yeah going with the tried and true is definitely the move. i still get ridiculous emails comparing grumier(?) or something to selosse. sort of ridiculous. the only exception being the paul launois champagnes they promoted for a brief period which are actually solid.
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Every email, quoting the chef de cave:
to Selosse or Salon.
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Oof, I almost hit on that offer as I like aged champagne. Sorry for you two. You win some and…
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How does the 2006 compare to the 2012? Roughly the same price. (sounds more yeasty).
I’ve only had one issue with a bottle of corked Billecart BdB mag from WA. They refunded me no questions asked. I used to be part of their champagne wine club and none of the wines were dead and they’ve had quite the range in styles, producers, and vintages over the year+
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For Valentine’s Day we opened one of our last 2000 Diebolt-Vallois Fleur de Passion and it was a very impressive performance indeed. Fully matured with nutty richness, but plenty of drive and electricity. Perhaps not the depth of better vintages, nor the elegance that more recent iterations are displaying, but a delicious bottle of mature BdB strutting its stuff at age 25. The 2000 Bordeaux didn’t suck either.
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Scott,
I’d be interested in your view on cork aged vs. crown cap aged prior to disgorgement. The research done so far actually shows, over time, a more reductive environment aging under cork than crown cap. Corks do tend to initially let in more Oxygen, but over time, the overall Oxygen ingress into the wine is quite a bit less than with crown caps which tend to act in a more linear way. That is an oversimplified summary as there is more to the Oxygen ingress than just linear vs. non-linear, but it gets the point across at a high level. There are other reactions that appear to occur with the cork that don’t happen with the crown cap, but I’m not sure how well understood they are yet (research is ongoing at multiple levels and in multiple areas). Many producers actually age their top wines meant for late release under cork with many also storing them sur point (head/cork down) for a number of years after a certain time period. By doing this, you create a very “tight” seal with the cork and yeast sediment from the second fermentation. Just mentioning all of this because I don’t think you can state aging under cork is a no-no for long aging of a high end wine.
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I was only referring to disgorgment, which I believed (erroneously, apparently) ages on its lees exclusively under crown.
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I really enjoyed both the 06 and the 12. The 12 took considerably more time in the glass to show itself, suggesting to me it’s still wanting some age, but when it did unfurl, it also had some nice autolytic notes, and a bit more freshness and energy than the 06. Both great, I’d open the 06 today and let the 12 have a few more years on it.
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This might be the opportunity to make that champagne dish you’ve been thinking about but never did because champagne is for drinking 
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This evening in the cheap(-ish) seats, my first rosé from Gonet-Medeville. It seems that they have both a Premier Cru and a Grand Cru version. This was the latter, and after (but only after) some air it went down rather nicely.
- NV Gonet-Médeville Champagne Grand Cru Extra Brut - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru (18/02/2025)
My first rosé from this producer. 70/30 C (Mesnil-sur-Oger)/PN (Ambonnay). 80% from 2018, 20% reserves. Disgorged January 2022; 4g/l dosage. On first opening I was not impressed: more tart than citrus, rather lacking in fruit, and aggressive mousse.
However, with an hour's air (which it got only because it was so unapproachable at first), things are somewhat improved. Then everything comes together in a much smoother package: strawberries & cream on the nose, following to the palate where the acidity is now crisp and refreshing. The finish is very clean and just a little minerally.
Overall, with air this is a very nice general purpose rosé fizz. If I get more I think I will try decanting it to get it ready to go immediately. At the ~US$51 that I paid this is OK, if not great, QPR. (90 points)
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I liked the 15 better than the 14, and would expect it to do well with a fried chicken ensemble. Cheers! Food looks amazing
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Past few weeks-
Nothing I can say about this y’all haven’t already said-a lovely bargain
No info on this back label, I’ve had this a few years I guess-beautiful copper color, tasty, nothing earth shattering
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The pairing definitely worked! The 2015 was very bright and a great intro for me to the Rogerie project. Curious to see how their other bottles compare. The person who recommended this to me also recommended Le Bourg Sud
Extracted from a thread just posted: Another small sample blind wine tasting while easing back into wine: 2014 Bollinger Grande Annee and 1994 Rodney Strong River East RRV Pinot Noir
The bubbly was poured once we were seated and my first hit was it was a 2007 Philipponnat Clos des Goisses with its rich, ginger accented citrus notes, weighted texture, depth and complexity. I kept vacillating throughout the first hour and never did come up with another option, but once revealed, I recognized indeed I definitely had one that I’d overlooked.
2014 BOLLINGER GRANDE ANEE BRUT- this is an assembly of 19 crus, mostly in Aÿ and Verzenay for the 61% Pinot Noir and Chouilly and Oiry for the unusually high amount of 39% Chardonnay; it is 100% fermented in small aged oak barrels; our bottle was disgorged 4/21 and dosed at 8 gpl; I last tasted this release in 8/22 with another wine group with a Bollie rep in attendance.
This bottle had a light yellow color and distinct aromas of ginger infused citrus which on the palate translated into sage honeyed lemon and grapefruit coming in at the back end; all was delivered in a creamy, weighted like texture provoking a tangy, zingy acid hit on the palate; it was super rich, full-bodied and delicious holding a steady course throughout; later on, it had additional notes of white pepper in the nose and green apple in the taste; when I read my notes from 2022, it was obvious this bottle was much more giving and mature although it still needs lots of time to evolve and it has all of the ingredients to do so magnificently.
Cheers,
Blake
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Happy here to follow Blake, to see him enjoying what he loves. 
Been working on this bottle the past couple days, opened to go with last night’s USA v Sweden matchup. Still have enough for yet another full glass tomorrow but I got enough of a sense of the wine to add my note.
- 2019 Etienne Sandrin Champagne Blan Le Bruyant - France, Champagne (2/17/2025)
Doing another bottle, to see if my experiences match between the two. Last month I really enjoyed this wine, so much that I went and reloaded it, as did a few others at the table. Disgorged February 2023, no dose, farmed biodynamically, using 90% Pinot Noir and 10% Pinot Blanc. Opened and sample over about an hour. This first night I would not call the bottle saturating as I did last month. Instead, this seems more flinty, somewhat savory with a mixture of both fresh lemon and some light grapefruit forming the acid backbone. The saline and flint give the textural imprint, refreshing and clean. As for the fruit, I'm really coming at this from a red apple and raspberry point of view. Neither lines up with my impressions from last month, and I'm just calling it as I sense it tonight. There is a spearmint thing coming through the wine too, likely akin to what I called 'spice' last month but I believe this is a better descriptor and also more accurate. When I finally let the wine settle and sufficiently drop the cool jacket from the cellar, the apple intensifies and some white flower appear in the aroma. I actually see this wine as more delicate, flavored really wonderfully and the flavors really clear. We'll see how this shows tomorrow...to close this note with another day being open, don't drink this too cold--it's simply just better with just a light chill. This bottle just rings more like a no-dose cuvee than the first. Firmer, more savory. All that said, I like the wine a lot. It's just got a unique profile and expression that makes me want to keep sipping it.
Posted from CellarTracker
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Not-as-exciting-as-I-was-hoping-for mini blind tasting here. Same bottling, two disgorgements. The two were far more similar than they were different, hence the lack of excitement. The wines, however, were quite enjoyable! I put this Lahaye bottling in the same box as Laherte Freres’s BdB Brut Nature — same price band and both very dry (no dosage). Yes, the LF is 100% Chardonnay and this Lahaye is mostly Pinot Noir, but they pretty much serve identical functions at my address; with a gun to my head, I’d probably call the LF the better wine, but I enjoy and will continue to buy 'em both.
NV Benoît Lahaye Champagne Grand Cru Brut Nature - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru (12/28/2024)
– popped and poured –
– tasted blind over 4 hrs. alongside a Nov. 2020 disgorgement of the same –
– 90% Pinot Noir & 10% Chardonnay, from Bouzy and Ambonnay –
– No dosage –
– Disgorged: April 2022 –
NOSE: some aged tones creeping-in; not complex. Over the course of four hours, this and the Nov. ’20 disgorgement converged, ultimately resulting in two wines that smelled alike.
BODY: initially active-but-loose bead, with medium size bubbles; light salmon color; (same appearance as the Nov. ’20 disgorgement); light bodied.
TASTE: underbrushy and a touch bitter; faint Sweet Tarts candy note; as this warms towards a room temp. of 70 F an apple flavor emerges. Blind, both Ash and I guess this to be the older of the two bottles.
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NV Benoît Lahaye Champagne Grand Cru Brut Nature - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru (12/28/2024)
– popped and poured –
– tasted blind over 4 hrs. alongside an April 2022 disgorgement of the same –
– 90% Pinot Noir & 10% Chardonnay, from Bouzy and Ambonnay –
– No dosage –
– Disgorged: November 2020 –
NOSE: crisp apple; brighter aromatics than the Apr. ’22 disgorgement; apple juice; moderately expressive Nose.
BODY: initially active-but-loose bead, with medium size bubbles; light salmon color; (same appearance as the Apr. ’22 disgorgement); light bodied.
TASTE: very dry – definitely leans austere, but there’s some vinous crisp apple flavors here to enjoy. Blind, thought this was the younger of the two.
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NV Egly-Ouriet Champagne Les Prémices
Equal parts Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier from vineyards on the Massif de Saint-Thierry. 1g/l dosage. Disgorged July 2020. A fuller bodied Champagne. Deeper yellow color. Notes of peaches, spice and oak. Tasted older than it was. I expected more. 88 points.
VM
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I just had 1972 Veuve Clicquot out of Methuselah and it was absolutely gorgeous.
Nugat, brown apple, buttered brioche; long finish of salted nuts, a bit of herbs ; dry but not bone dry; super fine med- bubbles; med acid; med body
In a really excellent place.
97 points for me.
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I personally only buy the GC BdN, VP, Rosé and Crayéres.