Interesting. The top wines’ prices have gone crazy for sure.
Thanks Russell I will see if my friend who arranged for the bottle to be served in advance with the Somm can find out from him.
I think you had the 2019 base. The average vineyard age of 47 years matches my 2019 base bottles, while my 2017 base shows the average age as 45 years.
Good pickup- thanks.
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Egly’s ability to produce wines with high acidity and depth and breadth impresses me. I don’t come across that often, but that may be partially owing to the price limits I tend to put on myself. Would love to know of any other producers who pull the same trick without costing and arm and a leg … that might be a good idea for another thread …
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her epreuve d’artiste series has some stellar wines in it. that look like an old label, maybe practices were different back then?
Not Brian, but here’s my eyebrow raisers:
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Crayeres is amazing, almost worth the current price (although I won’t spend that much on any wine). One of my favorite champagnes. A tapestry of aromas, flavors and textures.
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VP’s are escalating in price, but still very much worth the tariff. My second favorite cuvée.
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Rosé is a close third; needs time in the bottle
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Les Vignes de Vrigny is honeyed, lush and energetic. Great for the price.
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Another upmarket evening for me this week, with a bottle that I bought just before @AstridKG 's less than enthusiastic note here.
But actually I liked it rather more than she seemed to, albeit I still struggle to persuade myself that US$100 fizz is twice as good as many US$50 fizzes.
And now it is confirmed. The Somm was consulted and our bottle had the 2019 base AND they have now released the 2020 base as well. Thanks for all who helped out on this.
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Very nice and what a great transition from Burgundy to champagne. Quality group you have.
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All roads lead to champagne.
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Popped a bottle of F. Cossy NV Rose Elegance last night … I did a quick search and have barely found these wines mentioned here, which maybe is partly my fault because I’m a huge evangelist of these wines but haven’t been posting so much in recent years.
In any case, the Cossy Champagnes are superb. Great value. And the Rose is a real treat – fruit forward, elegant, and floral. It’s the kind of wine where you blast through the bottle and immediately want a second. They’re great wines and well worth checking out.
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Curious how this one turned out. I bought a bottle the night before your note.
I usually really like this wine, but I am not a huge fan of this disgorgement; it’s a bit oafish and lacking precision.
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From this week. It’s great having good friends around to share and trade impressions. All of these bottles were shared with others, the joy of this hobby.
- 2013 Larmandier-Bernier Champagne Premier Cru Rosé de Maturation - France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru (11/24/2024)
Disgorged June 2018. Mostly Pinot Noir but also some Pinot Gris, all from Vertus. Peachy color. Opened yesterday and there was an off nature to the wine, in the form of a bitterness that was mainly in the palate. The aromatic seemed off too, and my view of the wine was similar to a few others who I poured this for. Retesting the following day, still showing the bitterness. It resembles a citrus pith that is excessive in ratio to the other parts of the wine. it's distracting and persistent through the finish. The mousse of the wine seems aggressive to me, too. For fruit, some tangy strawberry, apricot and apple with a smoky tinge of oak around the edges of the finish. In fact, after tasting another small pour, what might be imbalancing the wine is the oak. It just seems to come through in the finish. This lacks elegance and seems burly, aggressive and not much of what I would have expected from this wine, as previous bottles I have enjoyed. - 2019 C H Piconnet Champagne Les Vignes de Charles 3.19 Brut Nature - France, Champagne (11/24/2024)
First time with this producer. I bought a few different bottles from their range to try, this is the first opened. They are in Neuville-sur-Seine, which is down in the Aube, not far from Marie Courtin, Gerbais and Bouchard. Base is 2019, composed of 20% Pinot Blanc, 30% Chardonnay, 35% Pinot Noir, with 15% still Pinot. Disgorged March 2024. No dosage. Opened yesterday. The immediate impression I had was 'raspberry liqueur'. I said Chambord, but a few others said Kir Royale. It is centered around a red-fruited core, with a zestiness and lime zest to help give it some grip. I sense maybe a hint of cinnamon here or something in the brown spice family which just shades the fruit. Refreshing, fruity with some weight and edge to it. Got a few more other cuvées to try during this month and see what else I like. - NV Laherte Frères Champagne Rosé de Meunier Extra Brut - France, Champagne (11/24/2024)
December 2023 disgorgement, my first bottle from this new batch that I received earlier this month. Typical RdM color, a salmon/rose. It's worth adding again (given that these notes help us teach each other) that this is put together via some Meunier pieces: 30% Maceration + 10% Red Wine + 60% White Wine (40% of reserve wines aged in wood). This disgorgement seems to reflect more fruitiness, getting closer to the watermelon and fresh strawberry profile (as different from the March 2023 disgorgement where pink grapefruit and blood orange were more present for me). The palate feel is a little rounder, plusher too. The acidity here is more orange in tone, joined by some lime (think flesh not zest). I dig this batch. - 2008 Gaston Chiquet Champagne Premier Cru Millésime Or - France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru (11/21/2024)
Sour lemon which then evolved with air to a light lemon curd, yellow apple and green apple skin. - 2011 Charles Dufour & Françoise Martinot Champagne Bistrøtage Rosé B.11 - France, Champagne (11/21/2024)
Disgorged August 2021, 100% Pinot Noir without sulfur or dosage. The bottle shows a tirage date of 2014 so not sure where the wine rested once the primary fermentation ended, and from that date another 7 or so years on the lees. Ok, so if we think 2017 may be an off year for the region, and yet the 2017 Ruppert-Leroy Les Cognaux that we had open was great, there is nothing wrong too with this wine and it's 2011 vintage fruit! Heck, we might argue that 2011 is even more problematic than 2017 in Champagne, yet both wines were cool to drink. In fact, this 2011 was probably my WOTN yesterday. Juicy, tangy strawberry, spicy lime. There was also this textural thing that made me think of clay, too. This is polished, the color is great, the acid and the texture all married really well. What a delicious bottle of Rose. - 2015 Larmandier-Bernier Champagne Premier Cru Blanc de Noirs non dosé - France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru (11/21/2024)
May 2022 disgorgement. Sans dose, 100% Pinot Noir from Vertus (yes there is Pinot Noir in the southern Cote de Blancs!). 2nd of two bottles, shared this blind with the group last night. Strawberry pastry, with something spicy in the finish, akin to green spice like cardamom mixed with black licorice. Once this cooled off during the meal, the oak seemed to be more present in the wine. Capped and took home, retasting tonight so it's been open a full 24 hrs and has much retained CO2. There is more noticeable acid than last night, kind of a sour apple that I didn't pick up yesterday. The wine seems more savory today, and while not austere, there is an earthy, soil quality too. I don't think it's any coincidence either that with my previous bottle that I felt the wine improved on Day 2, and this bottle has followed the same course. It's more complete today, and styled a lot like the Terre de Vertus cuvee that L-B makes, and although that is Chardonnay, there does seem to be a similar textural profile, perhaps something terroir-driven that is coming through both wines. The finish pulls in the strawberry note from yesterday, much more vivid, tangy and juicy. Gotta say this has grown on me and whatever oak impact was in the wine yesterday seems much more complementary in the wine today. Same cardamom spicy note and overall I like the wine. - 2017 Ruppert-Leroy Pinot Noir Champagne Brut Nature Les Cognaux - France, Champagne (11/21/2024)
October 2019 disgorgement. Sans dose, 100% Pinot Noir, and without sulfur. My final bottle of the 2017, in what is considered by some a tough year in Champagne. And served blind to some smart people last night, figured I would see where this landed. Overall I thought the table enjoyed it. Last night this showed red apple, stone, raspberry. The wine presented as lively and fresh, with what I called a delicious quality. See, 2017 ain't all bad! Capped the bottle, took home and retasting tonight without food and a light chill after I let it sit out from the fridge. Just a little bit of gold on the color. Despite the lack of dosage and even some may worry about the missing SO2, this is fresh and plump in texture today again. Last night Andrew mentioned some orange in the wine, and I can sense that today, too. Same apple note, a crisp version of it, which is aligned to the freshness the wine shows me. There is an herbal note floating in the finish, maybe like a muddled mint plus a note of pear that I didn't taste last night. There is a lot going on in this vintage of Les Cognaux and like the Rose that Astrid poured last night, both wines make me think, and at the same time I enjoy them both. - NV Eric Rodez Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée des Crayères - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru (11/21/2024)
Lots of fresh cut apple, both yellow and green, leading to what was an apple sauce flavor. Toasted wood and lemon peel.
Posted from CellarTracker
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Never had the VP. But have never been impressed by the NV grand cru. Always too big for me. I usually try to give them away as gifts 
2015 Dom Perignon - I admit I had this after a few drinks, but it immediately smacked of 2010 Dom Perignon, with a fruit forward profile of white cherry, orange blossom, and almond extract, lots of almond extract, finishing with vanilla cream. Fairly open and a touch sweet, not nearly as complex as 8, 12, 13, and just good, not great Dom Perignon for me. Still, a lovely champagne. Just not one on which I’m likely to spend my dollars. 93-94 range.
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