KFC and 2015 Franck Boneville Blanc de Blancs. Disappointing all around. Chicken was over cooked and over salted and the wine was lacking crispness, which has not been the case previously. The wine was wide open, however, and more generous than any of the bottles which proceeded it. Apple skins, Asian Pear, baking spices, and a tobacco flavor on the palate. Somewhat deficient in mouthfeel and density. It didn’t really taste like a wine which spent over six years on the lees. Acceptable, but far from exciting.
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Thank you for the Krug notes!
A very good indeed Vilmart 08 Cellier D’Or, ripe chardonnay dominant with red berries, April 2014r Disgorged. Mag.
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Next day next mag.
Lilbert NV
Totally different. Disgorged winter 16/17, totally primary citrus, chalky, very fine. Precision defined.
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The last bottle I had was so good, it led me to change my purchasing strategy. I’m now buying more GDd’O and less of the Couer de Cuvée. I’m down to my last bottle of '08 GC, but have a couple of CdC too. Probably not for long.
Thanks, gives me an idea how long to hold my mags.
NV Demière-Ansiot Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru (3/23/2025)
– popped and poured –
– tasted non-blind over 1.5 hrs. –
– dosage: 4 g/L –
– disgorgement: January 2024 –
NOSE: light, bright, and leans a touch vinous. Nose is pretty straightforward – mostly fruity (Granny Smith apple), with a little bit of greenery in the background – so, simple-but-pleasant.
BODY: light green-yellow color; aggressive bead; light to medium-light body, with a frothy mouthfeel.
TASTE: vinous, with medium+ acidity; bright; rich-but-dry, although the dosage is a bit more noticeable than I prefer; interesting black licorice note on the mid palate, which I actually enjoy. With time in the glass, and as it warmed to about 60 degrees F, this saw some improvement. Solid, and barely a re-buy for me at $55.
1 Like
NV Pascal Doquet Champagne Premier Cru Arpège Blanc de Blancs - France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru (3/28/2025)
– popped and poured –
– tasted non-blind over 2.5 hrs. –
– dosage: 3.5 g/L –
– disgorged: October 13, 2022 –
– blend: 61% 2017 base, 39% perpetuelle reserve back to 2012 –
NOSE: somewhat vinous, and showing a bit of aged character with its slightly-bruised Golden Delicious apple aroma; moderately expressive; Tootsie Roll note shows-up a bit more than 2 hrs in; freshly-cut grass on the last pour at the 2hr 20 min. mark.
BODY: moderately aggressive, large-bubbled bead; rich golden yellow color, with a touch of orange.
TASTE: 12.5% alc. not noticeable; medium+ to high acidity; totally blank on the rear palate, with just a whiff of cigar wrapper spice; underbrushy, with a slightly developing buttery apple note – this is starting to develop some aged character; little bit of a bitter edge. This wine really reflects its mixed vintage character — the lack of rear palate presence and the slight bitterness speaks of 2017, and the slightly aged character is a nod to the perpetuelle reserve in the blend. Obvious BdB flavor. This is good enough, but I’m not really finding it distinctive or impressive in any fashion. Not likely to rebuy at $65.
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NV Louis Roederer Champagne Collection 243 - France, Champagne (4/25/2025)
– popped and poured –
– tasted non-blind over a couple days –
Nose was expressive, appley, and a touch buttery on Day 1. Seemed to be lighter and a touch grassy on Day 2.
Quite dry on the palate, with some subtle red-fruited berry flavors. Not as crisp/austere as 244, and not as much depth as 242, to compare to surrounding releases.
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Russell,
What vintage, 2012?
Someone, sometime in the last week, somewhere, commented about Grower Champagne and their inflated prices and general sameness. Although you won’t often see me slagging on Grower bubbles in any way shape or form, I do have to say the “general sameness” point resonates with me a bit right now.
As I’ve been catching-up on my TN queue today, seeing a few land in this thread, I’m struck by how “not bad, but not exciting” these bottles of Grower bubbles have come across for me. Cazals – fine/boring; Doquet – same; Demiere-Ansiot – same, but possibly my favorite of these three. All of these fall in the $55 - $65 price territory, a band that I’m quickly getting bored of for Grower bubbles. Pretty much everything in that price group gets compared to LF’s BdB Brut Nature, Vilmart’s Cuvee Rubis, or Aubry’s NV 1er (which actually clocks-in well under that), and, for the most part, those three (LF/Vilmart/Aubry) win-out. I’m starting to feel like $75 is where I need to start if I want to be consistently finding distinctive/interesting Grower bubbles. … or, maybe, I’m just in a little bit of a funk or run of so-so luck … regardless, it’s not for lack of effort!
NV Claude Cazals Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs extra Brut Cuvée Vive - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru (4/25/2025)
– popped and poured –
– tasted non-blind over 1.5 hrs. on Day 1; leftovers finished on Day 3 –
– dosage: 3 g/L –
– disgorged: December 2022 –
NOSE: bright, white fruits; high-toned.
BODY: medium-light yellow color; loose bead; {forgot to note weight — by memory, it was on the lighter side}.
TASTE: somewhat light and straightforward; I’d like more breadth and depth; it’s fine, but I’d be a lot more excited about this at $35 - $40. Day 3: crisp green apple; amazingly, this is better today, after 48 hrs under stopper in the fridge, than it was on Day 1. Nonetheless, not rushing to rebuy at $60.
2 Likes
remember way back when, when we had that awesome Zoom meeting with Aurelien, of Laherte Freres? Well, to put a point on just how back-logged I am with my TN transcription, this bottle was the one I opened for that tasting …
NV Laherte Frères Champagne Nature De Craie Premier Cru Brut Nature - France, Champagne (4/26/2025)
– popped and poured –
– tasted non-blind over a couple hrs. –
– disgorged: May 2023 –
NOSE: gentle and bright; moderately expressive; hint of jammy sweetness – a bright/floral mandarin jam.
BODY: light gold color; persistent medium-fine bubbled bead.
TASTE: high acidity; dry, but not austere; seems to be unfurling since the last time I had this about a year ago; lovely side-palate tang; mandarin. This is comprised only of a single harvest, but Aurelien chooses to not put a vintage on it, as he prefers the consumer’s focus here be on “Chardonnay” as opposed to the particular vintage. This is an excellent offering, and one which benefits from air exposure and a slightly warmer serving temperature (at, if not slightly above, cellar temp.).
4 Likes
I understand what you mean. I do feel like it’s more just a hunt for some special bottles that offer something else. Nowack Les Bauchets, Ponsart, Dufour and Marguet to name a few. Now I know there’s been some critique of Marguet for the oak, but that’s just what I mean — a house style or a specific something that sets it a bit apart.
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So very true. It’s the hunt that’s fun! (I just ran into a bit of a cool streak, where I wasn’t coming across anything of note). But, I have a TN coming pretty soon for a bottle of grower bubbles that really had my eyebrows stretching!
1 Like
Damn, that’s an attractive rose!
Brought over to my daughter’s new house with a pile of Charlie’s Caviar, this was so fresh with fantastic cut and depth it’s hard to believe it was a 99. Did not buy enough when K@L was blowing them out!
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Same. I love this cuvée.
Good thoughts, Brian. Your post resonates with me quite a bit. I can’t afford to ball DP and Cristal every few months, let alone weekly, but I love Champagne. I used to be able to drink with relative pleasure for under $50 with astute hunting and a bit of luck. But, like you, I think of $75 as the minimum I expect to spend if I want something really great. Maybe my palate has just evolved, though? 
That said, I still think relative to quality and effort involved, Champagne is a value region; I just wish we could get the same prices as the winos on the other side of the pond.
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I’ve had a similar reaction to some of the mid-tier grower bottles, but I think part of it for me is that, with a fairly deep cellar and opening just one bottle a week (sometimes less), I tend to reach for wines I’m really excited about, which often means their top cuvées.
I haven’t had the NV Claude Cazals Cuvée Vive or the NV Doquet, but their higher-end vintage wines (Doquet Champ d’Alouette and Clos Cazals) have been anything but boring. Every bottle of those has been genuinely spectacular.
So while I get the frustration in that $55–$75 band, I’ve found that when I’m pulling their best stuff, it’s about as good as it gets. Trying not to sound pretentious, but I do wish I’d focused less on stocking up on everyday wines and more on picking up fewer, higher-end bottles back when I was building the cellar.
Cheers,
Warren
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