Reviews

Marie-Courtin Champagne Présence

70% Chardonnay. 30% Pinot Blanc. 2018 vintage. Zero dosage. Bottle stamped "LP18D0121ND". No other markings on the label or the bottle. I'm going to guess that 18 is the vintage reference (though I'm…

Nicolas Maillart Champagne Premier Cru Franc de Pied Les Coupés

At The Shota SF. A perfect pairing for the 15+ courses of sashimi, nigiri, and other modern creative/hybrid omakase menu dishes. The cut and acidity are allowed to show in tandem with the food due to…

Doyard Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut

What a difference a vintage makes. The 2012 was beautifully creamy and silky, while this 2013 is electrifying and superbly nervy. Like biting into a fresh green apple coated with sea salt and lemon…

Robert Moncuit Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut Les Chetillons

Quite elegant and sophisticated, with a silky-smooth texture that glides across the palate effortlessly, the 2013 Les Chetillons carries a magnificence in posture and stride that is at first…

Pierre Moncuit Champagne Grand Cru Millésime Extra-Brut

For a big house style without the big house price, this 2008 Pierre Moncuit is a contender for one of the better QPRs out there. Lemon rind, ripe yellow pear skin, sea foam, limestone, almond skin,…

Vouette et Sorbée Champagne Fidèle

Grilled lemon, olive oil, black cherry water, and hazelnuts dominate the flavor profile here, with just the slightest oxidative note to add textural breadth. A fairly serious showing. Best served in…

Pierre Gerbais Champagne L'Originale

A perfect pairing with French Toast, the L'Originale is full of bright lemon and chalk goodness, with marked degrees of purity and freshness that hold the yellow fruit in both succulent and energetic…

Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Blancs La Bolorée

An extraordinary Champagne that takes a few hours of opening up before it blossoms into the bubbly phenom that it was designed to be. Unique without being an outcast, and instead a singular…

Jerome Blin Champagne La Pluchotte Extra Brut Rosé

Strawberries, orange rind and juice spray, lemon spritz, grapefruit, raspberry water, and wet stone notes culminate into a beautifully refreshing Rosé with ample cut and acid to cunningly steer it…

Jacques Lassaigne Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature Clos Sainte Sophie

Quite a distinctive Champagne, with a full breadth of enrichments that range from grilled Meyer lemon and saline sherry to autolytic Hefeweizen and chewy raw bread dough. Though this is a zero dosage…

Pierre Gerbais Champagne Extra Brut L'Osmose

Nearly everything about my previous note from earlier this year applies, though I jumped this up an extra point because I felt it had an extra tick of tension I thought was missing from the prior…

Larmandier-Bernier Champagne Premier Cru Terre de Vertus

Another go with this Champagne since Spring and this bottle does not disappoint. The first pour is initially quite steely and a bit bitter, spitting out more white fruit and higher toned chalk…

Geoffroy Champagne Meunier Millésime Brut Nature Les Tiersaudes

It's been a year since sampling this wine, which I had previous high accolades to throw out back in 2020. I was similarly impressed with this bottle, with just enough rusticity to make it interesting…

Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Edition 169eme

This bottle showed a bit more richness than previous bottles, but not still without the requisite punchiness that I've grown especially fond of with the 169. Just when I think I might want to age…

Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Edition 169eme

Jazzy and brisk, with a front end that hurriedly sprints to the attack with crunchy and crisp green apple and yellow pear skin flavors that surge energy. The initial electricity is complimented by…

Nicolas Maillart Champagne Premier Cru Franc de Pied Les Coupés

This particular bottle took some time to open up. After an hour or two of slow O2 and then allowing it to open up in the glass without getting too warm, the color and palate became deeper and…

Jean Vesselle Champagne Brut Oil de Perdrix

This was a decent little number (from a split), with orange rind and lemon-strawberry water notes skipping along the palate with a dry and slightly steely entry. Stays superficial through the…

Louis Roederer Champagne Blanc de Blancs

Yellow citrus and white stone fruit are complimented by white travertine, fresh pizza dough, honeycomb, salt rock, quince, lime pith, clementine albedo, and white floral notes to offer up a gourmand…

Laherte Frères Champagne Extra Brut Les Vignes d'Autrefois

Prickly and slightly rustic on its initial entry, this vintage of Vignes d'Autrefois hucks a few prongs on the attack, pricking the palate with steely and acidic shots that almost numb the senses…

Pierre Péters Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée Speciale Blanc de Blancs Les Chetillons

A Champagne I continue to fall in love with, The Chetillons has so much energy and juicy liveliness, it's hard not to take the whole glass down in one gulp. Compared to the 2008 sampled a few months…

Billecart-Salmon Champagne Cuvée Nicolas François

Deeply pitched apricot, lemon curd, ripe yellow citrus, marmalade, and honey make for a fairly advanced showing here, though it's not without the requisite frame to hold it all in place. Finishes on…

Billecart-Salmon Champagne Grand Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs

Slightly steely on entry, with a cut that rushes straight to the finish. The effervescence doubles this effect, with the white and high-register fruit and rock notes racing along the palate with a…

Billecart-Salmon Champagne Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon

This bottle is a bit more spun-up than the one I had back in July. The lemon pith is more prominent, blocking some of the strawberry and sweet orange peel notes trying to jockey position. This is a…

Larmandier-Bernier Champagne Grand Cru Les Chemins d'Avize

Red apple, dried apricot, preserved lemon rind, hazelnut, and olive oil flavors make for a big house blend profile that doesn't necessarily steer one to a BdB composition. Blind, I would have sworn…

Pierre Paillard Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Les Mottelettes

As accessible and user-friendly as the 2014, this vintage of Mottelettes is nearly an identical twin, with ripe and juicy yellow citrus, almond slivers, chalk, and yellow pear skin. Round and full…