Reviews

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

A stunning bottle, showing marked improvement on a number of levels from my last go with the 2018 Nogers about a year-and-a-half ago; this is all about crystalline lemon juice and white travertine on…

Huré Frères Champagne L'Inattendue Blanc de Blancs

Again, a performance marked by freshness, the 2018 offers both white rock-infused energy and white/yellow melon, lemon pith, and crunchy green, white, and yellow pear fruit notes that give some…

Champagne Suenen Champagne Grand Cru "La Cocluette" Extra Brut

Lemon and red and yellow apple flesh, with some salty yuzu and limestone to add frame and direction. Starts out with an injection of crystalline minerality, but soon becomes more voluminous. With…

Huré Frères Champagne L'Insouciance

This 2021 base is a bit more anemic and boney than the 2020 base I had recently. Crunchy strawberry and chalk dominate. The 2020 also had 4.5 g/L dosage (compared to 4 here). The 2021 is best with…

Bérêche et Fils Champagne Premier Cru Le Cran

Honey and apple cider on the nose. On the palate, the torched orange peel and baked red apple notes are strong with this bottle. Honey and oxidative flavors encompass the profile, injecting a more…

Chartogne-Taillet Champagne Blanc de Blancs Heurtebise

This version was a later disgorgement date and higher dosage than previous bottles (June vs April; 4g vs 3g). Although it displayed nearly the same profile as its former siblings, this bottle was a…

Chartogne-Taillet Champagne Chemin de Reims

Last bottle of this from the cellar, with a later disgorgement date and higher dosage than previous bottles (June vs April; 4g vs 3g). Similar profile, with spiced apple cider (but not cidery at…

Larmandier-Bernier Champagne Grand Cru Vieille Vigne du Levant Extra Brut

Crunchy white and yellow pear, yellow apple skin and flesh, flint, yeast, white travertine, white melon rind, lemon pith and juice, and hints of crystallized ginger and yuzu. This is a fresh…

Larmandier-Bernier Champagne Premier Cru Terre de Vertus

A solid Champagne built on yeast, lemon, and limestone flavors that are beautifully balanced, offering refreshing verve as well as volume. Not as complex nor deep as L-B's top offerings (eg: Levant…

Adrien Renoir Champagne Grand Cru Solera Les Années

Ginger, honey, sherry, apricot, red apple flesh, red pear skin, chalk, wood spice, cherry water, and bramble. A serious and somewhat brooding presentation of flavor, lifted by a chalky minerality…

Pertois-Lebrun Champagne Grand Cru Derrière le Mont Aigu N°13

As before, golden pear, grilled lemon, olive oil, cardamom, and wood offer a pleasantly oxidative profile that is lifted by notes of limestone and ginger. Decent breadth and volume; medium intensity.…

Adrien Renoir Champagne Grand Cru Les Epinettes

Apricot, honey, white and red raspberry, rhubarb, travertine, golden raisin, saline, sea foam, bark, and pluot flavors are both invitingly accessible and racy. Within the youthful drive, there is…

Adrien Renoir Champagne Grand Cru Les Montants

Chiseled, racy, and crystalline, with speedy and spun up flavors of fresh lemon juice, chalk, sea salt and foam, yuzu, lime pith, lemon zest and pith, and white travertine. Finishes with lemon…

Huré Frères Champagne Mémoire Extra Brut

2021 base. This new release shows much more comparative crystalline structure to its 2020 and 2019 siblings. There are the signature oxidative and wood elements, but with streaks of limestone and…

Bérêche et Fils Champagne Premier Cru Les Beaux Regards

These are settling into a beautiful rhythm of deep grilled lemon, poached pear, sea salt, olive oil, yuzu, and limestone flavors. Succulent and full, with micro-oxidative elements that add depth and…

Emmanuel Brochet Champagne Premier Cru Extra Brut Le Mont Benoit

Pours a beautiful golden/bronze color. Initially tight in delivery, with a linear shot of Mirabelle plum, ginger, and chalk. Bitter on the finish, with a bite that signals the need for more time in…

Champagne Suenen Champagne Grand Cru "Les Robarts" Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut Millésime

Though it shares a similar profile to the 2013, this 2012 is a more sumptuous specimen, with ripe yellow pear, olive oil, yuzu, grilled lemon, lemon curd, coriander, orange rind, yellow apple, and…

Krug Champagne Vintage Brut

An exquisite and pristine bottle, with a solid marriage of breadth and focus. The nose offers honey and green/white melon, while the palate is gifted with yellow and green pear, yellow apple, white…

Chavost Champagne Blanc D'Assemblage Brut Nature

White melon, crunchy unripe white pear, and chalk, with a whisper of a peach note that adds interest. Finishes with the dominant white fruit elements. Very dry on the back end. As a standalone, it's…

Huré Frères Pinot Meunier Champagne 4 éléments

Crystalline and exacting in presentation, with a focused and pure delivery. No Meunier rusticity here; more of a honed profile. Though far from angular or sterile, this 4 Elements Meunier also offers…

Charles Dufour & Françoise Martinot Champagne Bistrøtage B.20 Extra Brut

I wanted to revisit this again and really take my time with it. The flavors are the same as my previous note a couple weeks ago (bristly ginger and crunchy red apple notes dominate). Paying…

Bérêche et Fils Champagne Premier Cru Les Beaux Regards

A smoother ride than last year's bottle from the same batch, this is coming into a nice window; no blocky edges here, as was the case previously. Lemon and yuzu flavors are complimented by olive oil…

Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Edition 171eme

Stellar bottle. Best 171 I've had so far. Incredibly crystalline and exacting, and yet also gorgeously gourmand in volume and flavor. Limestone, prickly pear, chalk, lime pith, and white melon rind…

Bollinger Champagne R.D. Extra Brut

This was indeed a beautiful showing, but a more subtle and somewhat quieter delivery of flavor from this particular sample. Similar to my bottle back in January (from the same lot), if perhaps…