Schloss Gobelsburg Brut Reserve (Austria) A blend of pinot noir, riesling, and grner veltliner. Wet and sour with green pear and apple. Finely beaded, with hints of gunshot. Leafy. Powdery, ground-level dust and extremely sour watermelon come to dominate the finish, like a too-old Jolly Rancher (but dry). Fairly complex, long, and very tart. (12/08)
Brndlmayer Brut Ros (Austria) Pink and soft, with electrified crystal flowers that re-soften on the finish. A bit girly in its pinkish Hello Kitty-ness. Spun candy on the finish. Frothy. Im not a fan. (12/08)
Pierre Gimonnet Champagne Cuis 1er Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs (Champagne) Striking nose of rainforest rocks and humidity. Huge lemon brioche (sprinkled with grapefruit shavings) on the palate. Theres excellent balance between bitterness and acidity. Massively long and frankly gorgeous, with skins dominating right now, and a very trebly midpalate that I expect to mellow with a little age. (12/08)
Pierre Peters Champagne Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Grand Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs Cuve Rserve (Champagne) Heady toast and pastry, ripe lemon, and Granny Smith apple. Very powerful with a fine baring of its minerality on the finish. The nose is just a little weirdan odd mix of youthful and advanced characteristics that dont quite gel. Perhaps in time. (12/08)
Jean Milan Champagne Oger Grand Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs Spcial (Champagne) Delicate, with fine-grained crystals. Crisp but fullish acidity, ripe lime, and lots of molten metalwhich hardens on the finish, driven through like a ramrod. Long and in need of time, despite the presence of lovely hints of maturity dancing around the aromas. (12/08)
Jean Milan 2002 Champagne Oger Grand Cru Brut Blanc de Blanc Slection Terres de Nol (Champagne) Beautiful. Soft golden complexity, with a hint of curry dusting exotic flowers and heirloom apples. Very pure and gentle. Extremely long, eventually getting around to showing apples in every possible form, from flower to juice. Gorgeous. (12/08)
Goutorbe Champagne A Brut Cuve Prestige (Champagne) Granadilla, crustacean cream, and paper over a chalky bedrock. Very spare and cylindrical in form, with a wall of minerality. Unfortunately, it never fills in, and never achieves any suggestion of grace. (12/08)
Gaston Chiquet Champagne 1er Cru Brut Tradition (Champagne) Wind-swept and cold, with rinds and hard-edged quarts. Frothy. Unconvincing in this company, and Im surprised, because this is a wine I usually like. (12/08)
Marc Hebrart Champagne Mareuil-sur-A 1er Cru Brut Cuve de Rserve (Champagne) Brioche, yeast, mixed apples, and hints of stone fruit over paper. A bit frothy. Persistent. OK. (12/08)
Ren Goeffroy Champagne 1er Cru Brut Expression (Champagne) Almost minty, but at least herbal. Buzzes with electrically-charged freshness and static. Full of lovely gentility. Red-tinged fruit, but sprightly rather than deep. Fun. (12/08)
A. Margaine Champagne Villers-Marmery 1er Cru Brut (Champagne) At first, a perfect blend of fresh apple, grape, and sweaty yeast, with sharper slashes of lime sorbet later on. And then, it turns into a cherry-lime rickey. Vivid to the extent that it suggests neon, but clean, strong, and exceptionally long. One for the cellar, for sure. (12/08)
Chartogne-Taillet Champagne Brut Cuve Sainte-Anne (Champagne) Very red-influenced, with ripe strawberries, rose hips, and leaves. Simple-seeming fruit is quickly followed up by waves of complex minerality (chalk seems to be the dominant component), and the finish is abundant with jewels and glitter. Very nice. (12/08)
Jean Lallement Champagne Verzenay Grand Cru Brut (Champagne) Mist-shrouded but heady, with suggestions of animalistic wildness. Sauvage, perhaps, and thats not something Ive ever said about a Champagne not made by Selosse. Intense lemon-loam (as opposed to lemon-lime), clementine. Turns a bit unctuous as it broadens, and the finish is a bit of a disappointment in its lack of length. (12/08)
Jean Lallement Champagne Verzenay Grand Cru Brut Cuve Rserve (Champagne) Crushed strawberry and rather bodacious red cherry, leaves, and thyme. Smells fruit-sweet. Sizeable. Rolling watermelon rock candy on the finish, and then the tactile sensation of frozen metal to which one has unwisely stuck their tongue. I cant quite figure this one out. (12/08)
Aubry Champagne Jouy-les-Reims Grand Cru Brut Ros (Champagne) Tart cranberry somewhat overwhelms a core that leans more towards red and black cherry; this is a wine that leads with its acidity, and never takes its foot off the sour pedal. And is that hollyberry? Sharp and linear. Not really my thing; its more like an intermezzo that it is a beverage, though I suppose with the right accompaniment it could sing. Maybe an edgy berry dessert? (12/08)
A. Margaine Champagne Brut Ros (Champagne) Ripe red cherry and cereal. Very balanced. Laser-like purity that softens just a touch more than Id like as the wine lingers. Long, though. Steady-state. Theres potential here, but probably not enough to reach the pinnacle. (12/08)
Ren Geoffroy Champagne 1er Cru Brut Ros de Saigne (Champagne) Sweet-glazed biscuit, fresh red fruit (strawberry, mostlyincluding the seeds). Pure and complex. Theres a fine foundation of stones ground into gravel, and a lovely, drying, mineral component to the finish. Very, very good, but not at its peak yet. (12/08)
Brndlmayer Brut Ros (Austria) Pink and soft, with electrified crystal flowers that re-soften on the finish. A bit girly in its pinkish Hello Kitty-ness. Spun candy on the finish. Frothy. Im not a fan. (12/08)
Pierre Gimonnet Champagne Cuis 1er Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs (Champagne) Striking nose of rainforest rocks and humidity. Huge lemon brioche (sprinkled with grapefruit shavings) on the palate. Theres excellent balance between bitterness and acidity. Massively long and frankly gorgeous, with skins dominating right now, and a very trebly midpalate that I expect to mellow with a little age. (12/08)
Pierre Peters Champagne Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Grand Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs Cuve Rserve (Champagne) Heady toast and pastry, ripe lemon, and Granny Smith apple. Very powerful with a fine baring of its minerality on the finish. The nose is just a little weirdan odd mix of youthful and advanced characteristics that dont quite gel. Perhaps in time. (12/08)
Jean Milan Champagne Oger Grand Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs Spcial (Champagne) Delicate, with fine-grained crystals. Crisp but fullish acidity, ripe lime, and lots of molten metalwhich hardens on the finish, driven through like a ramrod. Long and in need of time, despite the presence of lovely hints of maturity dancing around the aromas. (12/08)
Jean Milan 2002 Champagne Oger Grand Cru Brut Blanc de Blanc Slection Terres de Nol (Champagne) Beautiful. Soft golden complexity, with a hint of curry dusting exotic flowers and heirloom apples. Very pure and gentle. Extremely long, eventually getting around to showing apples in every possible form, from flower to juice. Gorgeous. (12/08)
Goutorbe Champagne A Brut Cuve Prestige (Champagne) Granadilla, crustacean cream, and paper over a chalky bedrock. Very spare and cylindrical in form, with a wall of minerality. Unfortunately, it never fills in, and never achieves any suggestion of grace. (12/08)
Gaston Chiquet Champagne 1er Cru Brut Tradition (Champagne) Wind-swept and cold, with rinds and hard-edged quarts. Frothy. Unconvincing in this company, and Im surprised, because this is a wine I usually like. (12/08)
Marc Hebrart Champagne Mareuil-sur-A 1er Cru Brut Cuve de Rserve (Champagne) Brioche, yeast, mixed apples, and hints of stone fruit over paper. A bit frothy. Persistent. OK. (12/08)
Ren Goeffroy Champagne 1er Cru Brut Expression (Champagne) Almost minty, but at least herbal. Buzzes with electrically-charged freshness and static. Full of lovely gentility. Red-tinged fruit, but sprightly rather than deep. Fun. (12/08)
A. Margaine Champagne Villers-Marmery 1er Cru Brut (Champagne) At first, a perfect blend of fresh apple, grape, and sweaty yeast, with sharper slashes of lime sorbet later on. And then, it turns into a cherry-lime rickey. Vivid to the extent that it suggests neon, but clean, strong, and exceptionally long. One for the cellar, for sure. (12/08)
Chartogne-Taillet Champagne Brut Cuve Sainte-Anne (Champagne) Very red-influenced, with ripe strawberries, rose hips, and leaves. Simple-seeming fruit is quickly followed up by waves of complex minerality (chalk seems to be the dominant component), and the finish is abundant with jewels and glitter. Very nice. (12/08)
Jean Lallement Champagne Verzenay Grand Cru Brut (Champagne) Mist-shrouded but heady, with suggestions of animalistic wildness. Sauvage, perhaps, and thats not something Ive ever said about a Champagne not made by Selosse. Intense lemon-loam (as opposed to lemon-lime), clementine. Turns a bit unctuous as it broadens, and the finish is a bit of a disappointment in its lack of length. (12/08)
Jean Lallement Champagne Verzenay Grand Cru Brut Cuve Rserve (Champagne) Crushed strawberry and rather bodacious red cherry, leaves, and thyme. Smells fruit-sweet. Sizeable. Rolling watermelon rock candy on the finish, and then the tactile sensation of frozen metal to which one has unwisely stuck their tongue. I cant quite figure this one out. (12/08)
Aubry Champagne Jouy-les-Reims Grand Cru Brut Ros (Champagne) Tart cranberry somewhat overwhelms a core that leans more towards red and black cherry; this is a wine that leads with its acidity, and never takes its foot off the sour pedal. And is that hollyberry? Sharp and linear. Not really my thing; its more like an intermezzo that it is a beverage, though I suppose with the right accompaniment it could sing. Maybe an edgy berry dessert? (12/08)
A. Margaine Champagne Brut Ros (Champagne) Ripe red cherry and cereal. Very balanced. Laser-like purity that softens just a touch more than Id like as the wine lingers. Long, though. Steady-state. Theres potential here, but probably not enough to reach the pinnacle. (12/08)
Ren Geoffroy Champagne 1er Cru Brut Ros de Saigne (Champagne) Sweet-glazed biscuit, fresh red fruit (strawberry, mostlyincluding the seeds). Pure and complex. Theres a fine foundation of stones ground into gravel, and a lovely, drying, mineral component to the finish. Very, very good, but not at its peak yet. (12/08)