Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Brut “Inflorescence” (Champagne) – Ethereal and restrained despite the dark, spicy fruit within. Frothy, and yet the elegance is sometimes a bit much. I find myself wishing for a bit more presence, and then thinking I’m being way too hard on a basically compelling wine. It’s the hype, what does it… (9/10)
Browse Tag
champagne
Egly-Mae Clampett
Egly-Ouriet Champagne Grand Cru Brut Tradition (Champagne) – Dry, dry, dry. Apricot skins and apple skins, lightly bitter and rather desolate, It never really improves past this point. A very, very particular Champagne for which I can’t say I care, at least in the form of this bottle. (8/10)
Vrigny, vini, vichy
Egly-Ouriet Champagne Brut 1er Cru “Les Vignes de Vrigny” (Champagne) – 100% pinot meunier, July 2006 disgorgement. Dark cherry and tangerine, with a dark, moody cast and finish. Very bubbly to the point of froth. Essentially red wine with bubbles, despite the color. (5/10)
Aubry Hepburn
L. Aubry 2003 Champagne Brut “Le Nombre d’Or” (9/09 disgorgement) (Champagne) – Fascinating. Exotic pear. Very floral and boisterous. Fun and yet odd. Considering what this is made from – fromenteau, petit meslier, and arbanne – there’s little surprise I’m having trouble getting a handle on it, or contextualizing it within my expectations for Champagne. (3/10)
Haton life
Haton 1996 Champagne Brut “Millésimé” (Champagne) – Champagne? Really? Not prosecco? We’re in northeastern Italy, have asked for a bubbly apéritif, and we’re getting Champagne? Well, OK. It’s tart and chardonnay-esque, showing lemon, green apple, and clean sharpness. There’s no real complexity, and while there’s plenty of verve, what the wine lacks is sufficient interest. Honestly, I think I would have preferred prosecco. (10/07)
Nuclear Vesselle
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Jean Vesselle Champagne Brut “Réserve” (Champagne) – Unmistakably red-fruited, even more so than many rosé Champagnes, with a corollary decline in the contributions made by both fizz and autolysis. Yet it’s not a simple wine either, it’s just somewhat primary, with crisp apple-infused acidity and a direct, blinders-on charge forward on the palate. Time should turn this even redder. (1/10)
Egly-May Clampett
Egly-Ouriet 1996 Champagne Grand Cru Brut (Champagne) – Disgorged July 2004. Powerful, strong, even muscular, but not overwhelming…though I would opine that it has reached its full maturity, and should be put in the drinking queue ASAP. Copper toned old citrus, burnished but still antiqued, forms a core from which emanates a lush sheen of many polishings. Beginning to shorten, just a bit. (1/10)
The first
Jean Milan 2002 Champagne Grand Cru “Sélection” Blanc de Blancs Brut “Cuvée Terres de Noël” (Champagne) – An acid-drenched pillow, simultaneously comforting and bracing, and dancing through fields of berries, their flowers, earth-driven ripe red-fruitedness, and sunny Georgia peach. Endlessly long. Rich like a winter ale, and oh so very beautiful. (12/09)
Casta
H. Billiot Champagne Ambonnay Brut “Cuvée Laetitia” (Champagne) – Apples, red cherries, raspberries, and flowers. Round, with vivid acidity. Very, very long. This flows. (12/09)
Nay Ouriet?
Egly-Ouriet Champagne Grand Cru “V.P.” Extra-Brut (Champagne) – Pinot-dominated by the aromas, but there’s a sharpness more reminiscent of something chardonnay-based as well. Whatever the cépage, it’s highly alive and present, almost in-your-face, with a coiled energy. It’s a dramatic wine at the moment, but I’d be interested in seeing where it’s headed. (9/09)