Double posted: A champagne party on July 3
Good friends held yet another spectacular champagne outing on their lawn the day before the 4th. With close to 20 people attending, magnums were in order and there were quite a few bottled in all and I probably missed a few, but what I did have was pretty stellar. Our hosts started us out with this gem:
NV AGRAPART 7 CRUS EXTRA BRUT AVIZE- 750 ml; 90% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Noir; 100% of the fruit comes from estate-owned parcels located in each of the 7 villages in the Côte des Blancs: Avize, Oger, Oiry, Cramant, Avenay Val d’Or, Bergères les Vertus, and Mardeuil; 1/4 of the wine is aged in older, more neutral 600L casks, the remainder is aged in stainless steel tanks; it is dosed at 6 gpl and aged sur lie for 20-32 months; this “entry level” bubbly had an inviting nose of citrus, especially orange blossoms with a nice dollop of lemon zest joined on the palate by a spread of marmalade; it was tangy, rich and full bodied with a creamy mousse which led to a long lasting finish and a great start on the day.
2002 LE MESNIL BLANC de BLANC GRAND CRU in magnum- this was outstanding; following its yellow gold color came aromas of stone fruit especially yellow peach which continued on to be joined by nectarine, caramel and a touch of coconut; it was so flavorful, had nice acidity, layered depth and complexity while maintaining perfect balance throughout.
NV AGRAPART TERROIRS EXTRA BRUT GRAND CRU AVIZE in magnum- this is a blend of 2 vintages from specifically selected vineyard blocks in Avize, Ogre, Cramant and Oiry, all planted to Chardonnay; it was disgorged 2 months before the release date and dosed at 5 gpl; this was really sprtizy, tangy, zingy and frothy sporting nice citrus notes with lemon oil most prevalent; it had a streak of minerals running through it along with accents of saline, tangerine and green apple.
I knew beforehand the vintage B-C Rose was coming and thought it might be good to compare it to a 10 year old magnum of the NV. They were quite different and the contrast was interesting.
2010 BILLECART- SALMON BRUT ROSE- 750 ml; this is the houses’s first ever vintage Brut Rosé release and is comprised of barrels of declassified Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon from the outstanding 2010 vintage; it is comprised of 55% Chardonnay from the grands crus Chouilly, Mesnil, and Cramant and 45% Pinot Noir from Verzenay, Mareuil, and Ludes; the red wine comes from ancient vines in the Valleofois vineyard just next to the Clos des Goisses in Mareuil; I loved this; it was elegant with loads of finesse and charm and yet enough stuff to get ones attention and praise for being balanced and super pleasing; the fruit profile was made up of strawberry, red raspberry and especially red cherry and it was delivered in an almost creamy texture that added to its allure while maintaining a lovely balance. Impressive, enough so, I’m considering adding some to the cellar.
NV BILLECART-SALMON BRUT ROSE in magnum- 40% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot and Pinot Meunier; this was consistent with numerous other enjoyable bottles consumed in the last couple of years and I’m borrowing from recent, previous notes; red raspberry, strawberry and red cherry flavors abound; it was so tasty and had enough pizzaz to please the most discerning of palates; in the last couple of years, I’ve conjectured this house seems to have stepped up the fruit profile to a more expressive, fuller and richer style and it seems there is more red cherry as opposed to the milder raspberry and strawberry notes; in response to my questioning of the house about this well over a year ago, they responded “we use more and more wines done with Grand Cru grapes, and probably also due to the global warming bringing more richness in the wines”. As to the difference in the fruit profile, they replied “the cellar master and I both think that it is still pretty much on ripe strawberries and raspberries, but it also depends very much at what temperature you drink it, Ideally, around 9/10 °C.” I typically drink champagnes in the 8-12C range {45-53 F}.
The contrast with the 2010 was easily detected in that this was more playful and not nearly as elegant, creamy nor balanced especially as to the fruit notes although both are driven by red cherry.
2012 TAITTINGER COMTES de CHAMPAGNE BLANC de BLANC- this was my 2nd ever bottle for this vintage and the first oner was somewhat understated so I was interested to see if this could give a bit more and it did; in fact it was lovely featuring honeyed, ginger and hazelnut accented pear, apple, white peach and lemon fruit; it had a wondrous mouthfeel and seemed to gain tension over time; but then, it seemed it was not fully ready to express all of its treasures. I’m thinking let’s give this another 6 months before revisiting.
2009 LOUIS ROEDERER CRISTAL BRUT in magnum- First of all, In 6/21, I received some input from the house regarding the placement of the vintage on the label: “Our ’new’ Louis Roederer Cristal Label (the vintage is written OUTSIDE of the oval logo) started with the vintage 2009 (commercialized by 2017), followed by 2008 (we released after 2009), 2012 … The only Late Release also with this “new” label is the Cristal 2002.”
A friend and I were talking when this came around and we drained our glasses and offered them for a poor while we continued to talk; we were both swirling, nosing, tasting and experiencing it while continuing our conversation until we simultaneously took a pause, looked at each other and acknowledged “this is some really good shit”.
The blend is a slight deviation from the usual 60/40 having 55% Pinot Noir and 45% Chardonnay, all from their oldest, mostly bio-dynamically farmed estate vineyards out of 7 grand cru villages, plus Mareuil-sur-Aÿ; dosed at 9.5 gpl.
I’ve been a fan of the 09` Cristal since opening up the very first bottle when it was initially received soon after release quite a few years ago; every bottle has just been spectacular as I tend to like most champagnes when they are younger while still enjoying them a bot more with some age; this was fruity, rich, creamy and complex and just exuded royalty and class; it truly took it all to another level; it had an underlying streak of minerals, focused acidity and a wondrous mousse; additional accents of toasty brioche, mineral laden crispy apple and ripe stone fruit notes came in past mid palate while maintaining amazing balance. We deferred our conversation in favor of just enjoying the wine, but there is more to talk about.
2000 PHILIPPONNAT CLOS des GOISSES BRUT- 375 ml; 70% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay, no ML, but 70% is fermented in stainless steel and 30% in barrel; disgorged October 2011; following its gold yellow color came aromas of mature yellow fruit with caramelized golden delicious apple, apricot and peach most prominent and once tasted, aided by accents of honey and butterscotch; its viscous texture extended the finish by coating the palate with its creaminess; this bottle was well advanced and yet not to the extent of being oxidized; as the one who brought it has stated in the past, “it is oxidative, but not oxidized”.
2007 LOUIS ROEDERER CRISTAL BRUT in magnum- this had more Chardonnay than usual being 58% of the total along with 42% Pinot Noir; it spent five years aging sur latte and was finished off with a dosage of 9.5 gpl; it had been a few months since last visiting this vintage and I did so then in order to track it and see where it was for future opening and was told it can give some serious drinking pleasure right now which was confirmed by this bottle; it was superlative and to this time in the day, my WOTD; the nose offered honeyed citrus notes that translated into honeyed lemon, lime and apple on the palate; early on, the apple was more of green apple and then at the back end, it turned into yellow, golden delicious apple; the mouthfeel was fabulous likened to lemon oil and the finish just kept on lingering while coating the palate with all of the goodness in this rich and nicely balanced bubbly that has already reached a place of class and royalty fit for a Czar.
2012 PIERRE PETERS LES CHETILLONS CUVEE SPECIALE BRUT- dosage is 4.7 gpl; it was disgorged January 2019; the fruit is sourced from 3 parcels of vines ranging from 40 to 70 years old in the Grand Cru village of Les Mesnil Sur Over; I’ve long been a fan of this house and of all of the visits we had during 10 days in Champagne many years ago, this was our fav among Krug, Taittinger, Veuve Cliquot, Phillipponat, Ayala, Pol Roger, Ruinart, Bollinger, Henri Giraud and many others; I’m pretty well satiated after the last taste of Cristal, but knew this had to be sampled and to my amazement, it now gets my vote for the WOTD; it had everything and more; featuring more stone fruit than citrus, it was super rich, full bodied, vibrant and highly energetic and yet possessed elegance and charm begging to be sipped and meditated on; I assumed the position and just sat back and appreciated every sip while giving thanks to the phenomenal fruit that Les Chet gives up and to Rudolph who allows for it to be beautifully expressed.
I’m good at this point if not at some point before now, but there’s more and I just had to take another couple of small pours:
2008 DEUTZ BLANC de BLANCS- 750 ml; never had any bubbly from 2008 that sucked and the only thing that sucked about this bottle was the result of my mouth placed on top of the bottle, not true; the wine was fabulous; the fruit profile was made up of both stone, orchard and citrus fruit with mango, apple and lemon lime the headliners; a nice accent of light toasty brioche came in late and along with its creamy, feel good mousse, it was pure pleasure.
NV PIERRE PETERS CUVEE RESERVE GRAND CRU- this is based on 2018 with reserves going back to 1988; disgorged 12/20; this has been a reliably consistent go to house bubbly for us over the years and this bottle reminded of why; it has loads of finesse and elegance and yet enough stuff and weight to take it another level up; it’s citrus dominated with lemon and lime most prevalent and a frothy feel good mousse to add to its allure.
OK, enough. Such a fine day with fine people and a lineup of tasty appetizers to seal the deal. After 11 wondrous champagnes, I have a perpetual smile on my face that has extended into the next day. Happy 4th!
Cheers,
Blake
