I regret not picking up a few of the ‘12’s. I have enjoyed the NV brut in the past, though I was never as excited about it as most others. I think it’s in the realm of possibility that the problem last night was me and I will enjoy the next bottle more. We shall see.
Or CH just isn’t your style? I like the NV Brut after 5+ years from disgorgement…the 12 was really young…the high % of reserve wines isn’t a profile for everyone and certainly not super popular with all the Brut Zero and Extra Brut consumers now.
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Yeah, maybe, though I have enjoyed other cuvees with a high percentage of reserve wines. This reminded me a little of the Dumont Solera Reserve, though that wine is made in a less opulent style. I enjoyed the Dumont considerably more.
Based on my experience with those two bottles, that makes a lot of sense. I’m pretty sure they were both from Envoyer.
Looking forward to it. Thanks!
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De Saint-Gall Le Blanc de Blancs 2015:
This shitty cooperative wine ain’t too shitty! Unlike my previous bottles, which didn’t strut their stuff until I finished off half the bottle, this opened up with only a few minutes of air. Flinty, salty, and full of lemon curd, spice, and apple notes. It’s not extraordinarily complex (though it’s muted by a poor quality flute) but it’s very attractive with a seductive mouthfeel. Medium bodied with firm acidity and decent length. Needs a little time, but it’s a nice bottle at a reasonable tariff.
If you get jonesing to trade, I’ve got prob a half case of Ultramarine I’d be willing to let go…
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The Cramant was definitely brut zero. I’ve also had the Signé Francois which I really liked. It was labeled “brut”, but several CT notes say it wasn’t dosed. The winery’s website doesn’t yield any information, nor does their importer’s (Rosenthal).
If my CT data is accurate, I still have two bottles left in the cellar. I’ll see if I can find them.
Is your CT handle “Soyhead”?
Cheers
Warren
Champagne Clandestine Boreal V20 (DG 2022)
My last bottle from this house - was coerced into taking a bottle each of the full range when I asked for some V&S and really glad I tried it! I preferred the Austral slightly for complexity, but this was impressive too. Bags of red fruit in the bouquet with surprisingly pronounced (burnt) toast aromas, and a slightly floral, hibiscus-esque note. A creamy texture; lively on the palate with bracing acidity and a salty finish, slightly reminiscent of watermelon rind.
(As a side note I would not recommend this with brie! Something with a touch more dosage might’ve gone better, this one really played up the grassy / hay aromas of the cheese and the cheese in turn gave a slightly steely quality to the wine’s minerality, which I dislike).
Anyone know what’s happening to the house now that Doussot has split up with Gautherot’s daughter? I understand that their mission statement was to rescue some old / forgotten plots in the Aube and based on their latest drops, it would be a shame for those plots to go untended due to the relationship issues!
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My Cramant was labeled as extra brut, not brut zero. Although by taste it could have definitely been a zero, or very low dosage.
The 2008 Signe Francois that I had was also labeled a brut. I don’t know the importer but I’ll try to look at my other bottle sometime soon. According to both CT pics and GregK, there are two bottlings. One labeled “brut” and one “brut zero.”
I can see why many would still love the brut bottling, it was richer and sweeter like many big house wines. It was somewhat close in profile to the 99 and 02 Billecart Nicolas that I have had lately. But I’m betting the brut zero is better for my tastes.
My CT handle is jd6725, I think we’re friends on there.
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My Cramant was brut zero. My Signe Francois was labeled brut. It would be fun to compare the different dosed versions of each, but they’re hard wines to find in either iteration.
Extracted from a thread just posted:
2008 LOUIS ROEDERER CRISTAL BRUT-- blind and poured under the table by the gracious one who brought it to keep it blind; 60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir; the color was a light yellow; the nose was redolent of citrus fruit with a hint of spice; there was enough stuff to suggest this was a pretty serious bubbly which was confirmed, once tasted; my initial impression got this as being big, rich, highly acidic and powerful and I immediately thought of 2008 as the vintage that epitomized such and I first called it a Taittinger Comtes; the taste profile had a brilliant dose of lemon zest, but a different follow through with dried lime and maybe some licorice coming in at the end; that’s not Comtes; I went through some other possibilities of other 2008s such as Dom Perignon, Laurent-Perrier, Krug and Bollinger Grand Annee, but none really fit this as much as Cristal which is where I eventually landed without certainty; regardless, this was just fabulous and even more ready than most of the previous bottles I’ve had.
Cheers,
Blake
@Jon_Lawrence @Warren_Taranow @Mikael_OB @Chris_Seiber @Steve_Nordhoff
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NV Collard-Milesi Blanc de Blancs, base vintage 2018, 40% reserve wine, disgorged 9/16/2022, 8g/L - Bready, lemon curd, high tension, great finish. Since I bought more champagne that we can possibly bring home, we’re drinking through a few bottles on our journey. This is excellent, and makes me wish that it was headed home with us.
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Vadin-Plateau Terres des Moines 1er cru dosage zéro
100%PM 2016 grapes. Tried in three different glasses to give this a shot. Unknown disgorgement. Didn’t waste my time trying to find further details about this.
Golden color. Right off the bat, I was a suspicious that it might be in an oxidative style or oxidized. Sherry-esque nose, watered down lambic and apple flavor. Mercifully short sour finish. I was trying to dissect the flavors, but after the third tentative sip, I didn’t want to continue subjecting myself to the unpleasantness and called it quits.
The Carac’terre (opened about a month ago - no formal note) was better than this, which is not saying much. I have one more bottle from this producer and am not looking forward to it.
2013 Moët et Chandon grand vintage extra brut
Dosage 5g/L, 41% Chard, 38% PN, 21%PM, aged 7 years on lees
Opened this as an aperitif when we had guests over the weekend that are not wine drinkers. Classic green apple, lemon rind, a bit of brioche, but not too much. Maybe a touch of herbal note. Mid palette was a little bit weak, but given the social environment, I wasn’t thinking too hard about this. The Moët was very well received by our guests, who were surprised at how easily and pleasantly it went down 
.
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Been meaning to post short notes about 3 Champagnes we had at Noreetuh dinner a few months ago. If these were the only wines I drank that night, Dayenu.
2012 billiot Essence
Bottle 41/300
Disgroged September 2016
A huge, steely, metallic wine. Very impressive, loved this
A
2006 Taittinger Comte
A delicious wine but seemed a touch heavy and shut down compared with previous bottles. Today, the weakest of the three
B+/A-
2013 Agrapart Avizoise
Wow. I’ve always liked Agrapart but they’re not a producer I usually buy. But this wine was stunningly ethereal. COTN
A+
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Blake,
Glad to hear the bottle was open for business. I am very tempted now to open a bottle this weekend.
If you get anything close to our bottle, you’ll have great weekend. Looking forward to hearing about it.
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Extracted from a thread just posted:
I selected a champagne I’d never had before based upon recommendations from a fellow WineBeserker who shares champagne wine geek status with me and was delighted to discover another treasure.
Here’s some tasting notes.
NV ANDRE CLOUET UN JOUR 1911 GRAND CRU BOUZY- 100% Pinot Noir from 3 vintages; only 1911 bottles produced per year, thus the explanation on the number on the label; our bottle had lost some of its chill in transit and it was necessary to get it in ice water; however, our thirst was too great to allow it to get to an ideal state; thus, the flavor profile was pretty advanced and expressive, almost to the point of calling it oxidative with apricot and peach fruit accented by honey, ginger and caramel; once chilled, it was much easier on the palate, even possessing some degree of elegance, and more evenly balanced albeit sporting some lighter version of similar notes with some nice citrusy lemon/ orange and a touch of brioche; it was rich, full bodied and creamy textured, all contributing to a grand experience.
Cheers,
Blake
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Blake
I recently had a bottle that was very similar to your description. It was an outlier compared to other bottles I’ve had. While the wine definitely can show the oxidative qualities of the older vintages, it’s usually not the dominant characteristic. I love the interplay between fresh and mature in this wine, but my last bottle seemed more advanced. That bottle was a friend’s which I’d sourced for him. He stores them in a bedroom closet. Maybe that was a factor, or maybe there’s some bottle variation.
Hopefully you have some more to try again, and they show more of the younger vintages’ fresh qualities.
Cheers
Warren
Thanks Warren for your input as I do have another bottle, thanks to your suggestion and will see how it compares. It’s my MO to buy at least 2 bottles of any wine I’ve not had b before for bottle variation allowance.
I really enjoyed our bottle and it was not offensively advanced at all.
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