Reviews

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…

Bérêche et Fils Champagne Grand Cru Mailly

Pours a beautiful golden hue, with the slightest salmon tinge around the edges. Bubbles are especially delicate and fine, almost fragile in their appearance.

Le Gallais Champagne Cuvée des Cèdres Brut Nature

Linear and simple, but a fresh and clean entry that is well balanced and delineated in its lemon, white fruit, apple pulp, and white stone flavors. Not so sterile that it's instantly forgettable, but…

Jerome Blin Champagne Extra Brut Le Champs de L'Epinette

It's a little confusing, since the front of the label states this is Pinot Noir Extra Brut, but the back of the label states "cepage: meunier et chardonnay." The internet "confirms" Pinot Noir, but…

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…

Paul Bara Champagne Grand Cru Brut Millésimé

Smells like the Pillsbury Doughboy got caught in a powdered sugar snow storm and was buried under a mound of maple confection. On the palate, the delivery is unsurprisingly sweet and slightly…

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 Grand Cru Mailly

This is essentially a Pinot version of Bereche's Cramant Grand Cru, with a near identical composure and delivery of flavor. A bit more golden apple, honey, and poached pear here, with a seamless…

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…

David Leclapart Champagne Premier Cru Cuvée L'Aphrodisiaque

Well, well, well. This performed exceptionally well, with its flawless combination of power, acidity, profundity, depth, energy, and layered flavor profile. This bottle really did everything right…

Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Edition 169eme

A wine like this makes me wonder why I bother trying to hunt for all these other different Champagne. Variety is the spice of life and all that, but this right here is such a solid operator every…

Vilmart & Cie Champagne Premier Cru Grand Cellier d'Or

After having this a few times now, I ultimately think this is just too round and doughy for me. The balance and delivery are sound, as is the body, but the core fruit is masked by what seems to be…

Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Edition 169eme

Hard to find fault here. Continues to improve each year. The 2013 vintage base has made for a stellar Champagne that simply has wonderful intensity, a complex and ever evolving menagerie of flavors,…

Marguet Sapience

A contemplative and dimensional wine, trading some of its would-be vibrancy for more serious bass tones. Poetry (Robert Frost.or rather Edgar Allan Poe) in a bottle vs. a Pitbull party in a bottle.…

Marguet Champagne Grand Cru Les Beurys

I thought this was a fantastic showing. I initially wondered if my score was slightly inflated, but this bottle was truly a standout and deserves recognition. Green and yellow apple notes intermingle…

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…

Champagne J.Vignier Champagne Grand Cru QVFMR "Les Jardins d'Elise" Cramant

Pros: Pure, clean, focused, crystalline lemon. Cons: Angular, sterile, superficial, lacks mid-palate.

Jacques Lassaigne Champagne Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs La Colline Inspirée

I initially couldn't find a disgorgement date or any info on the bottle to save my life, with no clue what vintage(s) base this is. However, thanks to CT'r Ghoulardi, who told me it was the barely…

Marguet Champagne Grand Cru Les Crayères

Stupid. The fruit was there this time and there was no wet Pomeranian smell, but the effervescence came and went faster than a Tik-Toker's attention span. To call it a still wine after a few minutes…

Nicolas Maillart Champagne Premier Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut Les Chaillots Gillis

Strikingly better on Day 2. More depth and a broader flavor expansion. So, either hold for a few more years or give it plenty of air so it can fan out and deepen.

Savart Champagne Grand Cru Haute Couture Le Mesnil

It's been two years since my last tasting note on this wine and there has been some notable development over that time, specifically a bit more depth and flavor expansion. However, it requires air to…

Marguet Champagne Grand Cru Les Bermonts

This bottle was slightly off, which is just icing on a flattened cake of tears and sadness since a huge percentage of Marguets I went fairly deep on turned out to be flawed. I love this producer when…

Marie-Courtin Champagne Présence

Last bottle of this and a quick final note just to put a period on all the other previous notes.

Jerome Blin Champagne Cuvée Octave Zero Dosage

Not flawed, so that's an automatic bonus. Medium intensity, with lemon, travertine, and yellow pear (pulp and skin). It's relatively simple, but fresh and clean all the way around. With air, its…

Bollinger Champagne Special Cuvée Brut

Liquid dough.