Yule,
I have not had the 2020 Amateur from Leclapart yet so I cannot comment. In general, I would expect Leclapart to fare decently in 2020. The wines from 2020 tend to be bright and fruity from the warmer year and some do show an herbal, green, grassy (call it what you will) note that bothers some. A similar issue to what some find in some 2015s although the expression in 2020 is not the same as 2015.
Half naked
I don’t know if any one wine is going to give you a good window into Pascal’s style. I would do the range of NV Blancs to give yourself an overview of what Doquet is all about and then decide if you want to investigate the vintages. The Horizon, Arpege, and Diapason are all different wines and show you the breadth of the Doquet style.
N,
It has been a couple years since I had the 2013 Artiste, but I found it to be more tightly coiled and structured than usual with a high acidity; it is a wine that speaks of the year 2013. Some oxidation notes of aging apples do battle with the acidity and I wish the wine had some dosage to help balance things out, but it is an enjoyable wine as long as you don’t mind low/no dosage in a classical, more structured year.
Thanks for posting this. I know there is a quiet revolution of sparkling wine going on in Oregon, and I have been curious about the wines, as I have only tasted the ubiquitous Argyle. The prices have tempered my desire to explore.
I am sorry you had an off bottle. This is an intruiging winery, Aurore Casanova was a ballerina and is a very artistic person which explains the label. I suppose the really interesting thing here, she is mentored by Prevost, Prevost stores his vin clairs or a part of his vin clair in her cellar, I don’t know if he presses there.
When we tasted Leclapart last year, his wife said, they were so relieved with the 2019s, as the 18 did not encapsulate the Leclapart style. I have my doubts to the ageability of his champanges and prefer to drink on the younger side, but I take this approach with most natural wine leaning producers and no dosage champagnes, saying that the 19 has quite a bit of residual sugar, so this might offer good aging potential. The 2017 L’Aphrodisiaque is quite simply a beautiful champagnes and for me the best champagne of this much maligned vintage.
With Doquet, I would start with the Horizon, then the Diapason, if the intention is to drink straight away. The Pascal Doquet Le Mont Aime Blanc de Blancs 2009 is in a really nice place now.
I realise Gerhard Eichelmann is of little interest out side of the german speaking world, yet he is the most balanced critic when it comes to champagne. He has always listed Doquet as a five star producer and I agree with his assessment. One may consider the prices of Doquet expensive but in relation to other point inflated producers they are cheap and one has the chance to drink from a truly great producer, who beleives in what he does,
Thank you, Brad!
Catching up on a significant TN queue …
These notes are from a blind tasting generously hosted by a fellow Berserker and her husband. The theme was BdB. My WOTN was a clear stand-out for me.
NV Gossart Champagne Champagne Grand Cru Le Revers du Mont Aigu - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru (7/29/2023)
– opened approx… 45 min. before tasting –
– tasted blind in a lineup of 13 –
Still appearance. Smells aged – buttery, and a bit oaky with a hint of spearmint. Medium bodied. Brut dosage impression. Rich; aged; lemon curd at the forefront, with a sense of sweet lychee in the background; medium+ to high acidity.
2002 Saint-Chamant Champagne Brut Cuvee de Chardonnay - France, Champagne (7/29/2023)
– tasted blind in a lineup of 13 –
Light maize color. Mature Nose – slightly sherried, with a hint of ginger. Medium bodied with high acidity on the palate. Mature; sherried; like this more than #1.
2013 R. & L. Legras Champagne Grand Cru Présidence Vieilles Vignes - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru (7/29/2023)
– tasted blind in a lineup of 13 –
Green-yellow color. Lighter Nose, but also smells aged; apples; guessing early ‘10’s. Medium-light to medium bodied. Crisp and brassy palate. Medium+ to high acidity; somewhat straightforward, but I think this simply needs air — it improved over time.
2010 Geoffroy Champagne Premier Cru Volupté - France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru (7/29/2023)
– tasted blind in a lineup of 13 –
– disgorged Sept. ’19 –
Pale yellow color. Interesting Nose, despite a sulfury/stinky/skunky facet. On the palate, this presents as crisp and young; zesty, with a long finish; citric. Like this a lot. Upon reveal, it bears noting this came across remarkably young for its age.
2014 Marguet Champagne Grand Cru Les Bermonts - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru (7/29/2023)
– tasted blind in a lineup of 13 –
– disgorged Feb. '19 –
Mature color. Strong, buttermilk Nose. Tastes mature: Spanish peanuts; oaky; light finish; not much there. Surprising reveal, as I was expecting something much older. Disappointing showing, and another tally in the don’t-age-Marguet column.
2013 Mouzon-Leroux & Fils Champagne “l’Opiniâtre” Blanc de Blancs Brut - France, Champagne (7/29/2023)
– tasted blind in a lineup of 13 –
– disgorged Oct. ’18 –
– 1.5 g/L dosage –
Mature color. Middle-of-the-fairway BdB on the Nose. Same “no complaints” situation on the palate: crispy; dry; some age (’06?); I like it — very good range.
2017 Chartogne-Taillet Champagne Chemin de Reims - France, Champagne (7/29/2023)
– tasted blind in a lineup of 13 –
– disgorged Jan. '22 –
– dosage: 6 g/L –
Strong mandarin Nose, with a hint of pyrazine. Noticeably different than the previous in the lineup. Medium-light bodied. Dry. Like this quite a bit – probably my favorite up to this point (later figured to be my WOTN); baking spices cupboard. Really quite impressive, and begrudgingly convincing me its tariff is worth it.
2014 Claude Cazals Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut La Chapelle du Clos - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru (7/29/2023)
– tasted blind in a lineup of 13 –
– disgorged Sept. ’20 –
– dosage: 3 g/L –
Xmas spice and waffle cone on the Nose. Medium+ acidity on the palate. Improved drastically with air, giving a brassy/underbrush/lemon presentation, but still not my thing.
NV Gossart Champagne Champagne Grand Cru Le Blanc de Blancs de René - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru (7/29/2023)
– tasted blind in a lineup of 13 –
Bubblegum, anise/fennel, and mandarin on the weird-in-a-good-way Nose. Light bodied. Very weird on the palate — tastes like a young cider.
2002 Guy Charlemagne Champagne Grand Cru Mesnillésime Vieilles Vignes Blanc de Blancs - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru (7/29/2023)
– tasted blind in a lineup of 13 –
Grassy, butterscotch Nose. Medium-light palate, with its fruit falling away; light finish; not much there.
2008 Champagne Pierre Legras Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs “Idée de Voyage” - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru (7/29/2023)
– tasted blind in a lineup of 13 –
– disgorged Feb. ’20 –
– dosage: 3 g/L –
Not much on the Nose – hairspray. Bubbles dissipated quickly. A touch sulfury; very little staying power / grip.
NV Doyard Champagne La Libertine - France, Champagne (7/29/2023)
– tasted blind in a lineup of 13 –
Nose is light, fresh, and a bit reminiscent of lemon Pledge. Quite sweet on the palate — as in, Sweet Wine territory “sweet”. Although this was “not my thing,” it was really cool to be able to try it.
Has anyone had regular ‘96 DP recently? I grabbed a bottle at auction recently and curious as like this bottle, I’ve seen huge bottle variation.
In the cheap(-ish) seats this evening a Chartogne-Taillet Le Rosé: a rather nice general purpose rosé that’s going down rather nicely with some sushi (and the South Africa v France quarter-final on catch-up).
Very forward on the nose: almost candied red fruits with just a slight mineral edge. On the palate the red fruit is crisp and yet slightly sweet at the same time, minerality comes through towards the finish, which is perhaps not as crisp as expected, but not cloying.
Edit: with more air a rather intriguing herbal/tobacco note which I’m struggling to be more precise about appears on the palate and makes it rather more interesting. I’ve upped my rating a point.
Overall this is an excellent bottle of fizz, going nicely with some sushi, but I wonder if I’d like it even more with slightly less dosage.
Having said that, at ~US$51 the QPR is OK-ish, not great. (91 points)
We were on our way back from France, and thought we had one more bottle than we could fit in our suitcases, so we drank it.
Based on K&L’s pricing of the Reserve, this should be a $35 bottle and I think it punches well above that.
Bummer on the CdG.
A customer said a really old bottle was just life altering. We had a current vintage last year and it about ripped the enamel off my teeth and my soul left my body how acidic the wine was. We decided to open several offerings of Phillipponnat and I think overall if the wine isn’t quite old the regular non-dose NV is my favorite.
I opened one in August. Here’s my TN:
Purchased on release; original disgorgement. Opened for our 27th anniversary.
Ambrosial; sweet orange, acacia honey, ginger, white button mushrooms, crème brûlée. Luscious mouthfeel. Maturing, at peak for my palate. My WOTY. MB preferred this when it was younger.
Cheers,
Warren
All posted in another thread, from last week’s three day weekend events.
While I would never turn down a glass of this, I found it a bit dull. Definitely not corked, and not oxidized, just not terribly exciting. Dense, with great cut; some apricot, apple, mushroom. July 2006 disgorgement.
Just over a year ago, these seemed shut down. Two months ago, a bottle was the opposite; showy and full throttle on the nose and palate. This bottle was in between those two; striking, but very nuanced.
Pear, lime, chamomile, honey, caramel apple, toast.
This blew away the 1996 Clos des Goisses. I loved it, as did the group.
A very worthy 2014 in magnum format. Old vine BdB from Oger. Apple, pear tart, brioche, vanilla, but not sweet. Crisp, fresh, mineraled and delicious.
Five years ago, this wine was dull and utterly shut down. Bottle time has been kind. It is a gorgeous bottle, dense and long, with more brioche and less reduction than typical. We loved it. It’s a great DP for current consumption.
Racy, clean and precise. It needs time in the glass, and warming to show the classic Chardonnay fruit profile, which is somewhat eclipsed by the mineral and acid. Lean Chablis with bubbles. It’s my last bottle, but had I more, I’d hold a few years.
It’s always a crowd pleaser. Uncomplicated but lively and delicious. Red fruit, good cut.
From my Charleston thread.
Visit to Leon’s - Gaston Chiquet Sept. 2022 disgorgement. From what I see online on Skurnik - 2017 base with the rest being 17% 2016 and 2% 2015
Hautvillers 1er Cru, Dizy 1er Cru, Mareuil-sur-Aÿ 1er Cru, Aÿ Grand Cru
40% Meunier, 35% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Noir
No real detailed notes, but what a way to kick off just over 24 hours in Charleston with some bubbles and fried chicken. Chiquet was just what I wanted, easy to drink, nothing that will blow your socks off, but well rounded and bready/yeasty with nice citrus notes and some red apple.
I’d try CdG again in a different year. 2005 wasn’t a great year in general for Champagne, and I’d also read notes on Cellartracker that the earlier disgorgements of CdG’05 (2013 / 2014) weren’t drinking as well as the later ones (2019).
This one was disgorged in 2014.
That’s a vivid picture. 
I absolutely love the vibe and setup at Leon’s. And sometimes they have some real gems on their list. They were carrying Cedric Bouchard for a reasonable price a couple years ago. Unfortunately a menu change when I was there. Nice bottle of Hebrart Rose when I took my mom.
I had the late disgorge bottle of the 96 recently and still have a bottle. It was not among my favorites of the champagnes some berserkers and I had.
A friend told me about a champagne focused restaurant that may have some wine the owner would sell me…
Going to pick up 2 bottles of Charlier Et Fils 2008 Special Club for a fair price.
