Thank you for the honest assessment. I have two coming that I’ll leave alone for a while.
How interesting. I had the same bottle last week. My notes: Base18, 2g/l. I’ve always liked this producer, but this came across as soft, creamy, and surprisingly sweet. Drink remaining bottles soon. I blamed the vintage.
Interesting. I have to check the bottle now because I recall the dosage as 4 g/l
The plot thickens!
Oh, jeez. Ok; I’ll open one when I pick up from Lopa.
Unfortunately, my bottle went out the the recycling already. But of my remaining three bottles, all are b18, two are indeed 4 g/l and one is 3 g/l. So maybe my original bottle was 2 g/l or maybe I read it wrong. Either way, it looks like there were various levels of dosage.
I found the bottle nice enough, but sort of meh. It was definitely low acidity (A winemaker told me that this producer’s b18 had high pH level.).
Yeah, that checks out. I know I described it as “rigid” but it was not searingly acidic. The rigidity was more mineral if that makes sense.
From the past few days, with a special granddaughter bonus.
- 2017 Marie-Courtin Champagne Efflorescence Extra Brut - France, Champagne (6/28/2025)
Another April 2023 disgorgement. 100% Pinot Noir, done in old wood with no dosage. Opened yesterday. This bottle seems built on lemon, even more like a lemon oil. Something spicy here also, like a spicy, leafy herb. Tinge of dark fruit, not so much black or blue fruit, but more of a dark cherry that mixes with the lemony citrus. Finishes with a melon note, and what I want to just say seems like a white pepper. Like with the bottle earlier this year, there is a cool textural thing going on, akin to something I might think of with 2018--it's the lemon note with some weight that has a richer edge. After 2 bottles, I believe I have a better handle on this wine, which comes through as a spicy, citrusy wine with some good weight. I'm intrigued now to think how the 2018 of this cuvee will show, but I have yet to receive mine.
Posted from CellarTracker
That’s where mine are coming from, too, so I’ll be very interested to hear your impressions. (and, quite frankly, I’m likely to open one soon-ish after delivery, too).
Thai basil?
Shiso?
Stinging Nettle
Yowza!!!
Last night, I brought one of my favorite (especially for the price) Champagnes – Dhondt-Grellet Champagne Roc Solare – to dinner… and it was corked! This was my first corked Champagne and the somm at the restaurant said it’s only the 3rd he’s ever encountered. How often do you encounter corked Champagne?
Who the F knows! My brain and focus just can’t get that granular so herb-tinged is about the best I can do. The day you hear me put in a TN something like ‘wilted dandelion green’ or some sh#t like that, please ask Todd to remove me from the forum.
Jordan, for me and my experience (and I have opened a lot of bottles so I have the experience data!), I can think of less than 10 over the past decade.
Less frequent than still wine. Less frequent in the last ten years, too.
Very rarely thankfully. But more than never.
Complete bummer on the Roc Solare. I had a bottle in Paris 6 weeks ago that was a real delight
This was my 4th bottle, and I still have a case or so left. I really love this wine. Hopefully the rest are sound!