Impressions from La Fete du Champagne

J

Jay Miller

Jay Miller
Jet lag hit hard that morning and I missed the Sommelier seminar due to an unplanned nap. Managed to arrive just a little late to the Grand Tasting.
Usual disclaimers - my palate and note taking declined over the course of the event, some wines could definitely use more air, etc.

Short impressions
2014 is somewhat disappointing as a vintage though as always there are plenty of exceptions.
Big wine discoveries were Benoit Marguet and the Brut Nature wines of Drappier. Then there were the totally unsurprising wow wines like 2008 Cristal and 2011 Vilmart Rubis.
Big food discovery - Despana sells the gods of tinned anchovies. They were really that good. Jamon was fine but nothing extraordinary.

Bereche
NV Brut Reserve - lovely,One of my favorites on the table
2014 Rive Gauche - usually one of my favorite Champagnes altogether, in 2014 it was good rather than great. bright berry fruit on nose, medium body
2014 Remensis Extra Brut Rose - beautiful nose, a bit leaner than most vintages
2014 Les Beau Regards - showing a bit oxidative , not something I recall from prior vintages
2010 Le Cran - bright acid, very nice

Drappier
Brut Nature Sans Soufre - fresh apple nose, very good, B+
Blancs de Blancs NV - very nice - B
Rose Nature NV - beautiful nose soft red berry fruit, lovely wine A. I'll be looking for this one.
Grand Sendree 2008 - pretty meh for a 2008

Diebolt Vallois
Blanc de Blancs NV - nice, B-/B
Blanc de Blancs 2010
Prestige NV - creamier than the first two B
Fleur de Passion 2008 - lovely, B+

Vilmart
NV Grand Cellier - what a delightful wine. lovely pure nose, lush satisfying palate A-
2013 Grand Cellier d'Or - surprisingly a step down from the previous wine. B/B+
2010 Coeur de Cuvee - needs time but impressive A-/A
2011 Grand Cellier Rubis - put a smile on my face and a kick in my step. A


Pierre Paillard - a friend said I had to try their wines. He was wrong. They were fine but a bit ordinary.

Louis Roederer
Brut Nature 2009 - I decided to skip this since I already know I love it
Rose 2012 - great nose but there was distracting sweetness on the palate. A nose, B palate
Cristal 2008 - I am sure that I will shock everyone by revealing that Cristal is great in 2008. Beautiful crystalline wine. A+

Benoit Marguet - my first time trying this producer, I was impressed
Shaman Grand Cru 2014, Certifiee bio et bio-dynamique - fascinating nose and lovely attractive palate. Natural but in a good way A-
Bouzy Grand Cru 2013 - delightful, friendly, light and airy and graceful. Less intellectual than the first wine but it put a smile on my face. A-/A
Ambonnay Grand Cru 2011 - nice good solid Champagne, a bit lean B/B+
Sapience 1er Cru 2009 certifiee bio - deep nose which rewards attention. A wine of meditation which demanded to be taken to a corner to spend time with in conversation. Wow! A

Georges Laval - not really my style, all were a bit too far in the natural direction for me.
Cumieres Premier Cru NV, Bio/Organic - C
Les Chenes 1er Cru 2014, Bio/Organic - Pleasant. B
Les Hautes Cheveres 1er Cru 2013, Bio/Organic - B-
Les Longues Violes 1er Cru 2012 Bio/Organic - C+

Pol Roger
Brut Reserve NV - B
Brut Vintage 2009 A-
Rose Vintage 2009 - Not much on the nose, a bit rough,B
Sir Winston Churchill 2009 - Quite closed but sparkling with occasional hints of greatness. I'd like to try it with much more air.

Lallier - none were all that enjoyable


Pierre Peters
Cuvee de Reserve Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru NV
Reserve Oubliee Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru NV
L'Etonnant Monsieur Victor MK11 Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru NV - very good, B+/A-
Les Chetillons Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru NV 2011

Some extras:

2006 Dom Perignon (magnum) - good complete Champagne. B+/A-
1999 Piper Heidsick Rare - perhaps my favorite nose of the day. Nose A/A+, palate B/B+
2014 Fourrier Cherbaudes - showing rather ripe for a Fourrier and for a 2014. Nothing exciting.
2017 Huet Le Haut Lieu Sec - really nice minerally wine. A quintessential Vouvray Sec
 
i agree with the pierre paillard. there's quite a bit of excitment on this producer in the press, but the bottle i had of the millesine 2006 didn't live up to any of the hype.
 
My experience with Marguet has been decidedly mixed. Sophie has waxed eloquent on these wines and others love them. I've had good bottles and "mouse" bottles but no excellent bottles. I guess I'll have to keep trying.

Agree on the Drappier. I need to find out who brings it in to NC.
 
Jay, thanks for the impressions.

The few bottles of Laval I’ve tried were fiercely acidic to the point I didn’t want to buy more. Very small sample size though.

I love Bereche, the rose and the Beau Regards especially. Interesting that the NV bottle showed the best. The NV is a good value and maybe my favorite in that category. Haven’t tried Paillard yet, will try and fine a bottle.
 
originally posted by VLM:
My experience with Marguet has been decidedly mixed. Sophie has waxed eloquent on these wines and others love them. I've had good bottles and "mouse" bottles but no excellent bottles. I guess I'll have to keep trying.

Agree on the Drappier. I need to find out who brings it in to NC.
Click to expand...

Jayson agrees with you. He was much less impressed than I was. But then I was really impressed.
 
originally posted by Marc D:
Jay, thanks for the impressions.

The few bottles of Laval I’ve tried were fiercely acidic to the point I didn’t want to buy more. Very small sample size though.

I love Bereche, the rose and the Beau Regards especially. Interesting that the NV bottle showed the best. The NV is a good value and maybe my favorite in that category. Haven’t tried Paillard yet, will try and fine a bottle.
Click to expand...

I think it came down to vintage. Interestingly, I loved the Remensis in the theoretically off vintages of 2010 and 2011 but the 2014 is the weakest I've had to date.
 
On another bored John G says that Laval needs age to show its quality at which point it is great. I would certainly defer to him on that as I've never had a bottle that spent any time in the cellar.
 
originally posted by Jay Miller:
originally posted by VLM:
My experience with Marguet has been decidedly mixed. Sophie has waxed eloquent on these wines and others love them. I've had good bottles and "mouse" bottles but no excellent bottles. I guess I'll have to keep trying.

Agree on the Drappier. I need to find out who brings it in to NC.
Click to expand...

Jayson agrees with you. He was much less impressed than I was. But then I was really impressed.
Click to expand...

That’s true. I was underwhelmed. 2011 Ambonnay was my favorite from Marguet.

I hope to find time to write up my thoughts. I started but couldn’t finish.

We are certainly in agreement on Cristal. The clear star among the wines I tried. Both Roederer and Vilmart sang to me across the board.

1996 Bernard Morey Chassagne Caillerets deserves a mention in the still category too, as well as 2000 Sigaut Chambolle Sentiers VV and 1993 Grivot NSG Boudots from magnum. The latter I suspect would have been off the charts if it had been properly decanted. I’m very happy to have a couple bottles of the Morey in my cellar still.
 
originally posted by Jayson Cohen:
originally posted by Jay Miller:
originally posted by VLM:
My experience with Marguet has been decidedly mixed. Sophie has waxed eloquent on these wines and others love them. I've had good bottles and "mouse" bottles but no excellent bottles. I guess I'll have to keep trying.

Agree on the Drappier. I need to find out who brings it in to NC.
Click to expand...

Jayson agrees with you. He was much less impressed than I was. But then I was really impressed.
Click to expand...

That’s true. I was underwhelmed. 2011 Ambonnay was my favorite from Marguet.

I hope to find time to write up my thoughts. I started but couldn’t finish.

We are certainly in agreement on Cristal. The clear star among the wines I tried. Both Roederer and Vilmart sang to me across the board.

1996 Bernard Morey Chassagne Caillerets deserves a mention in the still category too, as well as 2000 Sigaut Chambolle Sentiers VV and 1993 Grivot NSG Boudots from magnum. The latter I suspect would have been off the charts if it had been properly decanted. I’m very happy to have a couple bottles of the Morey in my cellar still.
Click to expand...

That Morey was one of the great young 1er Cru white Burgundies ever, IME. Mine all p'oxed. [sad face]
 
We went to the morning theise/liem/bonne seminar, where a 2012 pierre paillard blanc de blancs was the last wine served. I don't have my notes on me but can edit the post later with the exact bottling. It was excellent, perhaps outstanding when you consider the generosity of the vintage that may not be to everyone's taste.
 
originally posted by VLM:
My experience with Marguet has been decidedly mixed. Sophie has waxed eloquent on these wines and others love them. I've had good bottles and "mouse" bottles but no excellent bottles. I guess I'll have to keep trying.
Click to expand...

2012 les crayeres

do it.
 
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