NV Étienne Calsac Champagne Blanc de Blancs L'échappée Belle: Fun wine, getting quite tertiary with nutty, savory, and saline notes. Bead has mellowed out quite a bit. Quite nice, but seems advanced for a base 2017 Champagne.
2002 Philipponnat Champagne Brut Clos des Goisses: A deep golden brown robe. Powerful, rich, savory, and persistent, with well-integrated acidity graced with notes of caramel nuttiness, umami-laden soy and mushroom, and Christmas spices. Beautifully tertiary right now, maybe this can age more, but in a great place right now.
2006 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut: Quite powerful on the palate with an intense, lemon Pine-Sol note on the nose and palate with an aggressive, borderline disjointed acidity. A little rough right now on the palate; it almost feels acidulated. A good wine, but stylistically, Krug has always been hit or miss with me. Sometimes breathtaking, sometimes meh. This was more the latter for me, but I can appreciate the quality of the winemaking. Still feels too young and probably needs a lot more time to temper the acidity and unwind the palate.
NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Édition 168ème: This is a good bottle of Krug, but for me, it could use more time. Acidity is still a bit too jagged and angular for me. But, otherwise, a classic rendition of Krug demonstrating the house-signature palate of richness and power.
2019 Marie-Courtin Champagne Presence: Acid-driven Blanc de Blancs that is a blend of chardonnay and pinot blanc. Nice flavors of citrus, salt, and green apple on the palate. Expressive nose. Definitely, a leaner, racier style of champagne that is much more about architecture than flesh, and I think the ripeness of the vintage helped to temper the severity of the acid. Really nice balance.
NV Egly-Ouriet Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Noirs Les Crayères: Intense and powerful nose of florals, red fruit, ginger and honey. The palate is quite good, having developed an interesting tertiary honeyed nuttiness with a textured, supple roundness, but it seemed to lack liveliness and dynamism. A bit too static and one-note, though it does persist and is quite long. A nice, oxidative-styled wine. Disgorged on October 2015, elevage for 75 months, presumably a blend of 2008 and 2009 fruit.
2016 Champagne Christophe Baron Champagne Le Dessus du Bois Marie Crouttes-sur-Marne: Really nice, easy-drinking champagne with a fine mousse, crisp minerality, and notes of citrus and salt on the palate. Quite crushable. From magnum.
2013 Larmandier-Bernier Champagne Grand Cru Vieille Vigne du Levant Extra Brut: This was very tightly coiled when opening. Had hints of citrus and chalkiness on the palate, but the acidity right now is quite intense and jagged, making this a little unapproachable right now. There's clearly a lot of stuffing here and the finish is quite long, but this needs time to evolve. It did improve with more air. But I would wait at least 5-10 more years before opening another bottle.
2018 Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne UR/R18: This was an excellent champagne that was beautifully expressive and floral on the nose with loads of red fruit and orange citrus on the palate. Dense, rich, fleshy mid-palate and long, tangy finish that is all held together by the tension of the lively acidity. Just very precise and structured, which surprised me because of the vintage, which I generally haven't been a fan of in Champagne. Perhaps the vintage characteristic was what made this wine seem so giving and accessible.
2021 Emmanuel Brochet Champagne Rosé d'assemblage Extra Brut: My first experience with an Emmanuel Brochet Champagne. Beautiful and delicate red fruit and citrus on the palate girded with nice salinity and a stony minerality. Quite precise and delineated, with firm acidity and good tension. Long finish. Airy and refined on the palate. A vinous rose champagne. I was impressed.
2010 Pierre Péters Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée Speciale Blanc de Blancs Les Chetillons: A nice Champagne, but definitely richer and fleshier than I was expecting for a Blanc de Blancs. Nice tension on the palate, but the fruit was bit more yellow in character than I was expecting, like a bruised apple flavor. Still had good chalky minerality and was quite fresh on the palate. A very nice Champagne, but not quite the blockbuster I was expecting considering the producer and terroir.
2004 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut: Bright, incisive acidity, with good concentration of citrus, white fruit, chalk, and toast on the palate, yet still being light and delicate. Nice length to the finish too. Textbook Comtes.
2021 Domaine Leon Champagne Brut Nature La Grande Côte: No formal note, but intensely racy, saline and acid-driven with just a hint of volatility. Comes across as quite linear in style (and natty, to be frank). Nice wine if you are open to a more "natural" style. Maybe a bit too angular for some palates. Chardonnay.
2021 Domaine Leon Champagne Brut Nature Derrière l'église: No formal note, but another "natty" style champagne. Intense, angular, probably too young. Interesting, but definitely a touch volatile. Pinot Noir.
2014 Paul Bara Champagne Grand Cru Comtesse Marie de France: A rich, fleshy champagne that still retains good acidity and energy. Lively on the palate. Another example of a well-made champagne from Bouzy that has plenty of red fruit underscored with some chalky minerality and yeasty brioche.
2019 Ruinart Champagne Ruinart Blanc Singulier Edition 19: A nice example of a Grand Marques Blanc de Blanc: lean, incisive, predominantly citrus and chalk on the palate with some herbs. Pretty good and checks off all the boxes.
2015 Mouzon-Leroux & Fils Champagne Grand Cru Special Club Blanc de Blancs L'Angélique: Quite doughy and autolytic on the nose, but quite rich and powerful on the palate. Nice acidity and quite effervescent mousse. Very nice wine.
2002 Philipponnat Champagne Brut Clos des Goisses: A deep golden brown robe. Powerful, rich, savory, and persistent, with well-integrated acidity graced with notes of caramel nuttiness, umami-laden soy and mushroom, and Christmas spices. Beautifully tertiary right now, maybe this can age more, but in a great place right now.
2006 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut: Quite powerful on the palate with an intense, lemon Pine-Sol note on the nose and palate with an aggressive, borderline disjointed acidity. A little rough right now on the palate; it almost feels acidulated. A good wine, but stylistically, Krug has always been hit or miss with me. Sometimes breathtaking, sometimes meh. This was more the latter for me, but I can appreciate the quality of the winemaking. Still feels too young and probably needs a lot more time to temper the acidity and unwind the palate.
NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Édition 168ème: This is a good bottle of Krug, but for me, it could use more time. Acidity is still a bit too jagged and angular for me. But, otherwise, a classic rendition of Krug demonstrating the house-signature palate of richness and power.
2019 Marie-Courtin Champagne Presence: Acid-driven Blanc de Blancs that is a blend of chardonnay and pinot blanc. Nice flavors of citrus, salt, and green apple on the palate. Expressive nose. Definitely, a leaner, racier style of champagne that is much more about architecture than flesh, and I think the ripeness of the vintage helped to temper the severity of the acid. Really nice balance.
NV Egly-Ouriet Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Noirs Les Crayères: Intense and powerful nose of florals, red fruit, ginger and honey. The palate is quite good, having developed an interesting tertiary honeyed nuttiness with a textured, supple roundness, but it seemed to lack liveliness and dynamism. A bit too static and one-note, though it does persist and is quite long. A nice, oxidative-styled wine. Disgorged on October 2015, elevage for 75 months, presumably a blend of 2008 and 2009 fruit.
2016 Champagne Christophe Baron Champagne Le Dessus du Bois Marie Crouttes-sur-Marne: Really nice, easy-drinking champagne with a fine mousse, crisp minerality, and notes of citrus and salt on the palate. Quite crushable. From magnum.
2013 Larmandier-Bernier Champagne Grand Cru Vieille Vigne du Levant Extra Brut: This was very tightly coiled when opening. Had hints of citrus and chalkiness on the palate, but the acidity right now is quite intense and jagged, making this a little unapproachable right now. There's clearly a lot of stuffing here and the finish is quite long, but this needs time to evolve. It did improve with more air. But I would wait at least 5-10 more years before opening another bottle.
2018 Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne UR/R18: This was an excellent champagne that was beautifully expressive and floral on the nose with loads of red fruit and orange citrus on the palate. Dense, rich, fleshy mid-palate and long, tangy finish that is all held together by the tension of the lively acidity. Just very precise and structured, which surprised me because of the vintage, which I generally haven't been a fan of in Champagne. Perhaps the vintage characteristic was what made this wine seem so giving and accessible.
2021 Emmanuel Brochet Champagne Rosé d'assemblage Extra Brut: My first experience with an Emmanuel Brochet Champagne. Beautiful and delicate red fruit and citrus on the palate girded with nice salinity and a stony minerality. Quite precise and delineated, with firm acidity and good tension. Long finish. Airy and refined on the palate. A vinous rose champagne. I was impressed.
2010 Pierre Péters Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée Speciale Blanc de Blancs Les Chetillons: A nice Champagne, but definitely richer and fleshier than I was expecting for a Blanc de Blancs. Nice tension on the palate, but the fruit was bit more yellow in character than I was expecting, like a bruised apple flavor. Still had good chalky minerality and was quite fresh on the palate. A very nice Champagne, but not quite the blockbuster I was expecting considering the producer and terroir.
2004 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut: Bright, incisive acidity, with good concentration of citrus, white fruit, chalk, and toast on the palate, yet still being light and delicate. Nice length to the finish too. Textbook Comtes.
2021 Domaine Leon Champagne Brut Nature La Grande Côte: No formal note, but intensely racy, saline and acid-driven with just a hint of volatility. Comes across as quite linear in style (and natty, to be frank). Nice wine if you are open to a more "natural" style. Maybe a bit too angular for some palates. Chardonnay.
2021 Domaine Leon Champagne Brut Nature Derrière l'église: No formal note, but another "natty" style champagne. Intense, angular, probably too young. Interesting, but definitely a touch volatile. Pinot Noir.
2014 Paul Bara Champagne Grand Cru Comtesse Marie de France: A rich, fleshy champagne that still retains good acidity and energy. Lively on the palate. Another example of a well-made champagne from Bouzy that has plenty of red fruit underscored with some chalky minerality and yeasty brioche.
2019 Ruinart Champagne Ruinart Blanc Singulier Edition 19: A nice example of a Grand Marques Blanc de Blanc: lean, incisive, predominantly citrus and chalk on the palate with some herbs. Pretty good and checks off all the boxes.
2015 Mouzon-Leroux & Fils Champagne Grand Cru Special Club Blanc de Blancs L'Angélique: Quite doughy and autolytic on the nose, but quite rich and powerful on the palate. Nice acidity and quite effervescent mousse. Very nice wine.