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emp
Classic razor sharp and quite the contrast to the 1911. Tension to burn here, for citrus freaks this is your jam. I’ve got to hang onto one of these for a decade to see what might evolve…
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Like @Robert_M_yers said, a steal at $65. Over the past year, I bought two cases for that price, and it might not be enough.
Cheers,
Warren
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For a while it has been the in-house bubbly (a while… until the case ran out).Very nice!
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I need to move to where all you people are living, I’ve never seen them so low 
Larmandier Bernier Longitude. Code on the bottle says LON18, so 2018 base which is a first for me.
Closed but very fresh, almost like the whole vine has been pressed into fresh juice that was just bottled. Fine beads from onset. A bit boozy. As temperature goes up lemon and unripe apricot emerge with faint nuttiness. Upfront acidity that mellows down as minerality picks up. Still somewhat creamy due to well integrated bubbles. Mouthfeel is the star here. Strangely I felt Brie cheese quite strongly as time went by.
Cheese in Champagne is typically due to full malolactic in high malic acid years. It is, sadly, not as strange as it sounds. And Larmandier-Bernier is full malo style IIRC from last time we did a Zoom with Arthur.
Explanation:
Examples:
What’s interesting is that 2018 is supposed to be a low acid year. Maybe Arthur picked very early to try to keep higher acids and ended up with too much malic for full malo.
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Which disgorgement?
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Larmandier pick late and you’re right that '18 is a low malic year. Cheesiness could be the imprint of the particular strain of bacteria that completed malolactic in that wine, or, and I venture more likely in this case, how the very low toast profile of Stockinger barrels that Larmandier favor is being perceived by the taster.
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2002 Lanson Noble Cuvée Brut
Disgorged July 2017. 70% Chard from Côte des Blancs and 30% PN from Verzenay. 13 years on lees. Dosage 9g/L.
Light-Med yellow hue that belies its age. Very subtle brioche, though more like a golden tart crust. Apple, green pear, maybe some nectarine(?) with a very long finish. Despite my strong preference for PN/PM dominant champagnes and lower dosage, I thought this Lanson was delicious and would repurchase.
Virginie T. Extra Brut
This brand was launched in 2008 by Virginie Taittinger. She is joined by her son Ferdinand as chef de cave.
No disgorgement date. 70% PN, 20% Chard, 10% PM. 6 years on lees. Dosage 5.5 g/L.
Beautiful medium yellow color and some of the finest bead I have seen at this price point. On the nose: blast of slightly rotting whole onion followed by browning green apple. On the palate, an unpleasant flavor that I can’t describe, reminiscent of diluted cheap almond extract followed by green apple.
This should have been right up my alley, based on the dosage and blend. However, I disliked it on day 1, 2 and 3; that this Champagne lingered so long is indicative of how little we wanted to drink it. Perhaps this was an off bottle? In any case, I am not repurchasing to find out.
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Dang this tasting note swerved hard when I least expected it! Onion in champagne is a bad, bad sign!
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The bead was so beautiful that the nose and taste caught me off-guard. I tried multiple glasses (Glasvin Champagne, Lehmann, a flute, and a Riedel riesling glass) in case it didn’t show well, to no avail. Perhaps it really was a bad bottle…
Has anyone had “onion sitting out on the counter for three weeks” on the nose of any other sparkling wine (besides pet nat)?
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2017 Ultramarine Blanc de Noirs Charles Heintz Vineyard - This wine is showing elevated acids and minerality that somewhat hides a nice fruit profile, which is bright with lemon, musky white cherry, and a hint of peach. The issue is the aggressive dill or grassy weedy note that turns the palate sour. It is overwhelming, to me, and does not blow off with air. Almost reminds me of a very green note in a Bachelet, and one must fight hard to distinguish the enjoyable elements below the sour dill smell and taste. This wine becomes work with time. I was so confounded by this wine that I went to cellar tracker where a taster noted a yellow onion aroma. Mind you, that taster also somehow managed to give this wine 92 or 93 points despite onion in his champagne. I am not that generous. While it has bright acidity and good minerality, a fine mousse, and good texture, the funky sour note seems a very material flaw. I would rate this Flawed, NR
I didn’t immediately go to onion, but onion juice wouldn’t have been far off the note I picked up, and another taster used onion in his note on the same wine.
Had the sister wine to this over the weekend.
Guillaume Sergent Les Pres Dieu Blanc des Blanc Extra Brut 100% chardonnay from two lieu dits in Montagne de Reims, on sandy chalky soils, bottled at 3g/l. 2019 base, disgorged July 28, 2021. While the Chamin des Chappes was fruit focused and had lovely richness, this Les Pres Dieu is more acid and mineral driven, with bright, punch lemon citrus, very crisp acidity, a stony mineral note, and a bit of light white toast that lends a little body. Still, the focus is on the lemon driven verve here, with real acid driving things. This was less satisfying to me, in the 91 range. Still a nicely made wine, but on the lean and bracing side of fine champagne.
Great explanation, the reason why I said strangely is because this was unlike any other funky cheesy Champagne I have ever come across(more earthy), and also a bit different from the 2016 base. It was apparent on the palate but did not carry on to the finish. Maybe it really was the barrel that I felt, per William’s comment. Whichever the case is, this bottle definitely needs more time.
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How can this thread be neglected for four days?
Cut and pasted from another thread:
2006 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut This opened to a slight hazelnut hint of age, despite showing some initial matchstick reduction. Then, the typical lemon and orange, brioche and cream, and glycerine texture I’ve come to expect from this wine. My formerly ample supply continues to wane.
2008 Pierre Péters Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée Speciale Blanc de Blancs Les Chetillons. It had more contrast than similarities with the Comtes. A beautiful wine, though it seems to beg for more bottle age. I preferred it with its elegance and class compared to the bombastically delicious Comtes. It perfectly straddles power and grace. Lemon cream, warm yeasty brioche, chamomile, ginger. Better with air and warmth.
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Gaston Chiquet Premier Cru “Tradition” from a 375ml. A bit advanced and oxidized in this format for a 2017 disgorgement, but I like that.
Great QPR and much preferred over the vintage and Grand Cru bottles I’ve had.
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Doyard Revolution-non-dosage BdB and a superb wine, excellent balance, lemon oil, yuzu, stoniness, excellent balance. Just delicious.
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2018 Collin Maillons. My first bottle of the new vintage and it’s a lovely wine. Less slightly oxidative than the last few vintages, but with a slightly more pronounced Collin signature of a ginger note on the palate. The fruit note on the palate is spicy without being round and the palate and has very good tension.
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2015 Ulysse Collin Jardin d’Ulysse. Wow, what a wine.
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this has really opened up in the last six months!
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