A Labor Day of love:Cristals,Bollie,Philipponnat,Chas Heidsieck,Egly-Ouriet,Pierre Peters,Duval-Leroy,Palmer, more

Thanks to some good friends who came up with a last minute idea to do a Labor Day party, 15 of us enjoyed some great fellowship along with many exquisite champagnes and a large table full of delicious pot luck appetizers.

This is a champagne centric crowd and everyone stepped up with some stellar brings including:

NV PALMER & CO BLANC de BLANC in magnum- this was my first exposure to this house which was started cooperatively in 1947 by 7 grower families located in the Montagne de Reims region; their champagnes are Chardonnay centric and sourced from Grand Cru and 1er Cru plots; this was a great start to the day and also served as a good palate cleanser for the onslaught of bubbly that ensued; the nose contained some yeastiness that faded in favor of fresh lemon dominated citrus fruit with accents of chalk and minerals; it had a nice frothy mousse, but it was the cutting acidity that refreshingly graced all of the tactile sensory receptors.

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2000 DUVAL-LEROY FEMME de CHAMPAGNE in magnum- as the name implies, there’s some feminine energy responsible for this wondrous wine; the owner and winemaker are two ladies that have worked together to create some fine bubbly over the years and this bottle shined ever so brightly; first, it was presented in an impressively huge, heavy bottle that had a fist sized punt in the bottom; this is a blend of 87% Chardonnay that comes from 5 different Grand Cru communes, vinified separately for individuality, and 13% Pinot Noir, vinified in oak barrels for 8 years; although the label shows 2000 as the vintage, it is my understanding that it also has a tad of other vintages up to and including 2004 in it; I believe in Champagne, it is required that at least 95% is represented from a single vintage to be declared a vintage wine, so it would have to be a small amount of inclusion of the others; nonetheless, this was an unexpected treat as I’ve had this bottle in the cellar for 6+ years and did not know what treasures it would give although I have had really good champagnes from this house which supported a good experience; the hallmark for me was its elegance, finesse and charm; it had really nice fresh citrus fruit with lemon meringue the most appropriate descriptor; it was creamy and rich and yet so easy on the palate; its bright acidity and creamy mousse added to its allure.

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2008 LOUIS ROEDERER CRISTAL BRUT- wow! Its finally coming around and coming together; after at least 5 underperforming bottles, but strongly suggestive of greatness, this one was super impressive and confirmed the royalty it truly deserves; massively rich and full bodied, it has so much power and yet enough elegance to touch all of the bases; the taste profile is expanding and now includes golden delicious apple, pear, yellow peach and grapefruit that joins the lemon and lime that was so prevalent early on; accents of brioche and honey enhance the experience as does its creamy, rich texture; this is the complete package and all one has to do now is just sit back and be treated to the blessings of the vintage of the decade and one of the best Cristals in the last 25 years+ IMHO; 60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay.

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2009 LOUIS ROEDERER CRISTAL BRUT in magnum- how about another wow! this followed the 08` only because it had not been chilled quite enough, but it would have been the perfect champagne to transition from had it been; this amazing rich and round bubbly has been great out of the gate and it still shines and pleases immensely; it is more elegant and has less power, but it has so much charm and exudes class while hitting on all cylinders; 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay from 7 Grand Cru villages, plus Mareuil-sur-Aÿ.

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1995 CHARLES HEIDSIECK BRUT de MILLENAIRES- here comes an old fav, one that I still have in the cellar and this bottle came from another friend; the last bottle I had was with the Orange County gang in early May and it was pretty advanced with tertiary notes that bordered on being oxidized, but this bottle still retained some of its freshness and offered some pleasing, albeit mature notes; there’s some yeast, hazelnut, caramel and toast that joins ripe and honeyed citrus and stone fruit to make up a complex taste profile while being delivered in a creamy, oily like texture; IMHO, it’s time for this champagne to be opened.

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2002 BOLLINGER LA GRANDE ANNEE BRUT- all wines used for this prestige cuvée are vinified in wood, as are all wines destined for storage as reserves; according to the house, the wines made in stainless steel always go through malolactic, while the wines in wood are left to do as they like—some barrels will go through malo while others will not; my guess is that this one went through malo as evidenced by its buttery, creamy texture and toasty oak notes; Bollies house style is already on the big and bold side and this has some aging to lend itself for more depth and complexity; actually, it’s in a great place now and Im not sure how much longer it will stay here before it moves on to another level of intensity and more tertiary notes.

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1999 PHILIPPONNAT RESERVE MILLESIME BRUT- i`ve enjoyed many a bottle of this fine bubbly and this one has reached its perfect apogee with everything coming together and expressing to the fullest extent; it is laden with stone fruit notes, especially yellow peach, tangerine and apricot along with apple, pear and dried citrus; additionally, it’s enhanced by a streak of minerals and accents of ginger and honeysuckle; this was full bodied, very rich and had layered depth that crescendoed into a grand finish.

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2006 EGLY-OURIET GRAND CRU BRUT MILLESIME- I`ve long been a fan of this house and their various releases across the board and this was in the top echelon; based on 60/70% barrel-fermented Pinot Noir and 30/40% barrel-fermented Chardonnay, the fruit is sourced from old vines in Ambonnay; this house prefers extended lees aging, with some wines aged up to 9 years before disgorgement; this one saw 8 years on the lees and was dosed at 2 gpl; following its medium yellow color, the nose was super inviting with ripe apple and pear fruit joined on the palate by citrus, especially orange zest, and tropical fruit accented by brioche and ginger; it was rich and full bodied with a creamy texture and nicely balanced.

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NV PIERRE PETERS CUVEE de RESERVE BLANC de BLANC- another fav from yesteryear also showed up; this was our house BdB for many years; as those before it, this had nice finesse and lots of charm giving fresh citrus notes while being delivered in a frothy, fluffy, cotton candy like mousse; this is a mellow bubbly that is so light and easy, it just graces the palate with soft kiss and I found myself going back for another peck or three.

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NV CHARLES HEIDSIECK BRUT RESERVE- here`s another fine champagne that has appeal to any who prefer consistently light weight and easy on the palate bubbly; when aged a bit, it’s actually got a bit of complexity that puts this into the middleweight category; it gave nice fresh citrus fruit notes that came out of a blend of 60 different crus that makes up 40% of the total; they age most wine in vats for about 8 years, though they range from 5-15 years for all wines.

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NV CHARTOGNE- TAILLET ORIZEAUX BLANC de NOIR EXTRA BRUT- this was a first exposure to this wine, not the producer, and a good one at that; fresh red fruit, namely red cherry/ berry with a touch of ginger and hazelnut and a hint of yellow apple make for a pleasant taste profile; it’s got a nice mouthfeel and a burst of cherry at mid palate that left a lasting good impression.

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NV PASCAL DOQUET ARPEGE BLANC de BLANC 1er Cru- it’s rare that I ever go to a champagne event and find 3 I’ve never had before and in this case, at least 2 houses I was not familiar with, Palmer and this one; I’m happy to have had them now; this bottle was disgorged 9/18 and is a blend of 27% 2014, 49% 2013 and 24% 2012 and bottled in 4/15 with 3.5 gpl dosage; there’s some righteous juice here with lots of acidity and serious citrus fruit with lemon and lime most prevalent and some stone fruit coming in late; it had a nice, frothy mousse and for the last champagne on a day where 12 bottles were opened, it held its own and served as a good one to finish off a stellar day.

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Cheers,
Blake

3 Likes

I’ve been off-board most of the summer, so sorry to be behind on these wonderful weekends of yours, Blake… I know you just did the Young Italians, but I thought I’d pop up on this one, instead. A little more my tempo :slight_smile:.

Good to see both of these shining for you! These are so delicious, that I know everyone’s been popping them so eagerly. But even that extra 18 months has proven priceless, hasn’t it? Opening and releasing… Was fortunate, myself, to share an the '09 last week with a dear BFF.

Hope your ears were buzzing this weekend, as your name popped up in Toronto during my visit with Mike Grammer. We were wishing we could fly in for a high-5.

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Hey Nick. Always appreciate your chiming in and additional embellishments. Yes, most definitely, the 12-18+ months of aging has benefitted both the 08 and 09 Cristal as they round and balance out and achieve even greater heights of class and relevance.

Hugs and high 5s to you and Mike.