I picked this up at an out of the way wine shop in Anacortes, WA. Except for a few selections I had previously tried, I wasn’t very familiar with most of their offerings. I bought this only because I had heard of Lamiable. It has a price tag of $64.99 and I expected a well made, easy going wine, perhaps slightly better than entry level. One sip, even at fridge temperature, quickly proved me wrong. This is a full bodied, complex, generous wine with razor-sharp acids, a long Peacock tail finish, and an opulent mid-palate full of dried fruits and nutty flavors. An outstanding QPR. This was closer to a prestige cuvee than an entry level bottle, and I think a few years of bottle age will soften the acidity and make it a little less stern, but this is very enjoyable now. I’ll be going back for more.
These are not really champagnes but from the Marie courtin perspective fascinating. This year Marie ccourtin held back the champagnes longer than usual and they have definitely profited, but more interesting Domaine Jeanne is the winery run by Jeanne Piollot in the Châtillonnais, Jeanne Piollot is the daughter of Dominique Moreau(Marie Courtin) and Roland Piollot. The wines are in the natural wine genre and what is really fascinating on tasting is how evident the Marie Courtin style permeates through the wines.
Alchèmille is 100% chardonay from the 2021 vintage. Elevage in amphore. This has coteaux champenois feel to, nothing polished. Like most 2021 whites from Burgundy it lacks spine but this is compensated with raw energy and complexity, and then it has that stylisitc which is so unique to Marie Courtin, it is as if terroir is superceded by style. On the third day after opening this was brilliant.
The Pensée Sauvage 2020 is 90% Pinot Noir and 10% Gamay. Again another raw diamond, this pinot orientated wine has the feel of a red coteaux champenois. The light bodiedness is deceptive, with food the wine really comes alive, subdued cassis aromas, good acidic grip and unpolished tannins. I really loved this wine.
It seemed only proper to then taste the Le Blanc du Tremble 2019, a blanc de noir Coteaux Champenois from Marie Courtin. . Last year we opened a bottle from last years vintage and tasted straight away which was a big mistake. The winery told us to open at least three days in advance. So we have followed the wine since Wednesday. Although the style is the same, this wine has so much muscle, no up front fruit rather one tastes the stones, the acidity is that of a champagne and not a wine. A beautiful complex and towering style of coteaux. To say something is the best always requires a leap of faith. I would say so far from the white coteauxs, i have tasted this is the best. Dehours and Leclapart coming in second.
Benoit Lahaye’s Le Jardin de la Pierre stands out to me as one of the most unique champagnes in the region, incomparable to any other I know. Each year, its tasting is for me a highlight of the champagne year. The 2018 vintage particularly exemplifies this uniqueness. The champagne, a blend of various grape varieties planted by Lahaye’s grandfather in Bouzy, showcases an opulent amber color. Its nose is an intricate tapestry that defies simple description, tropical notes and a spice medley, prominently featuring ginger and pepper.
On the palate, Le Jardin de la Pierre is an enigma, constantly evolving and revealing new dimensions. It’s difficult champagne to pin down, as each sip brings a different experience. The sharp acidity, a contribution from the Meslier grape, beautifully cuts through the richness, preventing the champagne from feeling flat or monotonous. This complexity, coupled with a youthful vibrancy, makes me wonder about the benefits of cellaring. It’s already so rich and multifaceted; one wonders how it could possibly improve with age.
This fantastic champagne, which seems to transcend vintages, is something in my opinion that every champagne drinker should experience at least once. Its ability to balance richness with sharp acidity, while offering a constantly-changing palate, makes it an unforgettable experience, a shame that it is so limited.
Compass wines! I didn’t know you were nearby.
I’ve had one bottle of Lamiable; the 2012 Cuvée Phéérie, a BdB. My succinct note had a similar tone: “New grower to me, and a nice Q/P! Doughy but crisp, nice BdB.”
I tasted at Billiot this week and didn’t get any VA on the 2017 based Laetitia. Going back to my notes, I didn’t get any on the 2016 either, but did get a slight bit on the 2015 (it wasn’t offensive, but I made note of it). I know VA is still there in the perpetual reserve and is never likely to go away. Short of starting over, all Laetitia can do is try to keep it under control by using SO2 and adding more young wines when needed. In my experience, VA can become a problem when the chain of custody between the winery and customer is not the best. Poor storage and transport conditions can lead to the VA ‘blooming’. I’m not saying that is what happened to your bottles, but they appear to be gray market and not official imports via Skurnik (please let me know if I am wrong). This could be part of the reason why your Laetitias showed as they did and were more dominated by VA than expected.
I think you would enjoy this wine. It’s 100% PN with a rather mature profile. It is not dissimilar to 1911 and it would be interesting to taste them side by side.
I don’t think they are gray market wines. I bought them (heavily discounted) from Woodland Hills Wine Company. Could have been exposed to high heat by Fed Ex, I suppose, but I had no issues with the three bottles from other producers.
'02 Comtes - just in a great place right now. For me, this has alway drunk well regardless of age, and this bottle was in the area between young and mature so still great fruit and acidity but some nutty/caramel notes as well.
'06 Comtes - nice, but outclassed by the other Champagnes.
'08 Cristal Rosé from magnum - this was open for business and thankfully brought by a tablemate, so I received a good pour. This will go down in history as one of the best rosé ever made.
Is there an importer noted on the back label of the wine? Just wondering as some places (especially in California) sell wines that come in via normal importer and gray market paths.
Then they came in gray market and likely not via a normal importer path. A clue is the white strip above the front label on the bottle. California is somewhat common for this as California doesn’t need to follow the 3 tier system that most of the US does. I’m not saying that this is why your bottles showed more VA than I would expect and I don’t know how they were handled prior to the US, but I can say that, in my experience, quality reliable importers are more likely to ensure the wine is handled properly across the seas. Distributors and stores are another story and importers can’t always control that, but any time you are buying a wine that didn’t come in via channels that you know are good, there can be some risk.
I have been happy with other '08 rosé including DP and Elisabeth Salmon, but Cristal is my favorite. I had some delivered right before lockdown and drank through them all during that time, but it is so much better now. It was a costly mistake as it was expensive to reload. I have high hopes for '12 and '13 as well.
2006 Rare was pretty good Friday night. Extra points for drinking by the fire in the N.Georgia mountains. A tad high on the dosage for me, but both elegant and hedonistic in a way. Crowd pleasing.
This bottling is not available in my market, and I’ve read for a number of years how much others here like this, so when I put together an order for some other things, had an empty slot and saw this was on sale, well there you go. Laherte Ultradition Extra-Brut, 10/2022 disgorgement, best sub-$50 Champagne I’ve had this year. Grippy, mineral, good depth of flavor, full but structured.
