2008 ~ No. 11
Tasting Grower Champagne
The
holiday season is upon us, making a recent tasting of grower
Champagne quite timely.
As a shortcut, I describe “grower” Champagne
as “boutique” wine and, it is, though there’s
more to it than that. As anyone who has perused the bubbly
section at the local wine store can surmise, Champagne is
dominated by a handful of very large, brand-name producers.
These firms produce 80% of the output of Champagne, yet own
only 12% of vineyards – a fair quantity of the grapes
they use are purchased.
Small growers, in contrast, handcraft their limited quantities
of Champagne from individual parcels and villages. These are
truly estate-bottled cuvees from family-owned wineries that
grow, vinify and age the wines on the premises. Their terroir-driven
creations are the work of true artisans, each showing a distinct
personality and style.
Here are some of my favorites from the tasting. Prices are
estimated retail. Ratings are A to F for quality, 1 to 3 for
value.
Pierre
Gimonnet et Fils
These wines are all 100% Chardonnay, largely from older vines
(mostly 30+, but with a substantial number over 40 years old.)
Pierre Gimonnet et Fils 1er Cru Blanc de Blancs
Brut NV Very lovely, with nice aromas and soft
white fruits on the palate. Crisp and minerally. $62 Rating:
B2
Pierre Gimonnet et Fils Cuvee Gastronome Brut 2004
So called for its affinity with food, this wine has tart
aromas and a playful minerality on the palate. It has lower
pressure than typical Champagne, giving it fewer bubbles
and a silkier texture. $69.50 Rating: A2
Pierre Gimonnet et Fils Oenophile Blanc de Blancs
Maxi Brut 2000 Their non-dosage Champagne, featuring
orange citrus flavors, a creamy texture and just a hint
of minerality. $79 Rating: C2
Pierre Gimonnet et Fils Fleuron Blanc de Blancs
Brut 2002 A lip-puckering combination of flowers,
oranges and wet stone hallmark this zesty wine. $75.50 Rating:
C2
Pierre Gimonnet et Fils Special Club Blanc de Blancs
Brut 2000 A favorite, I must confess, for its lively
notes of fresh green apple, buttered crusty bread, minerals
and citrus. $90 Rating: A2
Pierre Gimonnet et Fils Vintage Collection Blanc
de Blancs Brut 1999 Mmmmmm. I wanted to keep drinking
this smooth, elegant wine. Tart orange and mineral flavors
with hints of rose around the edges. Very fresh and clean.
$250 (magnum) Rating: A2
Gaston
Chiquet
In 1919, brothers Fernand and Gaston Chiquet were among the
first in Champagne to grow and bottle their own grapes, though
the family has been tilling the soil there since ancestor
Nicolas planted his first vines in 1746.)
Gaston
Chiquet Tradition Brut NV A blend of 45% Meunier,
35% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir from various vintages.
Fresh, tart and smooth. Best with food. $56 Rating: C3
Gaston Chiquet Blanc de Blancs d’Ay Brut
NV Though not a vintage wine, all the Chardonnay
in this wine happens to be from 2004. (Grand Cru
fruit from 70 year old vines!) A deep nose that teases with
its flavors. Lots of depth and charm. $62 Rating: B1
Gaston Chiquet Blanc de Blancs d’Ay Brut
1999 Rich and crisp with lots of white flower notes.
Though made with younger vines than the non-vintage Blanc
de Blancs, this wine came across to me as more challenging.
$165 (magnum) Rating: A1
Gaston Chiquet Rose Brut NV Yum, yum,
yum! Soft red fruit notes, hints of rose and nice acidity.
A very lovely wine that’s even better with food. $62.50
Rating: A1
Gaston Chiquet Millesime Brut 2000 A blend
of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay. This wine was aggressive
on the palate with warm notes of toast and almond. $70 Rating:
C2
Gaston Chiquet Special Club Brut 1999
Layered with notes of butter, brioche and nuts. There was
a hint of “darkness” to the wine. $79.50 Rating:
C2
Gaston Chiquet Cuvee de Reserve Brut MV
From the 1999 and 2000 vintages, one-third each of Pinot
Noir, Meunier and Chardonnay. Not my favorite. $70 Rating:
D2
Henri Billiot
These are very lively and lavish wines, thanks to restrained
winemaking methods. Billiot uses virtually no dosage, does
not filter the wine, and does not use malolactic fermentation.
Old vines and low yields further contribute to the superb
quality of these Champagnes.
Henri Billiot Reserve Brut NV A very earthy
nose, resolving to nutty, mushroomy flavors on the palate.
Angular, pert and lively. $68.50 Rating: B2
Henri Billiot Rose Brut NV Light, fresh
and clean with red berry flavors and a touch of sour cherry
on the finish. Nice! $75 Rating: B2
Henri Billiot Millesime Brut 2002 Very
nice nose, with notes of nuts, bread and white fruit. The
palate is creamy with notes of prickly pear. Not a favorite
on its own, but good with food. $83 Rating: C2
Henri Billiot Cuvee Laetitia Brut MV Crafted
using a solera system to include wines from 19 different
vintages. Easy aromas give way to flavors of creamy caramel
andwhite fruit. Smoothes out even more as you sip it. $117.50
Rating: B2
Henri Billiot Cuvee Julie Brut NV Mostly
Chardonnay from the 2005 vintage, this wine has notes of
spice and bread. It is rounded, but not soft. $112 Rating:
C3
Egly-Ouriet
One of the original “grower Champagne” houses,
this estate is known for its conscientious, skilled winemaking
and very terroir-expressive cuvees.
Egly-Ouriet
et Fils Brut Tradition NV A blend of 70% Pinot
Noir and 30% Chardonnay from 40 year old vines in four Grand
Cru Villages. A touch of brioche, red cherry and tart berries
on the nose and palate. Easy-drinking with nice layers.
$80 Rating: B3
Egly-Ouriet et Fils Extra-Brut VP NV The
VP stands for vieillesement prolonge, or prolonged
ageing: the wine spends 40 months on the lees. Accordingly,
there is a gamy, leesey feel to the aromas, with a fresh
feel on the palate. Notes of brioche, nuts and white fruits.
Delicious. $97.50 Rating: A2
Making
Champagne Champagne
Here’s a quick primer on the lovely bubbly:
In order to be called Champagne, the wine must be from the
Champagne region of northern France and be made according
to strict production guidelines, including undergoing a secondary
fermentation in the bottle. (This is what gives it the bubbles.)
Anything else – from a different
part of the world or with the bubbles added in a different
way – must be called sparkling wine.
Three grapes are used to make Champagne: Chardonnay (a
white grape), and Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier (black grapes).
Many Champagnes are a blend of all three, though many are
made exclusively from Chardonnay or Pinot Noir.
The
first part of the Champagne-making process is exactly like
that for still wine: the grapes are crushed and fermented.
Once the juice has become wine, the various lots are blended
to create the desired style. This cuvee is put into a bottle
(the one in which the bubbly will eventually be sold), a
dose of sugar and yeast is added, and a bottle cap is put
on. Then the magic begins.
The yeast ferments the added sugar, creating carbon dioxide
- the wine’s bubbles. Over this time (which can be
years), the bottle is riddled, or turned (gradually moving
from horizontal to upside down – see photo), so that
the lees created by the dead yeast cells (yucky sounding,
but lees add richness to the blend) will collect in the
neck of the bottle.
Once the Champagne is ready, the neck of the bottle is
dipped into a solution that freezes the sediments captured
there. Pop the cap and the frozen lees fly out, a process
known as disgorgement. Top up the wine with a sweet solution
known as dosage (this is optional, and skipped by many grower
Champagne producers), reseal it with a cork, wire and foil
and voila, your Champagne is ready.
One final note about Champagne: most houses release their
Champagne – even vintage – when it’s ready
to drink. While there are some that will age well for years,
do a little research and make sure what you have will stand
up to prolonged cellaring. Otherwise, you may be disappointed
when you finally pop the cork!
No,
I'm Not Crazy
Though you are about to doubt that statement. While tasting
all these lovely bubbly wines from France, I also made it
a point to taste some sparkling wine from Gruet.
The
estate offers a great value for sparkling wine, and has an
excellent pedigree. The family founded its first Champagne
house in 1952 and quickly grew into a force to be reckoned
with in France. However, as the years passed, opportunity
for expansion in Champagne became very limited.
So the family decided to start their second winery in the
United States. It took several years of research, but finally
the family found the perfect site and in 1984, they established
their new venture in New Mexico.
Yep, New Mexico. Try some and you’ll understand.
Gruet Blanc de Noirs NV Really smooth with
notes of toast, almonds and flowers. Very sippable! $18 Rating:
B1
Gruet Champenoise NV – A 60/40 blend
of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, this wine’s fruit is held
in check by the acidity. The flavors are a wonderful combination
of citrus, apple and cherry. $18 Rating: A1
Gruet Brut Rose Methode Champenoise NV This
wine begs to be enjoyed with food. (It would be heavenly with
salmon.) Rounded aromas of cherry and rose were reflected,
albeit with more tartness, on the palate. $18 Rating: A1
Gruet Brut Champenoise Demi-Sec NV This
felt a little flabby to me, with notes of white fruit and
flowers just offset by stony mineral tones. $18 Rating: C2
Fabulous
Chateauneuf-du-Pape Discovery!
Since 2002 when she bought Domaine Saint-Prefert, Isabel
Ferrando has become a wine superstar, producing some of the
most in-demand Chateauneuf-du-Pape in the marketplace.
The wines are all crafted from older vines and are typically
Grenache-based. Ferrando also practices organic farming. She
crafts wine under the Domaine
Saint-Prefert label as well as her own Domaine
Ferrando.
Ferrando
notes that the C-du-P and C-du-P Blanc can age for 15 years
or so, while the Reserve Auguste Favier and Colombis wines
can last for 20.
Saint-Prefert Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 2007
Round, rich and creamy, this wine expanded and evolved with
just the small taste I had in my glass. A beautiful nose and
quite refined on the palate. The blend is 85% Clairette and
15% Roussanne. $55 Rating: A1
Saint-Prefert Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2006 Spicy
with red fruit notes. The wine felt light at first, but soon
showed its rich texture and great flavor. $45 Rating: B1
Saint-Prefert Chateauneuf-du-Pape Reserve Auguste
Favier 2006 Smooth and rounded with red fruit flavors
and very subtle black pepper and spice notes. 85% Grenache
and 15% old vine Cinsault. $60 Rating: B2
Domaine Ferrando Chateauneuf-du-Pape Colombis 2006
A little lighter, less intense than the other wines, this
is made with 100% Grenache from 60 year old vines. Notes of
plum, red fruit and black pepper abound. $60 Rating: C3
