Crayeres is now >$200 
Tom at Apex Wines emailed me an great offer for Clouet Un Jour de 1911. I love this wine. It’s 100% Pinot, typically a blend of 3 vintages including an old one (1995 in this case), plus reserves from a solera. It drinks well young, but can age for decades. $64.99/bottle. This is the best champagne deal I’ve seen in a long time, and it’s a tonic to the escalating prices that have recently occurred. Here’s his contact if you’re interested: tom@winesolutions.com
Cheers,
Warren
I agree, it is not Salon, but I’ve been very happy with every bottle I`ve had and like it a lot. My take is different in that I find it has complexity, is rich and creamy and offers a pleasing taste profile. Interestingly, I took this to our dinner group when it was first purchased and everyone loved it, some to the extent of buying a lot and bringing theirs to subsequent dinners and their’s were not even close to being the same as they were light in weight, did not have the creamy texture nor the depth and complexity. It was like an entirely different wine and I found myself looking at the labels to see if I could determine something different and never found anything. I do not know what the house did or if they had different batches released at different times, but those bottles were like weak sisters. And still to this day, one of the guys is still experiencing the same light weight version.
This will be my Friday activity now!!!
Great! In that case, I thought of a few more things. This was designed as a “lower” fat food, so it does not have the butter and cream that some people put in their risotto. If you make your own stock, you will need to strain it very carefully, as there will be tiny bits of shell. And I really enjoyed sprinkling Maldon sea salt flakes on top. I hope you enjoy it!
Awesome! The stock has already been taken care of and I’ll almost certainly add in some butter. Now I just need to grab a champers for it!
2015 Marie Courtin Presence Extra Brut
Cote des Bar. 70% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Blanc. Organic/biodynamic. Aged in tank, three years sur lie, zero dose, zero sulfur.
Surprisingly honey colored. Rather aggressive mousse initially, including trying to jump right out of the bottle. Definitely saline/brine/sea spray quality to it along with very crisp pears. Screaming acidity (Thank you. May I have some more please?). I can’t put a finger on what the Pinot Blanc might be adding, but this wine is so layered for me. Profound. Exquisite. Really f^cking good. A treat for us. Pared perfectly with Cuban spiced rabbit and parsnip fries.
Geek question: Of the four little heirloom grapes of Champagne (including Pinot Blanc), I’ve read conflicting things. 1) They are grandfathered in, but not new vines can be planted, and 2) Small Growers are planting more as they explore new expressions. Which is it?
Roederer 242. This is my 2nd bottle over the last 3-4 months and I’m finding with 90 mins of air, it opens up, gains a bit of weight, and sheds some of the sharp acidity that is present out of the bottle. I think these will age nicely. For near $40, a fantastic QPR and no guilt opening on a weeknight.
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Where is this near $40?
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I ordered a case off Vivino with a first time user discount code. I think it came out to $43/bottle to my door. Same for WDC with discounts.
I don’t think anyone needs to be paying actual retail on this with a little bit of work.
I’ve been talking to him about this wine and he was able to get me the spec sheet for this disgorgement
I think it’s great value in general but especially for a nicely aged 1911. I really love the wine but to find base 50% 2002 + 25% 1995 im expecting good things. And at $65 I bought a case.
I really enjoy Clouet’s 1911 and can find it pretty readily in my area. I’m not an expert on 1911, though, but I’d be surprised if the bottle you have is as old as the “spec sheet” you received might indicate. I’ve uploaded pages 6 & 7 of the 8 page booklet that accompanies each bottle. I have several different disgorgements (this one happens to be from Feb 2016) and the text including the note from Juhlin is identical in all examples that I have. It is virtually identical to the “spec sheet” you posted with the only difference being the vintage where 50% of the grapes came from in Juhlin’s note. Galloni posted a note on the 1911 in the WA Feb 2010 issue that he said was 50% 1996 and 25% each 1995 and 1997. I struggle to believe the composition on the wine disgorged 6 years later was identical.
Can you get the disgorgement date for the bottles you purchased? I’m just guessing here but I’d think that would have to be 10-12 years ago for a 2002 base wine.
Here it is….
Maybe Brad can help us with further info…
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I’m glad you two agree with me. The last time I remember posting a wine I thought was great but the general comments were “it’s good, not great” was the 1995 Charles Heidsieck Blanc de Millenaires 10 or 15 years ago. I bought cases of that for a song. I’m buying cases of the 1911. I’m not saying it’s at that level, but it’s in that echelon IMO. The really old bottle of 1911 I got as a mixed lot auction purchase bycatch (my target ‘96 Goisses), was opened on a weeknight and it wound up my WOTY.
Cheers,
Warren
Thanks Warren, talked me into emailing Tom to grab some
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2017 Antoine Bouvet Champagne Les Monts de la Vallée - France, Champagne (2/24/2022)
2017 Antoine Bouvet Les Monts de La Vallee - long time coming, but first pass at this producer. 100% Pinot noir from the vineyards of Avenay Val d’Or and Mareuil sur ay. disgorged 8Feb21 with 2 g/l dosage. Ripe red apple, a bit of nuttiness underneath, lemon candy. It’s all fruit on the finish, I’m going to definitely grab some more of this and will be trying the other cuvées shortly to see if the experience is the same.
Posted from CellarTracker
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I took a flyer and emailed the house and promptly received a response asking specifically about cuvée 94.
Dear Robert,
I thank you for your message.
You are talking about Un Jour de 1911.
It is a 50% of 2008 fermented in barrique doisy Daene
And the rest is a Solera of 10 years
Small dosage 5 grammes and Malo done.
Wine from BOUZY GD CRU
I remain at your disposal,
Best regards,
Marie-Laure
So, not the 2002 or 95/97 that’s obviously not updated for some reason on the pamphlet. But a base of 2008 with extended aging should prove to be a fine example I would think!
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Very nice … that should be excellent! Some of the earlier discussions here seem to indicate they weren’t as forthcoming with this type of info, so I’m glad to see that’s changed.
Robert,
Thanks for the update. I was hoping for an older release, but a late release 2008 base is still a pearl in my cellar. I’d suspected it was barrel fermented but didn’t know about barriques from Barsac or the full malo.
I’m visiting my soon-to-be 91 yo mom in Florida.
I opened one last night (from a recent purchase from Vinopolis) with her and one of my brothers. I think it’s probably the same release. I hope Brad or someone with a decoder ring can tell me. One minor complaint is the foil they use, which is like Dom Perignon, thin and stuck to bottle, cork and cap.
The nose was intoxicating, leesy with a mix of fresh and mature (I would have thought an older solera). The palate makes me think of some of my other ‘08 based wines that are just starting to open up. It needed a lot of air and to lose the excessive chill I gave it. The initial glass was fine on it’s own, but better with food. The last glass was easily the best, having smoothed its sharp edges. I’m starting to agree with Sarah about travel shock and champagne as this bottle didn’t quite reach the heights of one last week at home. My impression last night was that it’s great with food and some air now, with the structure and energy to reach the heights of that old bottle I drank last year. I’m glad I have cases of it.
Cheers,
Warren
