is more pronounced than in their NV cuvées. 93 points. $52 with coupon. I see more bottles in my future.

Mailly Grand Cru Rose. First miss with Mailly. Pleasant but fairly boring with strawberry pie notes dominating a medium bodied frame. Dosage a touch too high for my liking . I am rarely wowed by Rose Champagne and generally find them lacking in complexity relative to their blanc cousins. The handful I have really enjoyed have been more like red wines - bone dry with lots of concentration and some tannin - and this isn’t that style. It has fairly good back end acidity and a biscuity note which made it enjoyable enough but I wanted a lot more for a retail price of $65. (I think it was more like $52 with Coupon. Nobody pays full retail at Total Wine, but for the price, I would choose Chanoine every time). Others may like it more. Seems like everybody is losing their minds over Rose and Blanc de Blancs. I don’t really appreciate either style much. 88 points.

Comtesse Gerin Grande Reserve. Lemony with good acidity, considerable minerality, and a really pleasant creamy texture. And yet, totally uninspiring. I found myself thoroughly bored with it by the end of the second glass. It was in the low $30’s with coupon, and I don’t think I would purchase again if it was priced at $20. 85 points. (It was closer to 80 if I strictly score on personal preference).

Champagne Colligny and Fils Brut. Flavorless on opening, just as generic as could be, but opened up after I let the bottle sit for a couple of hours to an appealing lemony flavor. Actually, it tasted very much like the Gerin, although with a much coarser texture. For some reason, I preferred this, though the Gerrin is objectively better. Wouldn’t buy again, even at the coupon price of $21.00, but I certainly didn’t dislike it. 83 points.

Roederer Collection 243. Not a winery direct wine and I paid full retail of $65. Very fresh in style and surprisingly dry with lemon and pineapple flavors and lots of wonderful chalky mineral notes. Tastes nothing like the Brut Premier. (Assuming my memory isn’t failing me. It has been at least decade). Fairly light on the palate but paradoxically mouth filling with a beautiful round texture. Very good but don’t see the value at this price point. Would rather pay the extra $20 for the Starck. 90 points.

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