Reviews

Leclerc Briant Champagne Grand Cru Chateau D'Avize Blanc De Blancs Extra Brut

This tasting note below was also posted on the Brut Zero wine in Cellar Tracker, though this was a 5g/L dosage and disgorged in 2019 (as opposed to the Brut Zero's 2g/L and disgorged in 2022). I just…

Diebolt-Vallois Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut Millésimé

This really is a nice Champagne. The QPR makes it extremely appealing. Similar to my experience six months ago at the domaine. Lemon and chalk dominate, with a nice medium density that lingers on the…

Chartogne-Taillet Champagne Blanc de Blancs Heurtebise

Astringent, bitter (especially on the finish), bent out of shape, angular, lacking any fruit, and generally angry as all getup for the first hour of consumption. I would have called this flawed if I…

Chartogne-Taillet Champagne Hors Serie

Well this is a pleasant little sipper. Unique with its array of flavors, leading with spicy pear, red apple flesh, orange rind, lime, river rocks (more limestone than chalk), citrus pith, melon rind,…

Chartogne-Taillet Champagne Chemin de Reims

I'm liking this a bit more than the 2018, which was rounder and more medium-bodied by comparison. This 2019 carries notable energy and lift, as well as an extra gear that is missing in the 2018. The…

Larmandier-Bernier Champagne Grand Cru Les Chemins d'Avize

Solid stuff. In a great window right now. Golden apple (without being too apple or cider-dominant, which can be hugely distracting), grilled lemon, quince, limestone, yellow poached pear, almond, and…

Chartogne-Taillet Champagne Chemin de Reims

Whoa.! A strong nose of Bananas Foster and vanilla signals an oak influence that is initially more than a bit worrisome. Is this going to be a sweet bourbon-tini of a Champagne?! Wildly (and…

Chartogne-Taillet Champagne Blanc de Blancs Heurtebise

Excellent precision and drive marks the front end of the attack here, with bright and fresh lemon juice, chalk, sea spray, limestone, yellow and green pear skin, and hints of lime zest making for a…

Adrien Dhondt Champagne Grand Cru Les Coullemets Le Mesnil-sur-Oger

Now this is what I'm talking about. A beautiful BdB that delivers on all fronts. This maintains impeccable balance all the while delivering perfectly cadenced expansion with an array of energetic…

Savart Champagne Premier Cru Le Mont des Chrétiens

Medium bodied all the way around, with an oxidative vein that runs through the otherwise spritely lemon and yellow stone fruit flavors. It's a little straightforward at first and fires off at about…

Dhondt-Grellet Champagne Premier Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut Les Nogers

Hey now, this is some pretty rock star stuff right here. For the most part, I've admittedly been dismissing the 2017 vintage as a whole in Champagne, but in the right hands, this and a few other…

Marguet Champagne Grand Cru Les Crayères

A 100% Chardonnay version of the historically Pinot Noir Crayeres from Marguet is a solid Blanc de Blanc that pushes lime juice and zest, lemon, wet limestone, and white flowers forward in a…

Raumland Chardonnay Reserve Brut

Unfortunately I can't necessarily echo the high praise here. It is a decent glass of bubbles, I suppose if you don't dissect it too much, but the finish falls fast and the overall execution is…

Ferrari Giulio Ferrari Riserva del Fondatore

Nowhere near ready for prime time. Coiled up and linear. Finishes bitter. The drive and structure are great, like a well built Cab, but the fruit is MIA. It's all stuffing and no expansion. The 2002,…

Philippe Lancelot Champagne Grand Cru Cramant

Lemon, quince, and chalk drive the attack, with a medium-bodied delivery of balanced fruit-to-white rock. The finish lacks a little persistence, but it rounds-out nicely nonetheless. Pure, clean, and…

Philippe Lancelot Champagne Grand Cru Le Fond Du Bateau Chouilly

This presents as a beautiful and delineated Champagne, with baskets of white flowers and fresh herbs swirling around the brisk yellow citrus, lemon pith, sea spray, and salt flake notes. White rock…

Crété Chamberlin Champagne Grand Cru CDB Blanc de Blancs

There is a compelling key lime pie (crust and filling) note here that does everything right to make this more than just another BdB. It's a little funky in flavor but also distinctly dialed in and…

Vouette et Sorbée Champagne Blanc d'Argile Brut Nature

2020 vintage base. "09-10-23" disgorgement (which is probably October 9, 2023).

Bérêche et Fils Champagne Premier Cru Les Beaux Regards

Lime and lychee powers activate! A beautiful combination of zing and flavor expansion. There is a nice fullness to the profile here that adds concentration and depth to an otherwise energetic BdB. I…

Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin Chablis Grand Cru Grenouilles

I popped another one of these because I recently saw a batch available at a reasonable price and was considering acquiring more. Normally I'd be all over this, but the 2022 vintage definitely has a…

Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons

Grilled pineapple and iodine. With more air, this becomes brassy and tart. Completely lacks freshness and acidity.

Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin Chablis Grand Cru Hommage à Louis

Initially there is a shyness here that is marked by a thin veil of reduction and crème fraîche. It doesn't take long, however, for wonderful waves of salty oyster shell and iodine notes to take hold…

Ultramarine Blanc de Blancs Keefer Ranch Sonoma Coast

Hey wouldn't cha know it, this lil monkey wasn't flawed at all. Lemon, wet stone, white melon rind, and lime pith all make for both an energetic and fuller bodied experience. It's slightly blocky in…

Ultramarine Blanc de Blancs Michael Mara Sonoma Coast

So, it is not wet asparagus, but there is indeed overt tarragon and wet green grass notes that swat you right in the mouth on the initial sips. It's just too much; so much so that I had to leave this…

Jacques Lassaigne Champagne Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Le Cotet

Disgorged October 21, 2023, this Cotet is a much more put-together specimen than the Colline Inspiree I had the other day. Very nice intensity and focus kick off notes of lemon pith, nougat, white…