We had a great visit there a few years ago and I’ve been drinking up and down their line since. All great. Try d’Harbonviille and Granit.
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I’m lucky to have more of those than anyone I know!
Well you’re probably correct but I have worked hard to catch up 
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One of those absurd nights where 12 drinkers brought the volume equivalent of 41 bottles to one dinner because no has any self control. Here’s a picture with most of the Champagne.
1996 Pommery Louise from mag, bought on release was just in the zone. Perfect integration, textural, fresh, a baby. If there was a trendy grower’s name on the label it would have been downed in a minute.
The 05 RdJ Bechalin was beautiful in it’s polish - we always say his wines take decades (plural) to hit maturity - no not quite on par with the stuff from 08/09/10 but delicious and novel.
The 2018 Haut Lemblee was on fire, probably my WotN (though most had 2010 Ganevat VdMP taking that honor) - just the perfect white Burg with more acid and CO2.
The Vilaine vertical was fun - 21 stood out to me as the most dynamic (and certainly acidic). The 20, for the second time in 2 years, feels somehow flabby and simultaneously green by comparison. The 23 was a step behind the 21 and the 22 was a step behind the 23.
Didn’t fit in this specific picture but a 19 Savart Mont Chretiens was beautiful, super grapey with massive concentration. A few years will do wonders.
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NV Aurore Casanova Champagne Union des Grand Crus Puisieulx
Ex Ballerina Aurore makes this 100% Chard. A Blend of plots in Mesnil Sur Oger and Puisieulx. Fresh, vibrant, chalky very clean with a delicate oxidative touch that adds dimension on nose but is not much present in taste. This is the first bottle i try from this producer and liked it a lot.
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They grow the fruit for Prevost’s “Grand Cru” bottling too, I’ve been told.
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Harvest Happy Hour in the lab yesterday - Bollinger Special Cuvee was delicious with those Chinese spicy peanuts
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2004 Clos des Goisses. I am not sure this will improve with more age, but then again I can’t think of anything I’d want to change. At 22, it has the round bottom you only get with age, but it is still a sprightly, delicious drink. Absolutely brilliant with Murg Rassa and Dal Dhungaree. And a bunch of other stuff because I don’t really do restraint when good Indian is on offer.
Wish I had more
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Found this in the cellar today and I have no memory of buying it (I hate that) it’s a little flat but good God the smell of fresh baked baguettes fills the room and I like that! Overall a nice bottle but probably not a rebuy.
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I fear rhe MSG may have something to do with that - how was your head the next morning?
• 2018 Guiborat BdB Prisme.
First time trying a Guiborat. I think I should have left this in the cellar longer. From CT review:
Deg 11/22. Loads of lemon and sourdough bread on the nose. Vinous and also full of acidic rigidity at this point. Nose and palate and pretty different right now, with the champagne tasting more reticent and tight than the smell would lead you to think. Very fine, but I think I had this too early.
And a bonus photo of the gougères I made to have with it.
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Anyone have Jean Gimonnet blanc des blanc 2008 La Guette?
Returning today to a wine I last drank 6 years ago. And it’s a rather nice example of a rounded Meunier-based fizz, not least, I suspect because of the 2018 base. The one thing I would say though is: keep it cold! It gets a little cloying towards room temperature.
- NV Françoise Bedel Champagne Dis, "Vin Secret" Brut - France, Champagne (22/09/2026)
70/25/5 PM/PN/C. Base vintage 2018. 4 years on lees. Disgorged June 2023; dosage not specified ("Brut").
The nose is sweet, perfumed, apple, brioche. On the palate there is plenty of ripe round fruit: some ripe sweet apple, some pear, a little citrus. But not at all heavy. It's very clean and refreshing. A hint of chalky minerality and slightly bruised apple on the quite long and rather more-ish finish.
Overall this is an excellent and versatile wine. It's crisp and refreshing enough (just) to be an aperitif, but also has the weight and fruit to pair with food. For the ~US$54 that I paid this is definitely a repeat buy.
However, I would say that it needs to be kept quite cool - as it warms the overall feel becomes just a little cloying on the palate for my taste. (91 points)
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No, but last month we enjoyed a '96 Jean Gimmonet BdB Brut.
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A couple of blind champagnes on Monday. The Doyard was beautiful, but the Egly was absolutely stunning. Light as a feather, at least for the vintage and vineyard. Amazing length, rivalling the even more highly regarded vintages. What a wine!
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2015 Cristal - had during last dinner of a short trip with wife to Munich for Oktoberfest, then to Tegernsee for a relaxing couple of days overlooking the lake. I am not generally a fan of 2015, but this was delightful and wide open for business. The nose is big with a nice concentration of honeycomb, peach, and citrus, with a bit of yeast rounding out a rather rich nose. The honey note comes through without giving it an overly sweet smell, but is a bit surprising in its intensity given the youth of the wine. On the palate you get the honey, then a pop of peach and citrus, and a lovely white flower note I pegged as honeysuckle, with a touch of shortbread cleaned up with a bit of acid on the finish. This is a very complete wine and a surprisingly good performance. Perhaps the best 2015 champagne I’ve had so far, but perhaps not as built to age as other Cristal offerings. This is in the 95-96 range for me, and was a joy to share.
I sat slightly distracted at dinner for a minute trying to decide on the notes. The fruit profile is peachy, but then more. It’s got nice acidic cut, but it doesn’t really smell like lemon or lime or orange, but has that feel and taste of some citrus mixed into the fold. There is some other fruit there too, but it’s not clearly apple or pear. The white flower note…was it jasmine or honeysuckle or orange blossom? Maybe jasmine affected by the scent of honey on the wine? Maybe honeysuckle affected by the perception of citrus? Is it pie crust, shortbread, brioche, or whatever else? Tough to say, other than that there is some hint of some pastry/cookie/dough note just whispering faintly around the edges, without being at all intrusive or even particularly distinct and nameable. But there is peach, honey, floral, more. I love wines like this that are so well refined and integrated that they just become, in a word, complex. And this is certainly that.
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Sounds absolutely lovely, brother. The trip doesn’t sound too bad, either.
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I was very lucky to have EO 08 and 13 a few months ago, no notes taken, and holy fuck I understood why EO blurred the line between power and grace.
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@Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m was correct. Not very exciting, but done in a crowd-pleasing style, for sure. Tempted to grab a few more at the $32 pre-tax price for some gifts/parties. I haven’t had it in a long time, but this kinda reminds me of Veuve yellow label…
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