BODY: light and bright green-yellow color. {forgot to note weight, but I’m sure it was in the light to medium-light range}
TASTE: very dry; light; austere; Granny Smith apple on the finish; chalky; light on teh fruit; did open a bit with air and as it warmed towards room temperature, but it remained pretty lean. Day 3: {leftovers were stoppered and put back into the fridge} more open today and still delicious (not falling apart at all). Drinks fine now, if you like the style, but I also believe a year or two in the cellar might be beneficial.
Not sure if cross-posting is frowned upon, but I was wondering if the esteemed crowd here had any thoughts on my question about stylistically similar Champagnes to Bereche’s lieu dit (?) releases:
From a .375 bottle. Opens with bright red fruits, mostly strawberry and raspberry, with a little citrus, almost tangerine zest. It’s easy to like, with a soft floral note and some mineral character. This bottle showed a bit more of the vintage’s greener edge than my last one, but it came across as a gentle herbal note on the finish, not anything pyrazine-like. More of a subtle spice than a flaw, just a small shift in personality, and I liked it. I’ve avoided many 2015s because of their reputation, but maybe I need to rethink that. That slight herbal streak might be a signature of the vintage rather than something to avoid.
Another day, another half bottle of rosé. This was delicious. A little sweeter and more straightforward than the Deutz Amour Rosé. It’s always a crowd-pleaser, and it really shines with a few years of post-disgorgement age. This was an older bottle, now replaced by Le Rosé.
I almost commented on your other post, but, despite loving Bereche, couldn’t think of any producers I’d consider to be similar in style. I assumed others would be better at it than me. Bereche is one of my favorites. I think of them as vinous and exceedingly well balanced with a deft autolytic touch. In addition to those cuvees you mention, the Rive Gauche meunier cuvee is excellent.
There is! I also picked up Red Rock, a mild Wisconsin cheddar with blue veining, and Sawtooth from Cascadia Creamery. Both are excellent. And the Rush Creek Reserve from Uplands Cheese in Wisconsin is released only once a year in November; it’s one of the best cheeses made anywhere, in my opinion.
Done drifting for now…
We had a very good wheel of Rush Creek Reserve at Thanksgiving. I’ve had some issues in the past with getting wheels that were overly mature and showed a lot of ammonia but this one was clean and fresh.
Thanks! They’re definitely one of my favorites, and I appreciate they are not so high profile that they’ve become unattainable given their production #s are in the low thousands (e.g. 2000-3000). When I buy 4 or 6 bottles of a release I am thinking, “I bought 0.2% of the entire release!”
Yes, it can be luck of the draw, what you get in the store, even good stores. We abhor the ammonia element in this house, and have tossed wheels more often than I like to admit.
15 mags of Charles Heidsieck brut 2019 base for my team’s Christmas party last night. Amazing how well this showed in mag format. Noticeable extra depth and integration vs regular bottles. Just delicious.
I have no idea where I got this, it was behind another bottle in my double deep sparkling racks, so I don’t know the cost, I can’t imagine it was a gift because it’s sort of unusual. I was in the mood for for BdB so what the heck; this had a distinct dish soap (no, I don’t use soap in my stems) kinda thing on first pour and it didn’t ‘blow off’ it literally magically disappeared-I wish someone else had been here to see if they had the same impression. This ended up being great, good acid, lively fruit, no oxidative notes to speak of, really enjoyed this but I can not remember where this came from.
Recently bought a case of Heidsieck for $29 and wondered if this is what would show up after seeing your post, but in fact it is just the normal Reserve. Not complaining either way at that price.
Lilbert 1996, maybe my last.
Wonderful winter champagne, light but still vibrant mousse, tangerine peel, fresh nuts, a hint of dried mushroom on the finish, long with a slightly bitter pith note.
