Lassaigne, Brovia, Cappellano

J

Josh Beck

Josh Beck
J Lassaigne Le Cotet (07 vintage code)
Sweet fruit, brioche and cream. Some mineral notes but hiding behind the creamy sweet aspects. Marshmallow on the nose and through on the palate really distracts - seems to be barrique influence and I would prefer without. Hard to say how this will age / integrate, as the wine is very young (the 07 version) but a bit underwhelming to me.

06 Brovia Villero
Very ripe, heading almost to raisin. Very complex and rich with balsam, sandalwood, overt dust and stoney minerality, anise, menthol, violets, leather, cinnamon, so much going on. Limpid and pure on the palate with sweet dried red fruits and very sweet / ripe tannin. Really pushes the ripeness to a level that I think is unnecessary and almost too far for my tastes, but ultimately it is still a fantastic, complex, engaging bottle.

05 Cappellano Pie Rupestris
Pure is the word here. Fully ripe and bursting with fresh cherry juice, rainwater, dusty earth and roses. Focused and lifted. Concentrated, powerful and long. Masculine but refined, this appears to be a wine for the ages. Really exceptional.

This was a very interesting comparison between the Brovia and the Cappellano. It is only one data point, granted. Both were fantastic wines but I clearly preferred the style of the Cappellano, and I suspect that the vintage played into that preference as well. However, I think that ultimately the Brovia had more complexity which makes me ponder the respective terroirs...
 
Josh, thanks for the notes on the Baroli. I was pondering on whether to try the Brovia Villero. From your note it sounds like it is not yet closed down. Did you have these recently?
 
These were Friday night.

I think the raisin character was largely indicative of how ripe the grapes were when picked, and not indicative of the wine being about to shut down. The wine was as open and effusive as could be reasonably imagined.
 
originally posted by Josh Beck:
Lassaigne, Brovia, CappellanoJ Lassaigne Le Cotet (07 vintage code)
Sweet fruit, brioche and cream. Some mineral notes but hiding behind the creamy sweet aspects. Marshmallow on the nose and through on the palate really distracts - seems to be barrique influence and I would prefer without. Hard to say how this will age / integrate, as the wine is very young (the 07 version) but a bit underwhelming to me.

06 Brovia Villero
Very ripe, heading almost to raisin. Very complex and rich with balsam, sandalwood, overt dust and stoney minerality, anise, menthol, violets, leather, cinnamon, so much going on. Limpid and pure on the palate with sweet dried red fruits and very sweet / ripe tannin. Really pushes the ripeness to a level that I think is unnecessary and almost too far for my tastes, but ultimately it is still a fantastic, complex, engaging bottle.

05 Cappellano Pie Rupestris
Pure is the word here. Fully ripe and bursting with fresh cherry juice, rainwater, dusty earth and roses. Focused and lifted. Concentrated, powerful and long. Masculine but refined, this appears to be a wine for the ages. Really exceptional.

This was a very interesting comparison between the Brovia and the Cappellano. It is only one data point, granted. Both were fantastic wines but I clearly preferred the style of the Cappellano, and I suspect that the vintage played into that preference as well. However, I think that ultimately the Brovia had more complexity which makes me ponder the respective terroirs...
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I've also never really loved Lassaigne, although I seem to be in the minority.

I think the vintage difference is the biggest thing here, not a drastic stylistic difference.

Oh, and thanks for the note on the Capellano I don't remember whether I've had it, but I don't think so.
 
originally posted by VLM:
I think the vintage difference is the biggest thing here, not a drastic stylistic difference.

Oh, and thanks for the note on the Capellano I don't remember whether I've had it, but I don't think so.
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Have you had those two bottles by chance? While I agree that vintage character plays a part in this, I am more suspicious that picking decision is the ultimate culprit. I've had plenty of 06's that are not this ripe, and I've had 05's that are far worse (or rather, one - Cascina Francia)...
 
originally posted by VLM:
originally posted by Josh Beck:
J Lassaigne Le Cotet (07 vintage code)
Sweet fruit, brioche and cream. Some mineral notes but hiding behind the creamy sweet aspects. Marshmallow on the nose and through on the palate really distracts - seems to be barrique influence and I would prefer without. Hard to say how this will age / integrate, as the wine is very young (the 07 version) but a bit underwhelming to me.
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I've also never really loved Lassaigne, although I seem to be in the minority.
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Interesting. When I had dinner with a wine importer to the US a few weeks ago, he had the same perception/idea of Lassaigne as being oaky and uninteresting. Obviously this prompted ordering one. It wasn't oaked, and we (and several people at a neighboring table we called in to share) quite enjoyed it. But it was the Vignes de Montgueux (i.e. the first cuvée). He'd remembered it was oaked. Perhaps his memory was instead of Le Cotet? (We questioned this at the time.)

OK, I turn to the specialist, Peter Liem. Per Peter at ChampagneGuide.net, 1/10th of Le Cotet sees barrel.

On a side note, a hyper-hipster natural winemaker told me a couple of weeks ago: Oh, Lassaigne, this and that.

I shake my head. His wines are great, to my taste. Yet I noted with curiosity that he seemed to have gone beyond the acceptable level of the natural/hipster mark to too great of an availability (was that it?). In truth, I shake my head, but sociologically, it's interesting. Is L the most represented of "hipster" champagnes? A sellout (only in terms of recognition, not quality)?
 
originally posted by MarkS:
Brovia is making Sforzato's now? Yummy...
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Nearly, though that's just head nodding as I've never had a Sforzato di Valtellina (or di anything else though that's the one I know of and that I assume you're referencing).

It was certainly an interesting and provocative bottle. So ripe but still with elements of freshness to it. That and the fact that it improved dramatically with air rather than falling apart give me hope for the future. I'm curious to try the rest of the 06 Brovias now, and I'll be curious to see where they go.
 
originally posted by Sharon Bowman:
On a side note, a hyper-hipster natural winemaker told me a couple of weeks ago: Oh, Lassaigne, this and that.

I shake my head. His wines are great, to my taste. Yet I noted with curiosity that he seemed to have gone beyond the acceptable level of the natural/hipster mark to too great of an availability (was that it?). In truth, I shake my head, but sociologically, it's interesting. Is L the most represented of "hipster" champagnes? A sellout (only in terms of recognition, not quality)?
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All the skinny jean cred in the world doesn't make a wine taste better. The Le Cotet wasn't so good to my tastes. Nothing more, nothing less.
 
originally posted by Josh Beck:
originally posted by VLM:
I think the vintage difference is the biggest thing here, not a drastic stylistic difference.

Oh, and thanks for the note on the Capellano I don't remember whether I've had it, but I don't think so.
Click to expand...

Have you had those two bottles by chance? While I agree that vintage character plays a part in this, I am more suspicious that picking decision is the ultimate culprit. I've had plenty of 06's that are not this ripe, and I've had 05's that are far worse (or rather, one - Cascina Francia)...
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No, I generally buy Ca'Mia and oftentimes Rocche. I tend to buy them without tasting, so haven't had the Villero. If I had the Capellano, it would have been in the context of an industry tasting, not sitting with it over dinner. My general impressions of the vintage were that the 2006s were quite ripe and that the 2005s were much more linear. Haven't had CF either, would you suggest averring? I was planning on the producer/vintage combo making me happy and it is cheaper, by a good margin, than 2004/6.
 
I agree w/ your vintage assessment but I would say that the Brovia Villero is one of the ripest 06's I've had and the 05 CF is one of the ripest 05's I've had. I still liked the Brovia, not the CF. Everyone seems to think I'm crazy calling CF overripe, so take from that what you will...
 
originally posted by Josh Beck:
I agree w/ your vintage assessment but I would say that the Brovia Villero is one of the ripest 06's I've had and the 05 CF is one of the ripest 05's I've had. I still liked the Brovia, not the CF. Everyone seems to think I'm crazy calling CF overripe, so take from that what you will...
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Crazy like a fox.

And there is a difference between Serralunga and Castiglione Falletto to consider.
 
originally posted by Josh Beck:
originally posted by Sharon Bowman:
On a side note, a hyper-hipster natural winemaker told me a couple of weeks ago: Oh, Lassaigne, this and that.

I shake my head. His wines are great, to my taste. Yet I noted with curiosity that he seemed to have gone beyond the acceptable level of the natural/hipster mark to too great of an availability (was that it?). In truth, I shake my head, but sociologically, it's interesting. Is L the most represented of "hipster" champagnes? A sellout (only in terms of recognition, not quality)?
Click to expand...

All the skinny jean cred in the world doesn't make a wine taste better. The Le Cotet wasn't so good to my tastes. Nothing more, nothing less.
Click to expand...

As I wrote, it was only a side sociological note, not something I expected to have influenced your appreciation of the wine.

It sounds as though it had too much dosage for your taste.
 
originally posted by Sharon Bowman:
As I wrote, it was only a side sociological note, not something I expected to have influenced your appreciation of the wine.

It sounds as though it had too much dosage for your taste.
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At first I was suspicious of the dosage but alas, it proclaims extra brut. Just tastes like caramel apples so I presume the oak...
 
My experience with Le Cotet, which is one of my very favorite champagnes, is that it rewards lots of attention.

I actually don't know how one would write about Le Cotet in tasting note form, as there are few young wines that I have ever witnessed changing that much in the glass from moment to moment. There is considerable development that unfolds, and much of what happens can be fleeting.

You really have to spend the time.
 
I have enjoyed manu lassaigne's wines for a few years now and had the chance to visit him a few months ago. Charming guy, and definitely not on the same page as selosse when it comes to oak.
Peter liem says 10%, i don't remember even asking as i was never bother by it, but i did have a disapointing bottle of le cotet a couple days ago. Great ripe nose, but quite simple, too simple really. A very short finish, lacking all the minerals and complexity expected from a $65 or more bottle of bubbles... I'll stick to the "les vignes" and the occasional "papilles insolites" when i can get my hands on some.
 
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