From last night’s dinner. The 2004 Bollinger RD was from me, an old reliable for less casual meals. The Champagne Pierre Péters L’Etonnat Monsieur Victor Ed. MK. 11 Blanc de Blancs was from my friend, Eric, who was said dinner’s host.
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Sabine Godme Blanc de Blancs - This was about the best champagne I could find at a very poor liquor store that is fairly conveniently located on my way home from work. I was looking for a few cellar defenders and figured this would do the trick. Poors light in color with almost a slight tinge of pale green. Entry is granny smith, lemon, hint of pear, and just a touch of almond and some minerality. Just a hint of lees and white bread on the back palate and finish. It’s a fair champagne, with good enough freshness. I think that you can tell this is probably okay fruit that would likely be acid driven and racy but for a fair dosage at 8g/l, which creates some artificial richness. A bit simple, but fairly enjoyable. This is right on that 90 point area. Better than a Roederer Estate, or Schramsberg bdb, but not a particularly complex wine. Still, okay for what it is. I would be fine buying this in such a store again.
On Wednesday night my monthly steakhouse group switched things up with a theme of Champagne and white wines and had five Champagnes.
I’m not familiar with Gimonnet Gonet, but a L’Origines BdB was enjoyable, fresh and on the leaner side without being painfully austere.
My 1990 Billecart-Salmon Champagne Cuvée Nicolas-François Billecart was lovely, not showing much carbonation and showing its age with gold color and some nuttiness, but finishing with lively bright acidity. I should add that in the picture below, the Champagne in the flute next to the Billecart bottle is the Gimmonet Gonet, not the Billecart.
I’ve had mixed results with no dosage Champagne, as I find some to be painfully austere, but a Laurent-Perrier Ultra Brut Nature had enough meat on the bones for me to enjoy it.
Finally, we had a pair of 2008s. A Laurent-Perrier Brut drank well with decent weight and brightness, but was overshadowed by an outstanding Dom Perignon. I’ve had the Dom several times and this bottle was consistent with past bottles. The two wines showed a lot of similarities, but the Dom has a crystalline structure that frames the concentration so well that the L-P seemed a bit muddled in comparison.
Well done, Mike. I think the 08 LP is good at the price point, but the DP is obviously one of the best ever.
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Looks like one of your friends buys from FatCork. I don’t profess to know too much about Gimmonet-Gonet, but I’ve really liked what I’ve tried from FatCorks offerings (though I haven’t signed up for their club membership).
Here’s a photographic synopsis of the wines from our Baltic/Scandinavian trip. We’re drying out now, so it might be my last post this week.
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I’m not familiar with FatCork, but I think the friend who brought it said he got it at a local retailer.
Right on. FatCork is located in Seattle and they focus solely on Champagne. Gimmonet-Gonet is one of the producers they carry and so far they’re the only retailer I’ve seen carry them. If you’re friend got it locally, then I’m very interested to see what else that store carries!
FatCork looks fun (= dangerous). Based on what they carry, do the clubs seem like a good deal per se, or just more of a good opportunity to try a variety of growers? Looks like around $66/bottle.
I haven’t signed up for the club because I’m much more a buy as I drink person. But, I’ve noticed that being a club member opens up What is available to buy. I do really like that they have a unique selection of harder to find producers and I’ve enjoyed pretty much everything I’ve bought from them
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Deutz
Warren,
I thought I sent you a PM but not sure it worked. I’d love to know the name of the champagne shop you found in Copenhagen. I’ll be there next month and travel there frequently for work,so I especially appreciated the posts about your trip!
Any other tips most appreciated.
Thanks
Jennifer
Fat Cork is an outstanding shop. I finally had the opportunity to visit in June (2021) and wasn’t disappointed. A very healthy selection of extra brut & brut nature.
Jennifer,
PM sent. Say “Hi” to Simon, and tell him I said “thank you” for the old Krug and other wines I bought, and for the “Champagne Simon” shirt he gifted me.
Cheers
Warren
03 DP P2 tonight. Amazing how it developed over hours in the glass. Suspect vintage, but this one will continue to shine for the next several years.
K John,
I agree with you, Sabine’s Blanc de Blanc is certainly good for what it is.
Based on the BdB, we tried the Grand Cru Terre De Verzenay, with 3g/l which is certainly worth looking into if you see it as well.
Competent and enjoyable, with nice fruit and finish.
The dosage really makes the difference with a lot of wines. I am still getting my legs in Champagne, but the low dosage or au naturels really hit home.
Sunday mornings with
Marguet Les Saint Rémys 2014
100% Pinot Noir.
Powerful nose of sweet Cherry with a hint flambé crust. Nose and initial hit would have me think it might have a couple gm of dosage (it doesn’t). Laser like focus on the palate makes quick notice of the acid structure here. Really great stuffing here and lots to unwind for the future. If you have two pop one for those cherries but bury the other for 5 years.
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Extracted from a thread just posted:
1999 LOUIS ROEDERER CRISTAL- 8 gpl; 57% Pinot Noir, 43% Chardonnay; Ive had a few 99 Cristal in the past and all have been marvelous, but the last one was in 2019, so I was not sure as to what to expect here; Im also thinking that at age 23, this should be more evolved than what I had experienced previously and moving closer to its apogee; good news, in fact, great news; although the cork came out a bit too easy, when poured, small, tight bubbles were present and it had a light yellow color; no indication of oxidation; the nose confirmed this was a great bottle with nice stone fruit notes that later on stepped aside in favor of some really nice citrus fruit; the stone fruit consisted of yellow peach and apricot and the citrus, lemon and orange which was embellished by accents of honeysuckle and ginger; it was perfectly balanced, full bodied, had a lovely creamy texture and bright acidity; this bottle held a steady course throughout the entire evening and each taste was just as spectacular as those before; we had a STELLAR bottle and all of the pleasures of drinking superlative champagne were realized; I’m grateful for my friends generosity to share it and for the showing of this treasure.
Cheers,
Blake
Do you think it’s a waste if you open a of fairly nice 2011 / 2012 Champagne or just go **** it and enjoy it anyway? I am starting to even like NV champagne with a little extra bottle age. Do you feel bottle regret when opening a wine too soon or do you just chalk it up to a learning experience so you have a reference point for down the road?
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If you are addressing the questions to me since my post was the last one, I’ll be happy to add a couple of cents/ sense.
I never consider it a waist to open any wine in its youth as it serves to provide a baseline of where it came from and perhaps some indications as to where it might go. And, if I have a few bottles of the same wine, then I have the fun experience of tracking them and seeing what happens over time which provides some input as to what to do with future wines of like and kind. Re Cristal, I’ve had way too many in their youth, especially 08 09 and 12 and I've loved every bottle, but the last 08 was the best ever and the last 09` was the best ever and …
For me, I am not a fan of oxidized wines nor even those oxidative notes that tend to make all wines more like all others that have aged to that extent. Some folks love that and the more oxidized, the better. I’ll go for the younger ones and error on that side. Re Cristal, I will wait to open 2013 for at least a year or so, but then, it’s fair game.
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