Blake,
The deutz amour also comes in clear glass.
Dan
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Todd had mentioned your Wine Talk post, just the title, last night when we were chatting and I blind guessed that it would be a Roederer L’Ermitage if Cali Sparkler competed with big boys in a blind tasting. I think those are usually big, rich, yeasty, wines, although the 2013 sounds a bit more fruit focused. From my experience they do quite well in blind tastings and often give people major trouble on whether the wines are from France or California. Sometimes they remind me of an old-school MV Krug but with slightly less acidity.
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2013 Maurice Vesselle Champagne Grand Cru Brut Millésimé
80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay. Disgorged June 2023. This is an Extra Brut with 5g/l dosage. The bottles were warm when they arrived but both of the bottles I’ve had showed well. I’ve had over a dozen wines from this grower and almost always found them to be enjoyable. Straw color. Moderate bead. Notes of apples and strawberry twizzlers. Fuller finish. 91 points.
VM
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Good feedback and thanks. No doubt, many more sophisticated palates than mine were impressed with how the '13 L’Ermitage showed in a blind format.
The 2015 is a really enjoyable wine to drink too, and at 3.04 ph is a pretty race edge to a fun rich and leesy profile. Would be worth taking a flier on if you stumble across one.
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NV Robert Moncuit Champagne Grand Cru Reserve Perpetuelle Blanc de Blancs Extra-Brut
Incredibly dense, both aromatically and on the palate. A beautiful, balanced, finessed wine. While the Mesnil Chardonnay brings chalky apples, pears, apricots, and almond, it also shows surprising red fruit intensity—hard to believe it’s a Blanc de Blancs. White chocolate and hazelnut notes add more complexity. Slightly oxidative, walking the line between freshness and maturity. From reserve wines of 2006 to 2012
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Extracted from a thread just posted: 3 wines blind tasted at dinner: 2006 Alfred Gratien, 2020 Capitain-Gagnerot Corton-Charlemagne and 1997 Williams Selyem Hirsch Pinot Noir
2006 ALFRED GRATIEN BRUT MILLESIME- blind; the color was medium yellow and when I started to take the first sip, I was backed off and told to come back in a little more gently because something pretty serious is happening here and I needed to ease into it; paying more attention to the details of the moment, I held the glass quite a distance from my nose and brought it in slowly and discovered numerous nuances that included yeast, toasty brioche, ginger, honey and yellow apples; now, I’m a much more prepared to sample the taste and barely sipped the first one and that was enough as it had even more to give on the palate in the form of honey coated and ginger accented red cherries and red and yellow apples being most prominent along with its creamy, weighted mouthfeel; the dosage seemed to be mid range Brut and I guessed it had seen some extended lees contact; while writing these notes, i found this is a blend of “63% Chardonnay, 24% Pinot Meunier and 13% Pinot Noir, sees no malo and gets a whopping 12 years on lees.” I would have expected a much greater proportion of Pinot Noir although the amount of PM probably more than made up for it. My first guess was this was 2008 Piper Heidsieck Rare, but it did not have its signature peppery note and more Chardonnay than I expected in this, so; I was not all that confident in my choice. I also considered Launois or a Special Club from the likes of Goutorbe or Gimonnet.
Cheers,
Blake
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I just earned an Anniversary badge from @ToddFrench !!! I definitely need to open something special this weekend. 
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if I gave you the badge, do I get a pour??
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I did, too. Wait… are we married?!
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Congrats, guys! Happy to be a part of it!
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Sure! Let me know when you’re on your way.
same here—Cheers!
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Same here. Who’s bringing Twister?
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I did too and the feeling is awesome!
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Thank you. This sounds definitive. I stand corrected.
IMIO (in my ignorant opinion) one of the most underrated producers
Egly Vignes de Bisseuil. Base year 2019, disgorged July 2024. The only Chardonnay based wine from Egly and this was not anything memorable. A bit unbalanced a touch bitter just not up to the usual level of Egly. I will continue to buy the V P, the Blanc de Noir, and the Rose, but this was just not worth the price.
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I usually stick to the VP, Rosé, and Les Vignes de Vrigny. The Brut is nice as well. To my palate, Crayeres is their best wine, but with the recent price increases, I’ve stopped buying it.
I remember @scottkieser loves this producer. I’ve only had one bottle, which he gifted me. I’ll have to search out some others. Thanks for the note, Blake.
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