What’s the disgorgement date? I have a bunch of 2022 disgorgments and they have been shut down hard. I reached out to the importer, who noted experiencing this as well, and expressed puzzlement by the showing. They suggested holding off on another bottle until May.
I was loading up on the grand cellier d’ors too. This was the case filler for me too. Would have taken a full case of Vilmart if I could have. Threw in the Couer de Cuvée too - their regular price on it was still quite good.
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I believe it was a 2022 disgorgement. I don’t have the bottle anymore. Admittedly, I was paying more attention to the sushi than the wine which is rare haha.
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The sushi looks amazing!
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NV Charles Heidsieck Champagne Cuvée Charlie
Interesting concept. NV prestige cuvee with 2016 base (disgorged in 2021). But 80% of the blend is actually reserve wines. The 2016 base is Pinot Noir only and the remaining 20%.
This definitely had some depth from the reserve wines and didn’t taste like “just” a young champagne but still had the liveliness of something that is pretty recently disgorged. It had a very yeasty / bready nose after about an hour of air.
This is a solid product, but the pricing was quite ambitious. The US MSRP was $600-$700/ bottle at release. I imported mine from the UK and it came to ~$500 / bottle with all shipping and duty. Now you can find pre-arrival in the US around that level (ex-sales tax), but still quite high considering it’s > 2x what Krug is charging for their NV GC.
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Vilmart Grand Cellier D’Or 2017:
I didn’t really know what to expect when I popped the cork on this. I thought there was a high probability this would be painfully young and tight, and I assumed it would be considerably more opulent than the NV GC. Neither assumption was correct. This was open for business from the very first sip, though it gained depth with aeration. And while like the NV, it has plenty of barrel aged roundness, it has a level of drive the NV lacks. The acidity is punchy; the palate saturated with rocks, chalk, salt, and smoke. There is fruit here, lots of delectable citrus and pineapple fruit, but the earthy notes shine just a little brighter. Finishes with resonance and remarkable persistence. It’s a little stern but I mean that as high praise, rather than a pejorative. Excellent wine that already has me scouring the internet for previous vintages to get a vertical started. Wonderful bottle.
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Disclaimer: we sell this wine.
Jacques Picard Les Bénis
Dosage: 2g/l, Disgorged: 28/11/2022
Chardonnay from Les Bénis in Berru. Vinified in oak and then 5 years on lees in bottle.
I’m loving this. Clean, layered and precise nose with chalk, dust, ripe citrus (oranges, kumquat) and some golden apple, butter, pastry and cardamom. The palate is a perfect balancing act of tight chalky minerality, citrusy acidity and oaky and slighly oxidative character that provides hint of lovely bitterness to complete the picture. Good length on the same components. Absolutely lovely. We’re almost sold out of this. One more thing on my Monday to-do list!
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Had this last night, wonderful Rose de Saignee. Lots of umami flavor, some red wine tannin and bright red fruit without being overly candied.
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May I inquire as to where you’re purchasing these? I have been unable to find any.
Sommpicks
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Brochet is reported to make only 11,000 bottles/year, so I imagine they can be pretty hard to find.
Yeah, and reflected in the jaw dropping price. I remember drinking the entry level Marie Noelle Landru when it was $50. Good juice for sure, but nothing remotely exciting enough to justify $250+ per bottle. I’ll leave the cult producers for others to explore.
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We’ve been drinking a lot of champagne lately in the $50-75 range. Every time we have Bollinger special cuvée we say “why don’t we drink this more often?”
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Marie Courtin Resonance 2018:
This wine has its fair share of critics. I heard the message of high mineral, high acid, and little else loud and clear. The critics are wrong. While the saline and wet rock flavors are more resonant than the fruit, the fruit is there. This is quite nuanced, actually, delivering the whole Pinot Noir spectrum of flavor - fruit, spice, and earth - in a discreet but powerful manner. It has nice presence in the middle, and a powerful, mentholated finish that lingers, though it feels almost weightless. This is a wine which walks softly but carries a big stick. It is a zero dosage wine done right; high acid, but far from unbalanced or harsh. As someone who has accused many zero dosage cuvées of being dogmatic, I can confidently assert it would have been criminal to chaptalize this wine. It would have lost it’s saline rich singular expression under extroverted fruit.
This needed a warmer temperature to show its best.
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Love this note. Adding these to my list to try out. I had sort of written it off because of the reviews you mentioned.
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Extracted from a thread just posted re a dinner with 22 wines in all:
1995 CHARLES HEIDSIECK BLANC des MILLENAIRES BLANC de BLANCE- I’ve had many a bottle of this fine bubbly and most have been exceptional although the last few had some oxidative influence and thus expressed more advanced notes; this did not, in fact, it was mindful of those bottles drunk with 10+ years of age that were gold in color and showcasing honeyed peach, lemon and yellow apple while being delivered in a luscious, creamy textured mousse; this was full bodied with layers of complexity and yet had elegance and charm. As it turned out, it was my favorite wine of the evening.
2007 BILLECART-SALMON EXTRA BRUT- I found a different from the expected profile in this bottle as it gave hay, lemongrass, straw and honeysuckle notes from the nose through the tail; additionally, a mild streak of minerality was noticeable throughout as was its soft acidic backbone; to me, this was more like a Sauvignon Blanc with bubbles.
2013 PAUL BARA BRUT ROSE GRAND CRU SPECIAL CLUB BOUZY- 70% Pinot Noir including 12% Boozy Rouge and 30% Chardonnay; strawberry fields forever in this nice and elegant bubbly that was embellished with ginger accented red apple and red cherry; this is made by direct press, aged in the bottle for 5 years before release and dosed at 7 gpl.
2007 TAITTINGER COMTES des CHAMPAGNE GRAND CRUS ROSE- the blend consists of 70% Pinot Noir which includes Grands Crus fruit from Montagne de Reims, including 15% Pinot Noir from Bouzy, vinified as red wine and 30% Chardonnay Grands Crus fruit from Côtes de Blancs.
It had been a few years since I last had this and it was the next to last bottle from a few 6 packs bought when first released; it’s always been super fruity featuring red cherry and strawberry and this one was true to form; in fact, it was very fruit forward and suggestive that it still needs time to mature and balance out if only I could ever have allowed it to.
Following its dark pink salmon color came aromas of strawberry, rose petals and fresh flowers joined by wondrous red cherry once tasted; it was super rich and full bodied which may have been its hallmark; the last impression was one of that fresh and rich red cherry with a touch of sweetness, but not to a fault; OK, I’m finally convinced to save the last bottle for maybe 10+ years.
Cheers,
Blake
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I have always found the GCD’OR to be just a notch below the CDC and a great value. These help me keep my hands off the CDC as they need far more cellar time.
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AMEN!! I am so glad I loaded up on a lot of grower fizz before COVID.
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Why Americans are buying a lot less Champagne
Because the price is out of control?
https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/15/food/champagne-sales-2023/index.html
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