Which Champagne are you drinking?

[Sarah_Kirschbaum]

2013 Diebolt-Vallois Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut Millesime

We are big fans of the Diebolt-Vallois Prestige and the Fleur de Passion, but for some reason have not paid that much attention to the vintage blanc de blancs. We were in Moore Brothers the other day, though, and saw the 2013 on the shelf so, having been pretty happy with chardonnay in 2013 so far, decided to try it. Quite glad we did! This was a lovely, complete and compelling champagne with very good structure and fine balance of fruit and minerals. Light on its feet, but not lacking in depth. I think the 3 g/L dosage is spot on for the wine in this vintage. The finish is a little shut down right now, but I expect time will help with that, as an hour of air really firmed up and broadened the mid-palate. I really should have opened it a little early. If I had any criticism it might be the character isn’t quite there for me in terms of unique personality, but it is a delicious champagne for the money, richer and more exotic than some other BdBs and I trust will age nicely.

[M.Kaplan]

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[Corey_N]

• NV Delamotte Champagne Brut Rosé - France, Champagne (3/2/2022)
  This is the first time i’ve ever had their Brut Rose…very pretty wine! I believe 80% Pinot from Bouzy, Ambonnay and Tours-sur-Marne…20% Chard from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger…2012 base?..8g/l dos…very refreshing elegant bubbles, with a good prickle of blood orange acidity…dancing in a field of wild strawberries and raspberry bushes…crisp and precise on the palate…wonderful crushed rock salty dryness…tart cherry skin…not much of a mousse though…but it is well balanced and tamed, so no need for any creme to calm. A lovely wine, but nothing earth shattering…and at the $69 price point I paid, seems over priced imo. I’d drink it all day long at $35, like the reg Brut. (93 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

This is an $85 note, so I’d say you’re getting value for money.

[Steve_Costigan]

2014 Laherte Frères Les Longues Voyes BdN EB PC (100% PN, dg: Jan 2018 dos: 4 g/L 12.5% abv)
As if you needed another reason to love Laherte Freres. I usually don’t post notes on Champagne but I was really taken aback by the richness and quality of this. Quite rich and loaded with fruit without being over bearing. Long finish. Would hold its own against a wider range of food matches than most Champagnes I think. Beautiful with the birthday dinner lobster mac and cheese. Quite a wine for $75. Score: 4 (out of 5) easy.

[Warren_Taranow]

Great wine with a fun dinner on the beach last night. The 2009 Cristal has never shut down. Power and grace, with lemon cream, orchard fruit & patisserie. I’ve had other bottles show slightly better, which might have been due to travel shock. However, for me, I suspect palate variability is more common than bottle variability.

Apologies for the dark photo. Marybeth is appalled enough at me photographing bottles during meals. Using a flash could prove deadly. I’m going to post these notes on a separate thread for our annual Maui trip.

Cheers,
Warren

[Yao_C]

A very nice showing for Deutz, which doesn’t get a lot of love, and a strong result in the difficult 2010 vintage.

I’ve been liking every Deutz I’ve opened lately. They also treated us better than any other winery during our visit last October (private tour, gourmet lunch and an extensive tasting). I’m a big fan of this house.

Speaking of Deutz, you guys inspired me to check in on a bottle that I’d buried for a while

2008 Deutz Blanc de Blancs ‘Amour de Deutz’
The aromas are elusive but they come out one by one with patience: a gentle apple note, something bready, a trace of white flowers when the glass warms up a little; it’s all sweetness and light on the nose, very blanc de blancs, and makes you think this might be a little easy, a little frivolous, something to drink as an aperitif and forget about; what’s actually lurking is a powerful, salty lemony palate which broadens unexpectedly and then broadens some more, driving to a crescendo that doesn’t let up until well after you expect it to; rather more serious than one might expect, and I’ll give my next bottle a few more years in the hope that the aromatics will be more accessible then; good with upside

[dbailey]

Opened a lovely magnum of 2010 Champagne Deutz Parcelles d’Aÿ Hommage à William Deutz to drink with a fantastic cold seafood platter. I thought it was showing beautifully - quite vinous and generous, but with a very elegant and delicate mousse. It really needed some time open - at first it was a little shy, but with air and warming a few degrees it started showing some nice depth and complexity. I’d had this wine out of 750 before and it was brilliant. The magnum is perhaps a little behind in terms of development, though I trust it will get to the same level. A very nice showing for Deutz, which doesn’t get a lot of love, and a strong result in the difficult 2010 vintage.

I’ve been liking every Deutz I’ve opened lately. They also treated us better than any other winery during our visit last October (private tour, gourmet lunch and an extensive tasting). I’m a big fan of this house.

First rule re Deutz: don’t talk about Deutz…

[dbailey]

A very nice showing for Deutz, which doesn’t get a lot of love, and a strong result in the difficult 2010 vintage.

I’ve been liking every Deutz I’ve opened lately. They also treated us better than any other winery during our visit last October (private tour, gourmet lunch and an extensive tasting). I’m a big fan of this house.

Speaking of Deutz, you guys inspired me to check in on a bottle that I’d buried for a while

2008 Deutz Blanc de Blancs ‘Amour de Deutz’
The aromas are elusive but they come out one by one with patience: a gentle apple note, something bready, a trace of white flowers when the glass warms up a little; it’s all sweetness and light on the nose, very blanc de blancs, and makes you think this might be a little easy, a little frivolous, something to drink as an aperitif and forget about; what’s actually lurking is a powerful, salty lemony palate which broadens unexpectedly and then broadens some more, driving to a crescendo that doesn’t let up until well after you expect it to; rather more serious than one might expect, and I’ll give my next bottle a few more years in the hope that the aromatics will be more accessible then; good with upside

If you can find a bottle of the 02, it’s absolutely spectacular.

PS note that I didn’t mention the D word…!

[Sarah_Kirschbaum]

2013 Marc Hébrart Champagne Grand Cru Rive Gauche / Rive Droite Extra Brut

Looks like 01/2020 disgorgement and 4g/L dosage. Damn this smells good! My eyebrows shot up when I first sniffed - glad I used the GGG stems as this is broad and deep and truly enchanting on the nose. The fruit and concentration are outstanding, with impressive power for something with such delicate mousse. Loved the pastry notes in the mid and the confident acidity. It’s pretty tight right now, though, kind of a mallet rather than a chisel or maybe Thor’s hammer, to extend the metaphor, as there is real thunder in this glass. It needs time for sure, and I have a lot of hope for what it could become. I’m so glad to have a few loose bottles to sample along the way and a full case sealed up and buried in the stacks. Hebrart has impressed me at every level in recent vintages.

[ChrisJames]

2013 Marc Hébrart Champagne Grand Cru Rive Gauche / Rive Droite Extra Brut

Looks like 02/2020 disgorgement and 4g/L dosage. Damn this smells good! My eyebrows shot up when I first sniffed - glad I used the GGG stems as this is broad and deep and truly enchanting on the nose. The fruit and concentration are outstanding, with impressive power for something with such delicate mousse. Loved the pastry notes in the mid and the confident acidity. It’s pretty tight right now, though, kind of a mallet rather than a chisel or maybe Thor’s hammer, to extend the metaphor, as there is real thunder in this glass. It needs time for sure, and I have a lot of hope for what it could become. I’m so glad to have a few loose bottles to sample along the way and a full case sealed up and buried in the stacks. Hebrart has impressed me at every level in recent vintages.

I love the descriptors Sarah. Great writing.

[Rodrigo_B]

No kidding. Great note Sarah! I’ll have to track down a bottle of this, it sounds right up my alley.

[Sarah_Kirschbaum]

Just sucks that there’s no score. And what’s the point when it didn’t even make it to day 2, let alone 3?

Seriously, though, thanks guys!

[Rodrigo_B]

Is there even such a thing as leftover Champagne?

[Sarah_Kirschbaum]

Is there even such a thing as leftover Champagne?

Not in our house!

[K_John_Joseph]

Prevost Fac-Simile rosé LC16. Not sure I see the fuss.

I think it is very good wine, but I do not think it is worth the tariff. Pricing has gone bonkers and, to me, now significantly outpaces the quality in bottle.

[K_John_Joseph]

Krug MV 169eme This is a lovely albeit too young wine. The nose is a little tight at first, with chalky lemon notes opening with time to a richer orchard fruits with a light peachy scent, hint of orange blossom, and white bread finish. Very nice density here, with a creamy mousse. Acid is high, and it seems that since 164, gone are the days of rich, yeasty, slightly oxidative beasts. This is refined and zippy, but remains rather full bodied. Exciting concentration, but maybe a bit citric just now. A great candidate for a long lay down. 96ish with serious aging upside.

[K_John_Joseph]

2013 Marc Hébrart Champagne Grand Cru Rive Gauche / Rive Droite Extra Brut

Looks like 01/2020 disgorgement and 4g/L dosage. Damn this smells good! My eyebrows shot up when I first sniffed - glad I used the GGG stems as this is broad and deep and truly enchanting on the nose. The fruit and concentration are outstanding, with impressive power for something with such delicate mousse. Loved the pastry notes in the mid and the confident acidity. It’s pretty tight right now, though, kind of a mallet rather than a chisel or maybe Thor’s hammer, to extend the metaphor, as there is real thunder in this glass. It needs time for sure, and I have a lot of hope for what it could become. I’m so glad to have a few loose bottles to sample along the way and a full case sealed up and buried in the stacks. Hebrart has impressed me at every level in recent vintages.

Sarah I really enjoyed that wine. It’s the first vintage of it I’ve had and it was absolutely singing. I found biscuit, jazz apple, lemon curd, vanilla cream, and honeysuckle. Just the right balance of richness, acid, fruit, and minerality. I am quite jealous you’ve got a small hoard of it! I need to re-up. That was among my wonderful surprises of the year last year. Really good wine.

[Lacey_Burke]

Just attended a Champagne party with a bunch of friends also in the industry and had quite a few great bottles!
Vilmart Grand Cellier Grand Cru
Suenen C+C Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru
2010 Dom Perignon
Charles Heidseick NV
2008 Bereche Cote 1er Cru
Etienne Calsac Les Revenants
2012 Paul Bara
Christophe Mignon Rose’

[Jim_Stewart]

Last night, we enjoyed what could be our last bottle of Louis Roederer Brut NV, since it has been replaced by the Collection nnn bottling. This bottle of the Brut, while probably not an “extraordinary” champagne, was very satisfying to my tastes. It seems to do everything well in a balanced, slightly rounded style, with a great mouthfeel and even finesse.

I downloaded the relatively new app from the Roederer site and it provides a wealth of info on this bottle by either manually entering or scanning the bottle code. The base year was 2015, 8gm/L dosage, disgorgement May 2019, release Nov 2019.

[Warren_Taranow]

I’ve been liking every Deutz I’ve opened lately. They also treated us better than any other winery during our visit last October (private tour, gourmet lunch and an extensive tasting). I’m a big fan of this house.

Speaking of Deutz, you guys inspired me to check in on a bottle that I’d buried for a while

2008 Deutz Blanc de Blancs ‘Amour de Deutz’
The aromas are elusive but they come out one by one with patience: a gentle apple note, something bready, a trace of white flowers when the glass warms up a little; it’s all sweetness and light on the nose, very blanc de blancs, and makes you think this might be a little easy, a little frivolous, something to drink as an aperitif and forget about; what’s actually lurking is a powerful, salty lemony palate which broadens unexpectedly and then broadens some more, driving to a crescendo that doesn’t let up until well after you expect it to; rather more serious than one might expect, and I’ll give my next bottle a few more years in the hope that the aromatics will be more accessible then; good with upside

If you can find a bottle of the 02, it’s absolutely spectacular.

PS note that I didn’t mention the D word…!

Dan
I vividly remember my first sip of “they that cannot be named”. It was an 08 Amour de “D” Rosè that I had bought in 1/2 bottles. I knew nothing about the house. I think I was in mid-conversation when I took a sip and rudely disengaged from the discussion and said to myself or perhaps aloud “Whoa, what the hey!”. I’ve since been buying and drinking a lot , especially both Amours, and the Cuvèe Wm D. Every bottle has been great, although I think the ship has sailed on low prices.
Cheers,
Warren