Browse Tag

blanc de blancs

Who wants to be a Mesnil-aire?

[press]Pierre Peters Champagne Le Mesnil-sur-Oger “Grand Cru” Brut Blanc de Blancs “Cuvée de Réserve” (L 0931) (Champagne) – This is the version that was available in early 1998, and is thus a ten-year old NV Champagne. And this bottle hasn’t been stored in pristine conditions. That said, it’s holding well, perhaps just a year or two past its best stage for nut fans, with weight and minerality underneath the toasted almonds. My personal preference is to drink chardonnay-based sparklers early, and save the aging for those made from more red grapes, but there are always delicious exceptions. (8/08)

Count Champagneula

[vineyard]Taittinger 1990 Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs “Comtes de Champagne” (Champagne) – Brioche, biscuit, old butter, and fine-grained dandelion pollen, shown delicately but plainly. This would seem to be fully mature. (5/08)

Whiteout

[vineyard]Larmandier-Bernier Champagne “1er Cru” Brut Blanc de Blancs “Vertus” (Champagne) – If there were such a thing as mineral soda, this would be it. Not in the hyper-austere fashion of a sekt, but in a poised, brilliant, flowing way; elegant mineral soda as conceived by Frank Gehry, perhaps. (3/08)

Patrick & Lalou

Duval-Leroy 1997 Champagne “Blanc de Chardonnay” (Champagne) – Ripe lemon curd, skins, and incredible intensity. Clean, with bubbles taken down to powdery fineness. (2/07)

Lenoble rot

Lenoble 1998 Champagne “Grand Cru” Blanc de Blancs (Champagne) – Lemon and massive appleness. Bright and sharp, though perhaps a bit obvious. (2/07)

Acute, Vertus

[vineyard]Larmandier-Bernier Champagne “1er Cru” Blanc de Blancs “Vertus” (Champagne) – Delicate and floral, with strobe-like metals and powdered lemon-apple crystals. Incisive but not sharp, long, feminine (with gentle but inexorable strength), and just beautiful throughout. (1/08)

[disgorgement]Larmandier-Bernier Champagne “1er Cru” Vertus Blanc de Blancs (Champagne) – Stunning elegance, with the finest particulate matter forming some sort of indescribable sculpture of beauty. The finish is long and supremely refined. Fabulous Champagne. (10/07)

Delos, I love you, won’t you tell me your name?

[bottle]Pierre Moncuit Champagne à Le Mesnil sur Oger “Grand Cru” Brut Blanc de Blancs “Cuvée Pierre Moncuit-Delos” (Champagne) – Brilliant bubbly with fine poise, creamy texture, and complexity to spare. Brioche and hazelnut are in the mix, as well as preserved lemon, old wood shavings, and a delicate aroma of faded yellow flowers. Just beautiful. (8/07)

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