La Borderie Trois Contrees Extra Brut. Golden color with greenish hue. Yeast, bread, yellow fruits and minerals on nice quite complex nose. Palate feels drier than dosage would suggest, quite acidic and fresh. Grapefruit, blood orange and red berries lingers on medium+ taste that turns towards lime and lemonrind prior fading to slightly tart and waxy sensations. Quite linear champagne that for my palate might have benefitted even a tad higher dosage.
70% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonay, 10% Pinot Blanc. 2019 base with 15% reserve wine, dcorg. 04/02/2022 @5.5g/l
Nice bottle last night at a fun restaurant before a great Tower of Power concert.
Savory strawberry and rhubarb, along with other red berries and that aromatic spice I often find in this cuvée, maybe a subtle sandalwood note. Still drinking quite young despite the 2019 disgorgement. I like these better with more age.
I opened a bottle of Philippe Gonet TER blanc de blancs to celebrate harvest 2026 with my crew yesterday. I thought it was very delicious and I liked it even more as it warmed up a skosh over lunch. Purchased at Rain City Wines in Bothell, WA for $70 … for me this was a splurge
I’m curious to know how soon after opening your '96 Salon showed its stuff? My last bottle 2 years ago took 2 days after a 3 hour taste and re-check the first night.
2023, disgorged 04/26. Elise’s wines just keep getting better and better. Rapidly approaching the very top tier in Champagne. This needs a lot of air but after 6 hours it was seriously, seriously good. Left 1/3 of the bottle back and it was even better on day two!
These used to be even shyer on opening and could seem rather underwhelming w/o decanting. Now they’re misleadingly ready upon opening, but giving it the time is clearly worth the wait!
We’re visiting Hood River. Last night, I brought a magnum from the cellar for dinner.
NV Ployez-Jacquemart Champagne Extra Brut Rosé
This punches well above its weight. Beautiful, fresh and delicious. It had been a few years since my last bottle, and this magnum showed even better than I remembered the last 750. The next morning, I ordered more for the cellar. The dosage was well judged; the richness and cut were perfectly balanced.
Late to post…enjoyed some great bottles for my 40th birthday.
The Lahertes Ultradition from magnum was excellent. I joke that it’s our house wine because I tend to buy this one in quantity, but the fact is it’s a beautifully made wine that pleases novices and nerds equally.
The Vilmart Grand Cellier is another favorite and probably the second most common bottle in my cellar after the Ultradition. This particular disgorgement was less rich, more chalky and linear with great acidity and tension. Tempted to see where this one goes with age, but I wouldn’t hesitate to open another from this batch with sushi.
The Bereche is their rose from 2019, and it too was a strong showing, bringing great acidity (a hallmark of 2019 for me) and some red fruits that make this even more food friendly.
The Egly Ouriet Les Premices was outstanding. While this particular bottling doesn’t get a ton of accolades, I’ve found it to be quite special with age on it, much like the Rose. When young it’s certainly good, but with several years post disgorgement, the wine picks up a lot of deep, vinous character that feels very true to the producer. This bottle hit that high note just right (and the blocked malo delivers an unmistakable high acid note that I’m a fan of).
Finally, Cedric Bouchard’s 2012 VV requires no introduction here. This wine was already among my favorites, and the this bottle cemented that further. The white burgundy with bubbles description is real, and with slightly lower pressure in the bottle, you can really peer into this wine in a way that can be more difficult with other champagnes. Age does wonderful things to these bottles too, and they just seem to pick up depth and nuance in spades, whole evolving like a chameleon once they start to see air. Not a bad thing to say here other than the secondary market prices for these wines today.
2018 Jose Dhondt Champagne Grand Cru Mes Vieilles Vignes Blanc de Blancs
Magnum. This benefited from air. Initially mostly savory and somewhat bitter, but the freshness of the vintage emerged with time. Almond brioche and yellow fruit, though still more savory than fruity overall. I liked the 2014 magnums more, but that may be a function of time in the bottle
NV Egly-Ouriet Champagne Grand Cru VP
Love these, as well as their Crayères and Rosé. Vintage 2014, dg 1/23.
Zesty orange cream in a warm pastry shell, with orchard fruit, almonds and a long, fresh finish. Probably should have saved this for a more sober evening, but it was the only 750 I brought to Hood River, and wanted more wine after dinner
We had a bottle of CB with @Andrew_K and it had a definite creaminess to it, that I would associate with barrel (not sure what size) ferments. Which adds helps build texture and creaminess using a process that is oxidative, but doesn’t really produce oxidized wines.
Long winded way of saying that I think you are using that term correctly.
It was fantastic. WOTN for pretty much everyone. Honey, apricot, and saffron finish that basically doesn’t end. 21, 22, and 23 Y’quem represent a string of perfect or near perfect wines for my taste.
NV Laherte Frères Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature - France, Champagne (9/16/2026)
Last bottle of the 3/20 disgorge…still drinking brilliantly! Energized and sharp as a tac…those sour lemon tart pop rocks still bursting…orchard fruits yellow and crispin…there is way more calm and harmony than right out the gate…more maturity, yet vibrant. Almond butter, some white mushroom, dried honey/maple, marsala creme…just wonderful layered flavors…integrates nicely with the salty minerality and bright citrus…leaves you with a mouthful of pleasure! Time for another load up! (95 points)
NV Marc Hebrart 1er BdB was absolutely fantastic for a Korean Fried Chicken Wednesday night. Not the most complex bubbles but the acid backbone helped with the fatty chicken and heavy sauce. Tremendous value at $40 and some chump changes.
