NV Moussé Fils Champagne Blanc de Meuniers Premier Cru Brut Zéro Les Vignes de Mon Village - France, Champagne (1/1/2023)
– popped and poured –
– tasted non-blind over 2 - 3 hrs. –
– 100% Pinot Meunier –
– Dosage: 0 g/L –
– Disgorgement: December 2021 –
NOSE: initially, light and bright; jasmine; light orange blossom note after a couple hours open.
BODY: light to medium-light bodied; light yellow color with a slight green tint to it.
TASTE: very dry; bright fruits, but it does have a bit of that heaviness or richness I usually associate with Pinot Meunier; vinous apple/pear combo, leaning more towards pear; a touch grassy; does not have the crispness of the BdBs I prefer. This certainly isn’t bad in any way, but I can’t really say it hit any of my buttons. At some point, I may just give-up on Pinot Meunier, but I’m not there yet.
2 Likes
I’m not a fan of Moussé, although my experience is pretty limited. 
2 Likes
I am a big fan of Moussé, but I really do not like his zero dosage wines. I don’t think they are properly balanced.
Overall I have issues with the low/no dosage or else trend. Not all the wines work that way, but there’s a one size fits all mindset creeping in.
8 Likes
It would be fun to try this with a bit of dosage. I have no reason to believe that would help me like it more, but I’m curious, and would approach it with an open mind.
I’ve liked several Pinot Meunier Champagne a good deal. That said I can’t see one rising to the heights of the best wines.
Having had some experience with Mousse wines after a lot of talk around here I would summarize them as wines for discussion rather than pleasure.
As David relates, I find the dogmatic approach to restricting dosage as problematic. Its fine and all but they need to stop selling all the wines as if they are somehow just another more serious Champagne. They are the outliers and not what most people are looking for when they are buying a bottle from the region.
4 Likes
Try Bereche’s Rive Gauche if you have not. I think it’s excellent and it is 100% Meunier.
5 Likes
Here’s a bunch of notes on PM sparklers. 
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2013 Jérôme Prévost Champagne La Closerie Extra Brut Les Beguines - France, Champagne (7/4/2022)
Really good, no excellent. While it shows the weight and color of a PM, this bottling shows a lift of acid. Medium plus gold color. Red fruit, apple and currant. Very good complexity, good wine to noodle over.
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2013 Laherte Frères Champagne Rosé de Saignée Extra Brut Les Beaudiers - France, Champagne (4/30/2022)
Kutch Grand Tasting Round 1; 4/25/2022-5/3/2022 (FMIII in the OC): Very unusual color. Looks like strawberry soda. Has a cinnamon quality like a red hot. Very soft mouthfeel. Earthy base.
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2012 Déhu Père & Fils Champagne Cuvée La Rue des Noyers Extra Brut - France, Champagne (2/21/2022)
Sort of blind as I didn't pay attention when I poured it in the glass. I assume based on my initial impressions that it was a blanc de blanc. Poured a little foamy. Initial impression is wow there's a lot of acid. Very angular. This turned off a number of the others but was intriguing. This really changed after about an hour of air, the fruit was exposed as an apricot note and it seemed to gain a little weight but still a strong foundation of acid. The pinot meunier qualities we're definitely more exposed after a little time.
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NV Egly-Ouriet Champagne Premier Cru Brut "Les Vignes de Vrigny" - France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru (2/21/2022)
Blind. I must be losing my touch I used to be able to pick out Pinot Meunier blind all the time. I got skunked twice in this one tasting.
Immediately I like this one. It has a little bit of everything for everybody. I like the stone fruit backed up by the citrus notes and the overall mouth feel. Don't use the term often with champagne but it had excellent balance.
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2015 Laherte Frères Champagne Extra Brut Les Vignes d’Autrefois - France, Champagne (1/2/2022)
Medium Plus gold color looking like it has more age on it than it really does which is typical for this variety. This smells like a PM. Don't know what that translates to but you know it when you smell it. The flavor is a Sweet Apple fruit but it has a lot of acid which counteracts each other. The finish is a sour tart lemon note which again is diametrically opposed to the apple on the attack. It's a very entertaining and geeky wine which will not appeal to everybody, this isn't your classic champagne style.
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2016 Nicolas Maillart Champagne Premier Cru Mont Martin - France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru (4/23/2021)
Book Club - Reunited (Steve's Place): Blind: lost in space - thought it was a 3 varietal blend - probably a big house. The end.
I really like this wine because it has bits and pieces of everything. There's a bit of dosage but not out of control and the wood treatment is balanced with the fruit and acid. My favorite of the flight. The amount of CO2 kicked off is amazing, stuck my nose in for a whiff and there was no oxygen and I gasped. Not a good sight. The aromas were pronounced. yellow, red, and green fruit with a touch of caramel.
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NV Moussé Fils Champagne Blanc de Meuniers Premier Cru Brut Zéro Les Vignes de Mon Village - France, Champagne (4/23/2021)
Book Club - Reunited (Steve's Place): Blind: thought this was Vilmart Grand Cellier
2014-2016
Interestingly, I had this NV about 3 years ago and guess Pinot Meunier. This time, no go. As we learned from the two NV in this flight with different disgorgement dates, the wines are completely different.
This has a really nice balance to it - yellow apple on the attack and fine bubbles. good tropical notes on the backend. Very good stuff
Big take away? Tasting notes from others on NV might not be remotely the same wine
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NV Moussé Fils Champagne Blanc de Meuniers Premier Cru Brut Zéro Les Vignes de Mon Village - France, Champagne (4/23/2021)
Book Club - Reunited (Steve's Place): blind: guessed blanc de blanc and zero dosage
2014-2017
Wow - this is the same NV at the 2014-2016 but with the addition of 2017. That is very hard to wrap my head around because the 2014-16 had a hint of sweetness and this wine is as angular and aggressive as it gets with a sparkler. Too much for my liking other than a food wine. Strong citric acid and low fruit profile that fades mid palate. Not balanced.
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2016 Moussé Fils Champagne Special Club Extra Brut Rosé de Saignée Les Bouts de la Ville - France, Champagne (12/26/2020)
Blind: seems very obvious, a grower rose, but what style? Thought it might be PM rose with low dosage.
the color is wild, when I first saw it in the glass I thought it might be some sort of orange wine in a frizzante style. The bubbles disappear almost immediately after a quick swirl in the glass. The mystery continues. Strong cherry fruit core but very dry, especially for a rose, with a medicinal quality. Almost a sherry flavor. Cool stuff.
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2015 Jérôme Prévost Champagne La Closerie Extra Brut Les Beguines - France, Champagne (6/15/2020)
Blind guessed Pinot Muenier of a PM dominated blend.
I was excited when I stuck my nose into this class because I can tell there was something more going on. I was a little concerned at the beginning because it poured very foamy, not that that's an indicator of anything, but it just looked funny compared to the other sparklers. Just a hint of oxidation and a really nice mouthfeel, there's a depth to the wine.
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NV Laherte Frères Champagne Rosé de Saignée Extra Brut Les Beaudiers - France, Champagne (1/1/2020)
I guess I just like Pinot meunier based wines. I tasted this blind and guess the varietal correctly. I have no idea who the producer might be. This is such a great wine with a low dosage. One of my favorite roses. It had a very nice sourdough bread note permeating from the glass, you don't get that in a Rose very often.
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2014 Moussé Fils Champagne Special Club Extra Brut Rosé de Saignée Les Bouts de la Ville - France, Champagne (10/10/2019)
I love this wine for lots of reasons, first it's a very geeky wine and second it's just fantastic to drink. The nose is a little funky with some grassy notes and I pulled a little volatile acid which wasn't too much of a distraction. Very light red color almost like a Chardonnay in flavor profile but lean and very low dosage with light oxidation. Killer wine.
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NV Moussé Fils Champagne Blanc de Meuniers Premier Cru Brut Zéro Les Vignes de Mon Village - France, Champagne (7/23/2018)
Book Club - Grand Finale (FMIII in the OC): Blind: guess the varietal but had no idea on the producer but assumed zero dosage. Medium yellow with light bronzing. Nose of apple and rye. Palate is lean and edgy, acid is the foundation here with strong citrus notes and cardamom. I really liked this one.
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NV Christophe Mignon Champagne Brut Nature - France, Champagne (7/8/2018)
Showed as edgy and tight. Lime and green apple. Angular palate. Very clean. Good pairing for the cheese and fruit course.
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NV Christophe Mignon Champagne Brut Rosé Pur Meunier - France, Champagne (1/1/2018)
New Years 2018: Salmon red color. Steely red berry nose. Very nimble on the palate, soft, with tart raspberry. Great overall mouthfeel and medium plus acidity. Good stuff.
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NV Christophe Mignon Champagne Brut Nature - France, Champagne (9/10/2017)
Book Club (FMIII in the OC): Oh my, like everything about this bubbly. Gold color, looks a bit older but that just might be the meunier at work. Brassy, acid forward, lime, pithy, and angular. Good stuff and great story.
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2010 Jérôme Prévost Champagne La Closerie Extra Brut Les Beguines - France, Champagne (12/11/2016)
Book Club - Grand Finale: The sparkler is barrel aged and made from 100% Pinot meunière. There's a good sourdough nose and the wine is the white gold in color. Great fruit and acidity with a medium plus mouthfeel. This is an excellent champagne, really good stuff.
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2010 Jérôme Prévost Champagne La Closerie Extra Brut Les Beguines - France, Champagne (12/12/2014)
Book Club - Holiday and Birthday Edition (The Loft @ The Montage - Laguna Beach, CA): Double blind - guessed champagne and pinot meunière, I actually surprised myself with that one. This looks like it might be oxidized or very old, medium gold color. It even taste mature. Not the case, far from it, can't judge a book by its cover. This is very unique. Mushroom nose. Flavors of green apple, mid palate it disappears. Mouthfeel is quite full, coating. Very cool wine.
Technically this is non vintage but wine has a label with the year so I'm sticking here in 2010 versus NV.
Posted from CellarTracker
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I’ve read that Bereche’s style is more in the autolytic/oxidative part of the spectrum. Don’t know if that’s true or not. Would you say that is where this bottling resides?
Don’t forget José Michel, often considered a Pinot Meunier master.
2 Likes
His Pere Houdart is the first wine that comes to mind as a PM that I actually like. Last night I had a Mousse L’Or d’Eugene Blanc de Noirs Brut that I quite enjoyed. 80% PM, 20% PN. Dosage was 2 g/L. Not mind blowing or anything, but I’d buy again at the $42 I paid. I liked it more than this one that started this thread.
The PH is the only Meunier I’ve really enjoyed, I think.
I think the correct answer is “yes, but…” Yes, but there is a lot of power and freshness there to drive it so that it doesn’t seem one note at all. In a way it comes off less autolytic (IMO) than the NV Bereche Reserve. There’s something slightly feral from the Meunier as well which sets it apart from the excellent but less complex Reserve. In any case, if you haven’t had the wines, definitely find some and try for yourself. Your response suggests you are not generally a fan of that style, but even if that is the case, it’s worth trying. If asked to chose between fresher style Champagnes and richer/more autolytic, I’d say fresher, yet I love Bereche.
1 Like
Thanks, Michae1 — that was a helpful reply. I’ll give it a shot if/when the opportunity presents itself. 
1 Like
Graf, i tend to like this wine, and have said before I think it’s my favorite in Cedric’s range, perhaps along with the Terre d’illite cuvee. My bet is that the bottle you wrote up is the inclusion of the 2018 base (which would be the anchor vintage in the perpetual which is now spanning 2014-2018). There may be a 2019 base now out, I assume the 2022 disgorgement, but I would bet that hasn’t hit the retail pipe around here yet. I did reload some bottles in December, can’t check the bottles now, but believe they are your same disgorgement (2021). Probably time to open one and see.
I tend to like this cuvee, which might put me in the minority here but have had a case of it across the past 3-4 years since Cedric started to bottle it up and I like the wine, and continue to reload it. here is my most recent note, although it’s the 2020 disgorgement, so 2017 base.
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NV Moussé Fils Champagne Blanc de Meuniers Premier Cru Brut Zéro Les Vignes de Mon Village - France, Champagne (12/26/2022)
My final bottle of the 2020 disgorgement, this is the 2014 - 2017 perpetual (the latter being the 'base' so to speak). 100% Meunier from around Cuisles, no dosage. Opened yesterday. Tangy peach, lime and a mineral streak, all coming through the wine when it is chilled. Once I let the chill wear off, and to let the wine get closer to the high 60s, that blood orange comes through and it contributes the core of the acidity. So, think peach flesh, blood orange, cranberry, drizzled lime with a bit of honey. Just a lot of cool flavors mixing together that I enjoy. Based on this bottle, I decided to reload some more this weekend, as I believe the new release is now inclusive of the 2018 and perhaps the 2019 but won't know until they arrive. Doesn't matter as I expect it to be good when inclusive of these vintages, and at $55, these remain a great value, a real pleasure to drink.
Posted from CellarTracker
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Frank, your surmise is correct: my bottle indicates perpetual of 2014-2018. Have one more laying in wait —- maybe I’ll see what a year or two might do for it.
@Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m, I took your post as motivation and opened one of the recent bottles I had acquired. You might want to double check your back label as the note that follows is inclusive of the 2019 base, with the late 2021 disgorgement (12-12-21). Your note above speaks to 2018 as the base so just wanting to verify. Partly I say this because I don’t find my bottle taste heavy as you mention. Fruit, a lot, yes. Heavy. No. We’ve known each other for a long time and I respect your palate very much so my comment here is not a dig, just a contrasting remark to your experience. I also added some photos below to help with the contrast/inquiry.
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NV Moussé Fils Champagne Blanc de Meuniers Premier Cru Brut Zéro Les Vignes de Mon Village - France, Champagne (2/4/2023)
First bottle of the 2021 disgorgement, with the perpetual now including the impact of the 2019 base (at 50%). 100% Pinot Meunier, no dosage. Opened yesterday, consumed over 2 days. When I first opened the bottle, it was very fruit driven, flush with stone fruits (like peach) and a red berry that seemed more raspberry in tone. Later on the first day, it started to become more linear and less fruit-centric (I'm thinking I had it too chilled). Stoppered overnight, then retasting today. Lots of fleshy pear in this disgorgement, with mandarin orange, crisp apple, a light shading of grapefruit, too. And yesterday I mentioned raspberry, and there is a bit of raspberry compote here, too. I'm gonna have to revert back to my comment about this being fruit centric, as it really is. One thing is very certain here: no one should have any argument that the missing dosage here is leaning down this wine. Quite the contrary, as there is plenty of stuffing with the vivid fruit.
Posted from CellarTracker
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Funny, this very same disgorgement etc., the other day, but none of the fleshy pear at all. To quote a singer, it’s probably me
