Champagne Dinner - The Vine - Brisbane
Posted on 13/08/07 16:37
A great range of Champagnes with like minded Champagne aficionados. This gave many the opportunity to taste some new growers and some rare cuvees.
Jacques Lassaigne - Cuvee 'Le Cotet' Blanc de Blancs
Emmanuel Laissagne is an up and coming star of Montgueux - just near Troyes. Wonderfull minerality and finesse here. Very pale with a pin-point persistant mousse. Even though an Extra Brut - there is massive intensity and richness. Quite superb and a unanimous favourite. This particular cuvee is mainly all 2002.
David Leclapart Cuvee L'Amateur Blanc de Blancs
A very refined style. Quite aloof and restrained. Tiny mousse with a gentle foam. Lovely minerals with a hint of smoke and earth. Very classy but a few found this a little too elegant. Vineyards are all biodynamic. David used to work for Leclrec-Briant before venturing on his own.
Agrapart Millesime 2000 Cuvee Minerale Blanc de Blancs
Lovely Avize spice with a gentle hint of oak. Very soft and approachable for early drinking. Great balance and weight. Very popular on the night. Not a long term cellaring proposition but a very nice wine.
Pascal Doquet Grand Cru Blanc de Blanc 'Le Mesnil-sur-Oger'
Doquet is based in 1er Cru Vertus but also makes some Grand Crus from other villages. Quite a soft, fat rich style. Maybe lacking a little in finesse and elegance but still a very enjoyable mouthfull.
Tarlant - La Vigne d'Antan Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut
Very subtle yet savoury. Has purity and finesse but needs more time in the bottle or maybe on lees. A great wine and one for the cellar. From ungrafted Chardonnay in sandy soil.
Bruno Michel Cuvee de la Terre Blanc de Blancs
A Blanc de Blancs from the emerging region of 'Southern Epernay'. Biodynamic viticulture and maturation in oak barriques yields a wine with Selosse overtones. Rich and intense. A great food wine.
Franck Pascal Cuvee Alexis Brut Non Dose.
This is 85% CH and 15% Pinot Noir. A much richer style - this being from the northern Marne region just above Villers-sous-Chatillon. Heaps of weight and intensity - with red fruits quite obvious from the small proportion of Pinot. Definitely a food wine.
Lemaire Rasselet 1996 Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut
Wow - this wine reinforces how great the 1996 vintage can be when properly handled by sympathetic producers. A huge nose of minerals, lemons and limes. Palate carries through with the richness but the acid keeps all in check. Massive length here. Will keep for years - but this is a great drink even now.
1998 Veuve Fourny Clos de Notre Dame Blanc de Blancs.
A very pure expression of Chardonnay - very youthfull - almost inert. A classic for long aging in a cool cellar. A great wine from a .22 ares parcel of vines next to the family home in Vertus.
Eric Rodez 1998 Blanc de Blancs Empreinte de Terroir.
A massive and pure expression of Ambonnay Chardonnay. Eric work for Krug a few years ago - and this is hommage to what he learned there. Unctuous with real power and weight.
Benard Pitois NV Rose Mareuil-sur-Ay
Mainly pinot but also a good proportion of Chardonnay that has been aged in oak. Lovely spice from the subtle oak - a tingling sherbet character. A classic food or aperitif rose in a more elegant style.
Jacques Lassaigne - Cuvee 'Le Cotet' Blanc de Blancs
Emmanuel Laissagne is an up and coming star of Montgueux - just near Troyes. Wonderfull minerality and finesse here. Very pale with a pin-point persistant mousse. Even though an Extra Brut - there is massive intensity and richness. Quite superb and a unanimous favourite. This particular cuvee is mainly all 2002.
David Leclapart Cuvee L'Amateur Blanc de Blancs
A very refined style. Quite aloof and restrained. Tiny mousse with a gentle foam. Lovely minerals with a hint of smoke and earth. Very classy but a few found this a little too elegant. Vineyards are all biodynamic. David used to work for Leclrec-Briant before venturing on his own.
Agrapart Millesime 2000 Cuvee Minerale Blanc de Blancs
Lovely Avize spice with a gentle hint of oak. Very soft and approachable for early drinking. Great balance and weight. Very popular on the night. Not a long term cellaring proposition but a very nice wine.
Pascal Doquet Grand Cru Blanc de Blanc 'Le Mesnil-sur-Oger'
Doquet is based in 1er Cru Vertus but also makes some Grand Crus from other villages. Quite a soft, fat rich style. Maybe lacking a little in finesse and elegance but still a very enjoyable mouthfull.
Tarlant - La Vigne d'Antan Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut
Very subtle yet savoury. Has purity and finesse but needs more time in the bottle or maybe on lees. A great wine and one for the cellar. From ungrafted Chardonnay in sandy soil.
Bruno Michel Cuvee de la Terre Blanc de Blancs
A Blanc de Blancs from the emerging region of 'Southern Epernay'. Biodynamic viticulture and maturation in oak barriques yields a wine with Selosse overtones. Rich and intense. A great food wine.
Franck Pascal Cuvee Alexis Brut Non Dose.
This is 85% CH and 15% Pinot Noir. A much richer style - this being from the northern Marne region just above Villers-sous-Chatillon. Heaps of weight and intensity - with red fruits quite obvious from the small proportion of Pinot. Definitely a food wine.
Lemaire Rasselet 1996 Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut
Wow - this wine reinforces how great the 1996 vintage can be when properly handled by sympathetic producers. A huge nose of minerals, lemons and limes. Palate carries through with the richness but the acid keeps all in check. Massive length here. Will keep for years - but this is a great drink even now.
1998 Veuve Fourny Clos de Notre Dame Blanc de Blancs.
A very pure expression of Chardonnay - very youthfull - almost inert. A classic for long aging in a cool cellar. A great wine from a .22 ares parcel of vines next to the family home in Vertus.
Eric Rodez 1998 Blanc de Blancs Empreinte de Terroir.
A massive and pure expression of Ambonnay Chardonnay. Eric work for Krug a few years ago - and this is hommage to what he learned there. Unctuous with real power and weight.
Benard Pitois NV Rose Mareuil-sur-Ay
Mainly pinot but also a good proportion of Chardonnay that has been aged in oak. Lovely spice from the subtle oak - a tingling sherbet character. A classic food or aperitif rose in a more elegant style.
