2017 Marie Courtin Champagne Eloquence Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut - France, Champagne (2/1/2024)
September 2021 disgorgement. My final bottle of three. This is fresh and yet lean, with a stony, lemony and lime zest quality when it's cool/chilled. If you can let this warm, then the lemon creams up moderately and mango/orange comes through, akin to what I called 'orange creamsicle' in my note a year ago. This is a zero dosage wine, by now I believe many who post around here know that fact, that one is not going to get a dosed Chardonnay with lots of pillowy richness. If you want that style, then don't pull the cork on Eloquence. For me, I like this cuvee, and I say that because it's true, not to be a contrarian but I will speak up for this wine because it is indeed made well, it's got cool flavor and the consistent Dominique Moreau energy.
As I’ve mentioned before I’m a fan (as are one or two others here) of the wines of Tristan Hyest, but I have to say that the Brut (10g/l) Bord du Marne rosé that I tried this evening is not one that I’ll be seeking out again.
I'm a big fan of several of Tristan Hyest's wines, and having previously tried the Extra Brut Bord du Marne rosé (dosed at 3.3g/l) I was keen to try this Brut (dosed at 10g/l) despite such a dosage being somewhat higher than I would normally seek out. Another difference between the two is that the Extra Brut gets 4-5 years to age before disgorgement; this Brut got just over 2 years.
Having said that, the Extra Brut is not one of my favourites, and I'm afraid that this Brut falls in the same camp. The nose is rather attractive, with sweet red fruits (strawberry, maybe pomegranate) and a slight slate mineral edge. But the palate disappoints - those fruit and mineral notes hit initially, but fade to nothing almost instantly; the mid-palate is very thin and the finish, to the extent that there is any, is a little cloying.
There's nothing technically wrong here, and I can see that this wine might appeal to prosecco drinkers, but it's not a repeat buy for me. (83 points)
Zachary, the way I can best answer is to first ask a question back. What did you like about Eff to have you speak so highly of it? Personally I’d like to know your answer because it can teach me something in exchange so please add that back.
To give you an answer about Eloquence, a short story from last night. I opened the wine, the bottle was away. My wife went to taste it and she asked “what is this?”. I answered back, to ask what she thought it was, as my wife by osmosis and after 25 years with me has experienced a lot of wine and she has a developed palate, even if she won’t admit it. She pushed back and said she had no idea who the producer was. I said in return, no, what grape do you think it is. She said with a smile, it was Chardonnay. Bingo. That is Elqouence. It has a transparent, authentic quality and it expresses these qualities. You know when you drink it, it’s Chardonnay. Eloquence is Chardonnay and with the way these are made, the vintage comes through, the wine shows character and purity.
Hope this helps, I’m trying to offer a sincere reply.
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'16 Bereche Ambonnay Grand Cru - I am not grower guy, but this was a grower night and I really enjoyed this. Thanks Greg.
'13 Egly - Excellent, up there with '08 CdM and VVF. This followed the Bereche and benefited from a decant.
'98 Comtes - Unfortunately an off bottle.
'99 Comtes - great Champagne for the vintage, toasty with oxidative notes, but not over the hill.
'16 Roederer rosé - baby Cristal showing very well now.
@Frank_Murray_III Meant to respond back to you earlier. I’m usually a BdB fan and not a 100% pinot champ fan. Usually most of the heavy pinot blends are too dense and heavy for me. And the pinot feels too rich and weighted. Yet, the Eff is not. It’s so light and fresh. You get the pinot notes without any of the heaviness or super ripe fruit. It’s so lively and pure for a 100% pinot. It’s all that I want in a 100% pinot champ.
I am with you on preferring BdB over BdN, but why is that? Do you like still Pinot Noir? Is it too dense, heavy, rich, and weighted? I love still Pinot Noir, perhaps even more than Chardonnay, but still prefer BdB. I even know winemakers who produce Pinot yet are not particularly fond of BdN. What is it about making Chardonnay and Pinot into sparkling wines that changes their appeal? I know there have been whole threads of this, but I still find it curious.
I think still Pinot gets most (or a lot) of its characteristics from the skins, while white sparkling wine made from Pinot largely omits the skins, which is one reason they are very different and why loving still Pinot wouldn’t necessarily have a large correlation to liking BdN. Is this not the case?
I enjoy both, and both can be outstanding. For me, it really comes down to what are they pairing with, as each works a bit differently with food. When served solo, I do find I prefer BdB or blends of all three grapes, for what it’s worth.
I believe what you are getting at is her style, which I often find to be wines that are electric, bright, and ‘fresh and light’ as you aptly wrote above. Have you tried the Vouette et Sorbee Fidele yet? That is made not far from where Efflorescence comes from, and the farming and winemaking styles are similar.
We’re doing a Vilmart tasting later tonight, mainly to focus on Emotion (which the Rose blend of Chard/Pinot), plus some other things, mainly some Coeur de Cuvee to also add some dimension to the lineup. I’ve got some of the bottles with me already so I was able to open all of the wines below (which is about half of the total event) and do a quick run through of everything, including the Ratafia.
The 2013 Coeur de Cuvee remains so powerful, at what is now 10 years–chalk, ginger, lime, tangerine, it’s electric in energy. Same with the 2014 Emotion, which is concentrated, spicy, powerful, and yet there is a honeyed element inside of the wine’s edges. And my first taste of the 2015 Emotion, which on first impression seems quite fruit centric, both juicy and expressive, but less powerful.
I sealed all these wines up again and tossed them in the fridge (I tasted them all at 67f), and we’ll have a larger group later with the rest of the Emotion and some more vintages Coeur de Cuvee to round it out. Just a real treat to be able to sit down and study yet again one of my very favorite producers. Tomorrow, I’ll bring back some complete notes and some photos, plus we have Astrid and Counselor Seiber’s palates, both who can really add to the overall impressions here via some posts.
