Funny. My wife said this about Pol Roger.
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Entry level tasting session. 2022 deg Esprit is surprisingly ready and delicious. Also, it might be time to finally let go of the Charles Heidsieck br- I had faint hope the new version would improve over time but it’s just not showing.
Finally had a few moments to jot down some thoughts from La Fete (and the Friday before Skurnik tasting as well).
The Skurnik tasting was a great warm up as many of the owner/winemakers were there as well (Laurent and Thomas Champs from Vilmart; Rudolphe Peters, Jean Paul Hebrart, Cedric Mousse and Mathilde Margaine, amongst several others)
The Vilmart flight once again confirmed my opinion they are about as good as Champagne gets. Thomas seems as dedicated as Laurent. The entire range was there, even the 2012 Les Blanches Voies. Superb lineup, the 17 GCDO exceeded my expectations and the 14 CdC was superb as usual.
Rudolphe Peters was very engaging. The 2016 vintage was excellent, but the 2015 Chetillons was my favorite that day, rather contrarian for Chetillons, it exploded out of the glass and had a kaleidoscope of fruit matched with tremendous balance and length. Bummer this has become difficult and expensive to source, but man, was it good.
Other favorites were the Hebrart 16 Noces de Craie; Margaine Special Club and Mousse Terre d’Illite 2018.
For La Fete, I attended the Cristal seminar Saturday morning hosted by Jean Baptiste Lecaillon, V.P. and Cave Boss at Roederer. His dedication and incredible knowledge shined through for the entire 90 minutes. There has been a lot of posts on Cristal lately. For me, it the the best champagne made, but it’s not an everyday drinker obviously so it was educational to try the six Cristals in the seminar and go right to the Courtyard for Selosse, Salon, Krug Dom, etc.
JB very much sounds like a small organic farmer, with explanations about biodynamic v. organic, nursery massale selections, chalk, more chalk, transparency etc. JB noted they are looking for “50% sun and 50% soil”.
First up was 2012, 2013 and 2014. Usually around 60% PN and 40% Chard, with some variation based on the vintage. Dosage is now around 7-8 grams. 45 plots available nearly all Grand Cru.
2012 - cooler year, similar to 2013 but more late season sunshine. 35 of 45 plots chosen. Orange oil, lime, brilliant acid counterbalanced with perfect fruit. Super.
2013 - “ wet Spring, July had great sun, great Pinot year, late season had a cooler finish”. Old school year, picked in October. This one is “51% soil and 49% sunshine”. Reserved, chalky, salivating citrus. Nose had some pastry. 30 of 45 plots. Most promising, reminds me of 08. Cellar, but this may turn out best.
2014 - “Spring hot, Summer cool and wet, sunshine at harvest, picked in September. Pinot more challenging, ripe and overripe, lots of vineyard work. The one with the most deliciousness” 39 of 45 plots. Your, tight, tangerine acid, touches of hazelnut and white flower. Excellent.
Then three Cristal Rose, which doubled my prior experience 
. First vintage 1974. Just four plots used, two in Ay, one in Alize and one in LMSO. ‘Infusion of skins mineralizes the wine, 5-10 days, Cristal with more fruit and texture, all biodynamic since 2007, 12-20% oak barrels.”
2007- cold year, made JB buy a beach house. Classic cool climate, somewhat like 2014. Strawberry, hints of lime, tons of finesse. Could easily crush a bottle of this. Excellent.
2008 - “ much like 96, but they knew more by 2008, 16% MF”. Nose had pastry dough/croissant, plums, cherries strawberries, incredibly deep and broad. Palate similar. We have left the stratosphere. Top 3 all time for me. Incredible.
2009 - “finely textured PN. 55%PN 45% Chard. Salty/crunchy”. Saline, mineral, strawberry, cherry, limes and citrus. Superb balance, excellent.
I’ll post the grand tasting notes separately.
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Great motes Steve and timely too as per the Cristal.
Remy Massin et Fils 2012
60% Chard, 40% PN. Disgorged Jan 2020. Dosage 6g/L.
Straw color, fine bead. Citrus, green apple, some salinity - on the nose had some herb I could not place (like faint lemongrass??). Nice acidity and lighter than expected.
this is so cool and makes so much sense.
Thanks for that .pdf.
2008 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut
As I expected would eventually happen, this has just surpassed the incredible and precocious 2009. Once again, a chalky kaleidoscope of citrus. I swear I could pick out lemon, orange, pomelo, kumquat, yuzu jam, plus red berries, a little plum, and dense florals. Great cut as well as texture. My best bottle of the 2008 yet, and one of my WsOTY so far.
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As promised (threatened?) a few notes on our Cristal retrospective (with huge thanks to @chetkern for setting this up):
- 14 Brut - a good not great cristal. Dominated by lime notes and the feeling is of a pleasant rather than great wine. The most dom-like of all the wines (this is not really a compliment).
- 13 Brut - a great wine. There’s a mineral note that stops well short of the lime on the 13 and while there’s some sugar it’s spectacularly in balance with the palate. There’s such tension on the palate if feels like drinking cristals (no pun intended). A fabulous wine.
- 12 Brut - divisive. Initially powerful and big, but shut down fairly quickly. Mild notes of cheese on the nose (?). While open I thought it had nice power, but then became tight on the plate. Bury deep in the cellar.
- 13 Rose - a finer more filigreed version of the Selosse rose, with less oxidation (of course). Spectacular wine - pure raspberry on the palate but the purity is what stands out. Just seamless from start to finish. Finish goes on forever. As this is still young, I think this will in time surpass the 2008.
- 12 Rose - very tough to evaluate next to the 13. A good rose. But compared to the purity of the 13 you really feel the slight heaviness of the dosage and light roughness on the palate. But again - next to the 13….
- 07 Brut - My initial note said “meh”. A decent but unspectacular cristal, in a different way than the 2014 - this was just not terribly interesting. 2007 was a great Chardonnay vintage, which I don’t think did this too many favors.
- 08 Brut - similar to the 2013, but this has a bit less precision and a bit more ripeness. The fruit is almost an interest shade of blue (I sometimes get this on Collin’s Roises, for example). Slightly broader finish than the 2013 but maybe loses just a touch of tension. Again, by far the clear
- 09 - Brut.- slight burnt sugar on the finish. A a happy wine, but a bit unfocused next to the 08. Touch of starch and slight thickness on the palate. I’ve always liked the 2009 Cristal and it’s good for current drinking.
- 08 Rose - My initial note just said “MAGIC”. Like the comparison between the 13 and 08 Brut, this is slightly broader than the 2013 and maybe loses a touch of tension, but has a similar vein of absolutely pure fruit that’s spectacular and incredibly persistent. The extra 5 years of age gives this a slightly more mature feel, but we’re splitting hairs. I brought stems to make sure I could try this next to the 2013 rose (they weren’t served next to each other).
- 09 Rose - initially a bit burnt and herbal on the nose, but really settled down. Hard to judge next to - a really good wine, but in the shadow of the 08. Lots of caramel on the nose.
- 02 Brut - good wine, but dosage shows a touch. Feels slightly like good but generic big goose cba
- 04 Brut - some mushroom on the nose, some secondary development. A lovely wine. Perfect balance.
- 05 Brut - some VA on the nose and an odd palate; a weird wine that never came together. I don’t think it was flawed, but 05 is a tough vintage, so not that surprising. (A fried once described a nose on an 05 as “a bag of rotten potatoes” though my nose is neither sophisticated nor agricultural enough to pick up notes like that.)
- 06 Brut - another odd wine, in that it was weirdly non-descript. The mid-2000s do not appear to have been Cristal’s best period.
- 02 Rose - the 02 and 04 were nearly carbon copies of each other - both in a great place right now and are the wines I would drink today. Both are now showing secondary development, the fruit has gained complexity and is a lovely shade of strawberry with some burnt caramel. The 04 shaded it for me a bit, but honestly there’s very little to choose from between these. Both terrific wines.
- 04 Rose - per above.
- 00 rose - similar to the 02/04, but a bit sweet on the finish; the dosage sticks out here. Perhaps with more age it will calm down more, but it’s already been 23 years!
- 97 Vinotheque - fantastic, a bit light but incredibly pure. Fabulous wine, though not as good as the 96 rose Vinotheque I had at Fete.
There were a number of other wines, including a dead 88, but there a bit confusion (sending wines in both directions of the table was a mistake!) and possibly a bit too much alcohol that my notes were not in perfect shape.
In addition to the Cristal:
- 2019 Roeder Camille Hommage Charmont Mreuil-sur-Ay Somewhat stemmy on the nose, clearly framed in good oak but with a relatively typical Coteaux finish - a bit light and very cherry. Also somewhat earthy, but without quite the body I’d want from a more serious Burgundy. I took this bottle home, and on day two this gained some heft on the palate and ultimately reminded me of a solid but unspectacular Chassagne rouge.
- 2019 Roederer Camille Homage Volibarts (Le Mesnir Sur Oger) A very direct wine, but also with nice glycerin notes. Clearly framed by some very nice oak. Despite the glycerin notes, it’s “thin” in the sense that it’s not palate coating. If drunk blind I think it would be a dead ringer for a very good vintage of PYCM St. Aubin.
Once you’re past your epiphany wines, I think there are times when you encounter spectacular wines that make you stop and realize you’ve found greatness - or at least the potential for it. I’ve had that experience with some specific bottles in the last few years, and I feel that way about the 2008 and 2013 Cristal, especially the rose. This is absolutely some of the best wine being made anywhere in the world today, and I think the roses will be reference point wines in the future - they will be spoken of like 89 Leflaive or 93 Rousseau. I was close to that view after the Cristal seminar at Fete, and I’m convinced of that now - and I can’t wait to drink these wines over the years.
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2018 Pierre Paillard Rose extra brut Les Terres Roses - Snagged for $35 at the Zachys case sale and after opening a bottle feels like an early contender for best value purchase of the year. Salmon colored, at first it doesn’t show much rosé character, just nice white fruits, a bit of brioche, balanced acidity. With air and at warmer temp some red cherry candy pops out. AG didn’t like the 17, said it was too austere, but this rendition is definitely not.
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I’m with you Warren. It is the bomb.
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A tasting from heaven. Thanks for the notes.
Well AG is the expert, but I thought the XVII was delicious.
He sure is 
Not quite sure why, but somehow this brings to mind Roger Scruton’s great book “I drink Therefore I am” and the author’s great and very analytical drinking sessions with Sam the horse.
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AG and Vinous have traded independence and transparency for special and bespoke ‘subscriptions’ and pay to play events from those whose wines they review. Why in the world would anyone pay the slightest heed to anything Vinous or AG write about anything?
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I noticed that bottles purchased in the past had “Tardive” on the front label, and recent ones did not.
The recent purchase seemed a little less, or thinner. To be fair, I didn’t notice the Tardive thing until after.
Was there a tardive version?
John, I just looked at both bottles and didn’t see “Tardive” on either.
Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle No.25
On vacation with the family and forgot how fairly Columbia priced wine. No detailed notes but from memory 2008 is clearly on display with brilliant acidity, lemon oil, and some creamy pastry notes. Really opens up with air so patience will be rewarded as it continued to gain concentration and complexity.
Edit - if only they had better glasses…
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NV Laherte Frères Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature
Pale yellow/straw. Minerals, citrus, apples, lots of brioche and peanuts. Palate is bone dry with very high acidity and minerality, lemons, tart granny smith apples. Finishes somewhat long with chalk and a block of salt. It feels like it’s missing something. I just wonder how much better this might be with a touch of dosage.
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Greg,
Great notes. Not sure what is going on with the '12 at the moment. Maybe it is shutting down? I had a couple bottles of each last year and they were great, including the '12 rosé as a PnP.
IMO, Cristal is the best Champagne out there and in the grand scheme of ‘high-end’ wines, it is still relatively accessible and affordable.
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