@D_Pennet mentioned Trichet in a prior post, and because I am easily influenced 
, I took a flyer on a different bottling:
NV Pierre Trichet Champagne Grand Cru La Puissance
100% GC PN from Verzy, dosage 7-8g/L, 5 years on lees.
Light golden color. Tiny soft bead, but a nice effervescence comes across on the palate. Not the most demonstrative nose, with some light bread, pear, and something like white peach (?). On the palate, starts with ripe green pear, yellow rainier cherries, and a lot of slate-like minerality in the mid-palate. Citrus/saline finish that’s on the shorter side (not a complaint, just an observation). Dosage absolutely on point and well balanced.
I paid $42 for this and this is one of the best sub-$45 champagnes I have had in a long time. No, you’re not going to get the complexity of a $150 bottle, but this isn’t completely boring either. At this price, my ideal champagne would be an all-purpose workhorse that (1) can be drunk as an aperitif or with food, (2) will be accepted by a crowd and is drinkable to me, (3) isn’t too sensitive to the “right” serving temperature, (4) won’t make me cringe if someone adds orange juice or some other adulterant, and (5) doesn’t require intense analysis but won’t wither under some perusal (sometimes one is just not in the mood to dissect, scrutinize or ponder what’s in the glass.) This checks off all those points. Will repurchase when my cellar isn’t busting through its seams or if hosting a larger party.
