NOSE: expressive; bread/pastry dough, and leaning a touch lactic.
BODY: medium pale yellow color; medium-light to medium bodied; medium-bubbled bead.
TASTE: medium richness; medium acidity; dosage noticeable; light/bright Big House style, but heavier than I typically drink; feels/tastes Pinot Meunier-heavy, but no clue if that’s actually the case; not complex. “Good,” but not my style, so it’s not a rebuy for me.
To be honest, I very rarely have a rose and think yay, I’m glad I’m drinking this and not a “regular” champagne. I had a Gosset rose recently while on vacation and it was fine, but it was clear the added pinot was a funky wine, not a “Russian River” profile. I thought it made for an interesting rose. Next night another couple wanted to order what I’d ordered, after my wife made a passing comment I was a wine guy. They did not enjoy it and called the Somm over who was very polite in saying “this is not a flawed wine.”
I understand that other roses haven’t wowed you, I just think that the 08 ES is spectacular so I’d be interested to know what other wines achieve that wow level for you.
Charles Heidsieck Champagne Charlie 1982 (Crayeres Collection 2022 release magnum)
Vintage: 1982
Disgorged: 1990?
Released: 2022 (750 magnums)
Dosage: 13g/L?
I’m a bit confused by the disgorgement data around this. The website said that the Crayeres Collection 2022 magnum releases of Champagne Charlie were disgorged in Sept 98 - Mar 99. The bottle label itself says it was disgorged in 1990, but bottle’s muselet is clearly labeled L’Oenotheque an Deux Mille (year 2000). I’m not sure why they’d put the year 2000 muselet on it when that doesn’t match up with 1990 or 2022… I wonder if the website disgorgement date is correct and it was disgorged when the L’Oenotheque release was being prepared for late 99/early 2000 release? Or maybe it was actually disgorged in 1990 and they swapped the muselet preparing for the 2000 release but didn’t end up releasing it and instead kept until 2022?
Thanks for the note on the excellent 2008. Quick comment about recent bottles of the 2006 and 2007 Nicolas Francois. The 2007 shares a lot of the same characteristics as ‘08, except that it’s much more ready for prime time. Full bodied but still somehow light on its feet. Meanwhile, I found the 2006 a bit foursquare. (Is that ever used as a champagne descriptor?) Correct but boring. Bummer.
We had the '07 last night and it was drinking well. '02 a few months ago was definitely ready to drink. I had the '08 last October at the Billecart Salmon lunch as part of La Fete and it was pretty tight. The '08 Louis Salmon OTH was drinking very well.
I agree with all of this. 2002 is wonderful and open. 2008 BS NF is stilly pretty tightly wound. 2008 BS LS is a pretty open pretty luscious and pretty hedonistic bottle of champagne.
Caveau sent out an offer today on the three anchors of the Laherte Freres Range. 47 for Ultradition, 52 for Blanc de Blancs BN and 54 for Rose de Meunier, with 10% off for a mixed case. No tax and I find their shipping to be very fair and their service to be timely based on the time commitment in their offers.
You order direct from the email with email reply. FYI.
I had a magnum of the '06 in July that was outstanding, although it didn’t quite reach the heights of the 2002. Same league though.
I have a magnum of the '07 for sale on WineBid right now, and the price is right!
2008 Thienot Champagne Cuvée Alain Thiénot - France, Champagne (8/25/2024)
60% Chard 40% PN, dosage 6g/L. Disg 2021. Full malo. Light gold. Soft, fleeting mousse. Small, slow bead. Nose of yeast and caramelized lemon curd. Tastes of sweet lemon, yellow nectarine, sweet nutmeg, bready mid-palate, finishing with some acidity. Dense. Comes across as higher dosage than it actually is. May integrate better with time. I prefer the 2002 Thiénot Vinotheque.
It's unclear to me whether this isn't ready to drink yet or it just isn't my style. The bready note seemed to overwhelm, and what I'm calling "nutmeg" is a bit too much for me. It probably needs time to mellow (well, hopefully it will...). On day 2, the bready note seemed even more pronounced, masking the fruit, and there was something mildly unpleasant about the finish that I could not place.
I much much prefer the 2002 Vinothèque, and it’s not even close. Although the dosage is the same (6g/L), it sticks out oddly in the 2008, and the wine as a whole doesn’t feel harmonious. If you have the 2008 in your cellars, I recommend holding off for at least a year or two.
Pascal Doquet, Vertus, premier cru, 2008. I really liked this. It had a sort of apple pie without the sweetness type of thing going on. I think we paid something like $100 (US). I liked it a lot and wanted to buy more but my ex-girlfriend (now wife) said she liked it but not at that price and not as much as some others we have had recently. I thought it had nice complexity and really well balanced and smooth. 17/20
Jeeper, brut blanc de blancs, half bottle, NV. My (current) wife said she liked it better than the Pascal Doquet. I liked it a lot too and I think we’ll start buying some Jeeper but not sure that it was as complex as the Doquet but no real complaints here. 14/20
Arnaud Lambert, cremant de Loire, NV. We’re always on the lookout for a sub $50 champagne alternative and we paid $23 (US) for this. 75% chenin blanc, 25% chardonnay, label says it was on the lees (actually it says “on the lies”) for 12 months and disgorged in February 2024. It was a touch tart and tangy for my liking to start with but it calmed down after it had been opened some but my (first) wife said that she didn’t get any notes like that and didn’t know what I was talking about. She also said that she would have believed me if I told her it was champagne and cost $50. I’m probably going to buy more as a decent sparkling wine to have on hand that’s relatively affordable.
This is always a good value sparkler, and I like it better than the rosé version. I don’t know if they’re available in your area, but the Bodet-Herold Cremant de Loire Physis, the Allimant-Laugner Cremant de Alsace rosé, and the Domaine de Prieure Cremant de Bourgogne are all favorites for around $30 or less.
Influenced by the board, I’m thinking about buying a six pack of either 2013 Vilmart Emotion ($114/btl) or 2008 B-S Elisabeth Salmon ($180/btl) to fill a rose champagne void in my cellar. I prefer a sharper, higher-toned, higher-acid rose and longevity is important as I’d like to drink them over the course of 10-20 years. Seeking opinions on if that price spread is justified. Cheers
