Our blind tasting group of 31 years held its annual Pre-Valentine/ champagne event in the perfect ambience of the Santa Barbara Winery barrel room on 2/13/20. Our host and former early on group member and for 39 years as winemaker for SB Winery, Bruce McGuirre, did his usual masterful job of setting it up and arranging the space for our grand experience.
This occasion is used to celebrate the passion we have for all things wine as well as the love and passion we have for our mates, family members and friends as well as all things good in life.
The parameters for this particular event was for our members and all of the guests invited to bring a vintage champagne from 2009 or older and an appetizer to share. We had over 60 people and most everyone one stepped up with great brings. We ate and drank extremely well, often and enough.
In the past, it has been pretty interesting to see what the selection is for the champagne folks bring. We’ve mostly asked for some form of vintage stuff but we’ve had non-vintage bubbly, Cavas, Proseccos and Sparkling wines from all over the place.
On this evening and to the credit of the vast majority, we only had 4 exceptions that I saw and 3 were certainly credible as they were champagnes from the fine 2012 vintage. A bottle of Mumm Napa Rose was seen lurking on the table at the end of the evening and it was 1 of 3 or 4 bottles that still had a drop or two left, in this case. a half a bottle. Also of note was that there were only two bottles that I know of that were flawed, one was a 1982 Perrier-Jouet Belle-Epoque Fleur de Champagne that was severely oxidized and the other, a 1996 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame.
I did not taste every bottle, but I did taste enough to slur a few words when I did a group toast and acknowledgement of our guests and hosts.
I knew some others had had enough when toward the end, the sound of glasses breaking could be heard, one after another, to the extent of at least 3. The award for the best glass breakage went to the one who broke off the base of his stem, but retained everything in the bowl and he just kept re-filling until the end when he deposited the pointed stem in a chunk of cheese on a platter.
Here’s some notes on some of the wines:
2000 CHAMPAGNE LANSON NOBLE CUVEE BLANC de BLANC- first up and ready to give, this was a full bodied, lush and rich bubbly with a creamy mousse and nice citrus notes with an underlying spice and honeysuckle accent.
1998 NICOLAS FEUILLATTE BLANC de BLANC BRUT- some mature notes of caramel, butterscotch and apricot dominated the nose and taste profile; it was delivered in a thinned out honeyed like texture and finished with significant richness.
2008 H. BLIN BRUT MILLESIME- one of the benefits of this event is discovering labels for the first time and this was one of a few on this night; it’s made of 50% Pinot Meunier and 50% Chardonnay which I did not recognize when tasting it, but found it to be pleasant and enticing with mild brioche and cashew accents to the citrus, pear and apple fruit.
2009 H. BLIN BRUT MILLESIME- we not only get one but 2 different vintages of this obscure to me label and it was good as well; as with the 08`, it was made of 50/50 PM and Chardonnay and also had pear, and citrus fruit with orange peel most evident as well as a nice streak of spice, but without the brioche and cashew notes; it was peasant enough and maybe a tad more expressive than the 08.
A bit about the house: it is comprised of a family of owner-growers who have been based in the village of Vincelles since inception in 1947, located in the heart of Pinot Meunier country in the Marne Valley, thus the high percentage of PM.
1999 BOLLINGER LA GRANDE ANEE BRUT in magnum- this was really good with serious complexity and depth along with a gentleness on the palate; a streak of spice and saline graced the amazing citrus, pear and apple notes; it was full bodied with an initial powerful thrust, but softened by its finesse.
2006 DOM PERIGNON- 2 bottles; there was definitely some variation between the 2, but both reeked of class, charm and elegance as well as having bright acidity; one had more body and balance with a touch more spice, but I’d take either in a stand alone occasion.
2002 DOM RUINART- a fabulous wine that just kept getting better and better and the good news is that I just racked a few bottles in the cellar from a recent delivery; it’s full bodied, has a pleasant creamy mousse and a long, sustained finish to seal the deal.
2008 MOET & CHANDON GRAND VINTAGE EXTRA BRUT- I’ve had a few bottles of this fine bubbly and this one fell in line with all those before it; it’s super rich and yet very elegant and is loaded with fresh and ripe citrus fruit with lemon and lime most prevalent; it’s got structure and complexity and built for the long run and needs time to integrate and evolve; once it arrives at its apogee, it’s going to be stellar.
1996 VEUVE CLICQUOT LA GRANDE DAME BRUT- oxidized
2009 ROEDERER PHILIPPE STARCK BRUT NATURE- 2 bottles; here’s another dup and this wine is intriguing enough for that to be a good thing; there was a definite bottle variation and the first one I tried was much better than the 2nd and fell more in line with previous exposures; my notes from that time last June are still applicable:
this is the 2nd release after the 2016 of this no dosage wine whose label was created by Philippe Starck, the well-known French designer; I’ve enjoyed quite a few of the 16 version and a few of this most recent release, the last time being at Wallys Grande Marque champagne tasting last Sunday; the fruit sourced comes from biodynamic farmed estate vineyards and they claim this gives rise to higher ripeness and better mouthfeel; what’s truly unique and atypical about this is all 25 acres of Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir were harvested on the same day, then pressed and vinified together; I have to agree, the ripe citrus fruit provides a taste treat accentuated by a streak of spice and the lush texture does indeed give an extraordinary soft and creamy feel; it has bright acidity and expands in the glass; in no way did this come off as a no dosage, light weight bubbly; this is a lovely, fulfilling wine.
2007 BOLLINGER LA GRANDE ANEE BRUT- rich and full bodied, this had a toasty, spicy component that provided nice accents to the baked apple and lemon zest notes; it had depth and layered complexity along with a creamy mousse.
2002 BRUNO PAILLARD N.P.U. NEC PLUS ULTRA- 50/50 blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, all grand cru; nice ginger and spice seasoning contribute to the fine taste profile that features ripe stone fruit with apricot most evident; this is full on, creamy and rich; very serious and nicely balanced.
2008 LAURENT PERRIER BRUT MILLESIME- 50% Pinot Noir and Chardonnay; disgorged in July, 2019 with 8 gpl; lightly toasted pear, apple and lemon and delivered in a medium textured mousse; elegance was its hallmark from the nose through the tail.
2009 LAURENT PERRIER BRUT MILLESIME- much like the 08` this had a similar fruit profile and a lot of finesse and charm lending to the elegance enjoyed in both.
1982 PERRIER-JOUET BELLE EPOQUE LAFLEUR de CHAMPAGNE- oxidized
There were many other bottles, but I adopted a social butterfly demeanor and sought out to greet guests and friends albeit while slurring my words and burping from time to time. Here’s some others that were on the table:
2004 PAUL BARA SPECIAL CLUB BRUT
2008 BILLECART-SALMON BRUT
2009 PHILIPPONNAT 1522 EXTRA BRUT
2009 CHAMPAGNE CUPERLY GRAND CRU
2012 PLOYEZ-JACQUEMART EXTRA BRUT BLANC de NOIR
2012 FRANCK BONVILLE PUR AVISE BLANC de BLANC
This was another fabulous event that IMHO was as good as any we’ve had. It’s the first time people showed up well in advance of the 6 pm start time and everyone came prepared to celebrate. The barrel room was full of a palpable buzz from the start and all the way through. I have to think the wines in the nearby barrels that surrounded us will be highly charged once removed and bottled.
Cheers,
Blake
