The Bourgeois-Diaz 3C is a zero dosage lemon mineral delight. Disgorged 7/6/2022, this wine appeals to the extra brut fan club, never rich, but also not lacking in flavor. I get so much stony chalkiness here sitting over a base of lemon danish. There’s also a hint of fall leaves in there that develops with some time and air. Really lovely champagne that has a clear sense of place, and worked beautifully with sushi. Clearly unfiltered, the wine is a sort of hazy yellow gold, and quite pretty for an unfiltered wine if you ask me.
This Adrien Renoir 50/50 blend of Pinot and Chardonnay comes from the Grand Cru village of Verzy and was disgorged June 2022. Compared to the BD3C this wine feels more powerful and full, but I wouldn’t call it a particularly full bodied wine on its own. There’s impeccable balance and harmony here. Beautiful lemony acid and then this wonderful spicy aroma and palette presence that I can’t point to any one particular spice, but it’s more like a spice blend where each element enhances the others. I really like this quality in champagne. Lovely autolytic notes show up as the wine warms, and I found this wine to really hit its high mark with about 2 hours of air and served at cellar temp. Everything comes into full force, and before we knew it, the bottle was empty. Need to grab a few more of these - excellent QPR.
Yeah, it sounds like pretty different vintage variation with your note. Definitely not a thin wine for the disgorgement I tasted. I want to say base vintage would have been 2019 on mine.
I get what you’re saying but I would amend it by saying “100% on just avoiding the worst of the natural wine movement”. And I think you could say the same about “100% on just avoiding the worst of the “non-natural” wine movement”, It’s true that you probably get more flawed wines from the “natural” wave but you also get more nondescript, pedestrian and generic wines from the “non-natural” movement.
I guess I had to chime in because I had such a great time at my last Léclapart visit (and he’s pretty “natural”) that I wanted to point out that there’s a lot of bad wines in either camps and a lot of great wines as well.
Edit: I’m re-reading my post and giving it a thumbs down. It’s so neutral and noncommittal that it’s almost as if I lived near Switzerland and was getting into the vibe!
To be clear, I am not against natural wines, I am just not going to take the time to navigate the minefield that is natural wine, personally. Basically, I am against me purchasing and consuming natural wines…I would happily try them at a tasting or on someone elses dime.
I’ll add: when I find a natural wine that I like, I’ll keep buying it. But, like Kris, it won’t be my dollars spent doing the exploring (at least not intentionally — many times I’ve purchased natural wines without knowing at the time of purchase that’s what they are; that’s how I’ve run into many clunkers and also found a few good ones)
For my wife’s 70th. NV Laherte Freres Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature. Somewhat limited froth, aromas of green apples and lemons, with a whiff of yeasty goodness. Balanced on the palate, well refined, great finish. I’m glad we had a magnum for the eight of us!
I defy to you open a bottle of this and be in a bad mood. It can’t be done. For such a friendly, concentrated and exuberant wine, it is equally elegant. Complexity isn’t its raison d’etra, though it has a surprising amount of nuance. It’s never heavy or overwrought, but it has such presence on the palate and a resonant finish. It does a lot of things really well and I find it a little like drinking white chocolate and raspberry ice cream. I should drink this more often.
Outstanding tasting and notes. I’m both happy and unsurprised the LB VV Levant showed well. I’ve substantially reduced wine purchases after finally acknowledging we’ll never finish what’s already in the cellar. This is one of the few I still buy. I recently reloaded the 2011. So far for me, that’s the WOTV.
Scott
Several years back, Dethune was part of the quintet of delicious rosés I bought in quantity for remarkably modest prices. It is beautiful and fresh upon release, and gains complexity after five or so years. I think I still have one or two from an old case.
The sub-$40 list was Dethune, Marc Hebrart, Camille Saves, Ployez-Jacquemart, and Jose Michel.
Thanks for the flawless description.
Warren
I started that way. Now I’ve become a gold digger. I like them old and rich. In all honesty, I’m more of a harlot, because I still like a crisp austere champagne from time to time.
I hadn’t read my favorite WB threads in a couple of weeks. I see so many interesting posts I’ve missed, I might have to rethink my Superbowl Sunday plans. If you find me over-posting, you may want to block me for a few days.
2016 Hure Freres Instantee was good but not great, just regular pinot driven Champagne with good apple taste with some yeast mixed in. Rather disappointing as it became rather acidic and thin overnight. Not seeing anything worth the hype here.
Whereas this blanc de noir nv from Arnaud de Cheurlin was a pleasant surprise. 50% pinot and 50% pm, it is savory and herbal like some of Marguet’s products with just enough of unripe peaches and bright yellow fruit notes to keep it from being too dry. Great QPR, if you don’t mind the fugly label.
