Nice thread Frank. We too stayed at Les Bulles Doree (must have just missed you). Our hostess Heidi, was terrific.
What a treat after a rough day on almost no sleep. Already you have âbought to lifeâ the people behind the wine, as well as the process, from soil to finished wine.
I am inspired to try Vilmart & Cie, especially after your wonderful descriptions and photos. I have not yet tried them simply due to time and health (kidney disease-so gotta limit drinking to weekends).
The NV Vilmart & Cie Champagne Grand Cellier Brut sounds intriguing as I enjoy champagneâs that have been âĂ©laborĂ© en fĂ»t de chĂȘneâ. Do all of their wines spend time in barriques or foudres, or are some tank/concrete egg only, or a blend?
I also enjoyed hearing about the different pressings, reminded me of a bit of distilling with heads, hearts, and tails⊠with the addtion of the lavage pressing.
I can understand your desire to drink wines that have been cleaned farmed. You express so well the reasons that I seek small independant producers who practice clean farming. It is a huge investement, but in my humble opinion, well worth it.
I can relate in that my gardens (about 1.5 acres worth) are pretty much organic. The difference can be tasted, especially in vegetables like tomatoes. Conversely I understand not wanting to be certified or go full out organic. Using natural methods can be expensive, especially when using predator insects to manage pests such as bean beetles. Therefore I have tremendous respect for wine producers who choose to farm (or buy from farmer) and produce in this fashion, especially in todayâs uncertain economy and somewhat fickle consumerâŠ
Forgive my long winded dribbleâŠI just wanted to say THANK YOU for taking the time to share your photos and observations. This thread is a treasure for peope like me, who have not had occasion to visit these (or any) wine producers.
Great stuff Frank! This Kings fan can almost forgive the Ducks sweatshirt in the esteemed cellar! 
One question: how is your and your wifeâs French? Any language challenges in these smaller villages?
Best to you!
Well, I downloaded Google translate on his phone and Google offline maps as insurance. Frankie, how did it go with the French only speakers?
I like this post so much I bought 18 bottles of Vilmart 
If I were ever to have a chip surgically implanted to directly download cyber data into my brain, this blog would be on it.
LOL, thatâs more than a dang dayâs work! Well, 3/4 day for Senior DC Counsel, of course.
Iâd need to get a 1/2 bottle.
Love the pic, color is great! And over 100 years old, wow.
Happy Anniversary to you and your wife, Frank!
Great pictures and notes! And wearing some NHL swag to the Champagne Region is awesome. ![[welldone.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/f/fc9709a841aa9379fd892a9cf0b535b05f473b86.gif "[welldone.gif]"){kind=small}
Thanks,
Ed
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Oh great here we go with a run on Vilmart
Iâm only through your first post, Frank, but I already want to respond:
First, you are a brave brave man for driving in Paris!! You have a way with words that always entertaining, and full of natural ease. Threads of this ilk are always lots of fun to read, but I expect you will effortlessly find a way to elevate the form. Thank you for posting. I cannot wait to read the rest of what you have to write! ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
When I grow up, I want to be Frank Murray.
Iâve got a ways to go, unfortunately.
I appreciate all of the enthusiasm and kind words in the posts above. I simply love wine and the people within it, and my posts are an expression of that energy. I will reiterate again that I am not an expert in Champagne, whether it be the area, the process or the people who lead within it. There are voices within this space, some who post here like Brad Baker, and some who do not that remain to be silent or private. I respect those voices and learn from them, and I am just now one person who is trying to elevate my knowledge and bring something of what I enjoy to you.
Letâs continueâŠ
Monday GODME
This was the afternoon of Monday, the visit that followed our earlier stop at Vilmart. As I wrote earlier in my blog, the key piece of tiny road that connects the villages called D26 is the pathway to which we found Godme, west of Vilmart. There is about 15 mins of separation between the two, after you traverse through a few of the villages like Chigny les Roses and Mailly. If you want to get a sense of the route, open this link from Google Maps and then convert it to the satellite view to get a real sense of how rural and lovely D26 in the Montage can be. The link is safe.
We arrived at Godme to find Hugues Godme dressed in vineyard gear with mud and dirt adoring his clothes and hands. Kindly, he refused to greet us to avoid sharing the dirt with usâit was a fun moment and we understood. He also doesnât speak much (if any) English so he directed us to park and showed us to the front of the reception area to meet his wife, Dominique. She spoke much more English and made us feel comfortable to use it, while my wife tried to use some her French to assist our conversations throughout our visit there. Once introduced to her, Hugues retired back to his work and left us to taste with her.
As with many of the stops, the Godme approach/philosophy is organic and has been so for several years now. The philosophy is on their website, with the added simple declaration to ârespect the earthâ. They farm several hectares in this fashion, across several villages, which they label to the back labels of their bottles, giving insight as the origin and composition of their inputs. This is really helpful for folks like me/us who live outside the region and cannot easily discern the composition and place of the cuvees. Of note, there are two Godmes that you may encounter: the wines of Hugues and those of Sabine, who is Hugueâs sister. There was a split of the domaine a few years back and Sabine continues to craft wines very close in proximity to the Godme building, but they do not farm the same way as Hugues, instead doing things non-organic. Some of the deeper detail, related to who made/makes the Sabine Godme wines I am not totally clear on and so I will avoid narrating that here but just know the two houses are separate now and the wines will be different, especially as time moves ahead and vintages unfold.
Dominique was kind and offered to let us taste anything we wanted within the broad range that the domaine offers. I picked several things from the list, to help me fill in the gaps about the wines that I had not previously tasted. Like with all the stops on this trip and in my blog to follow, the Godme wines I learned through my purchases from Envoyer, which to the point of our visit were limited simply to the 2008 Millesime and the NV Rose, which we have drank a lot of in the past year. Thus, I picked out a # of things and we tasted away for about 90 mins.
For Godme, there was no tour and given some of the language differences and also my intent to taste and jot out some TNs, I didnât explore the deeper processes of the winery nor get to walk the plots. What I did though gather and develop was a greater appreciation for the low-key, informal, family feel of the winery and how well Dominique treated and engaged Jill and I.
As a stylistic note, you will find below in my TNs that these are a low dosage styled wines, with elements of some wood signature. Depending on the cuvee, some are raised âfut du cheneâ and so the wood notes, like with Vilmart, do come through in an accenting fashion. I also offer below the TNs and photos of the stop, to again give you my POV into what I tasted and also the visual appreciation for the beauty of yet another village, Verzenay.
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2008 Godmé PÚre et Fils Champagne Grand Cru Les Romaines - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru (5/14/2018)
Was great to try this, as I had wanted to source some of this and could not get any easily when I looked in the US. This is 100% Pinot Meunier, made without any dosage. Shows grapefruit, pomegranate, yellow apple and even some kiwi. There is good length here, balance and the finishing Godme saline. Very nice. -
2008 Hugues Godmé Champagne Grand Cru Millésimé - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru (5/14/2018)
This is moving more into the Vilmart model, where PN and Chard mix with some wood exposure yet with about 1/2 the dosage (3 g/l is used). 60% Chard / 40% PN, raised in 40% wood for the 1st fermentation. Floral with white flower. Lemon, with a lightly custardy note. Fresh lime and slate and of all the wines today, this to me seemed the most knitted for current drinking as it is going on 10 years old. Like the other Godme wines, the acidity is fresh here too, with lots of lime zest. Quite similar to the Vilmart style, with just a bit less richness. I really liked this today. -
NV Hugues Godmé Champagne Grand Cru Fins Bois - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru (5/14/2018)
This is an interesting cuvee, as it has the highest wood exposure of 80% for the first ferment. Itâs 40% Chard / 60% PN, made without dosage. Itâs also a mix of base wines from 2008-11, with 10%, 20%, 35% and 35%, respectively. The wood here gives the wine a toasted/smoky topnote in the aromatic, and then it shows lemon, apple, pear, black cherry and intense citrusy quality, with the same Godme imprint of cut and saline coming together. -
NV Hugues Godmé Champagne Premier Cru Blanc de Blancs - France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru (5/14/2018)
Like the Extra Brut, this is made up of multiple vintages, although this is 100% Chard. Base wines are 2009-12, with 15%, 25%, 25% and 35%, respectively. Dosage is between 3-4 g/l. so like the other Godme wines, in the low end of the register. There is also some wood here too, as this is raised for the 1st ferment in 60% wood for about 6 months. Lime, green apple, grapefruit and mandarin orange and a finish that is flush with a refreshing saline/salty quality. -
NV Hugues Godmé Champagne Premier Cru Brut Nature - France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru (5/14/2018)
100% PN, with no dosage. Blend of 2005-2008, with 10%, 15%, 15% and 60%, respectively. Chalky, which shows as a liquefied quality, with plenty of cut, energy, mineral and mint. This is for the wine geek drinker as itâs just raw and precise. -
NV Hugues Godmé Champagne Premier Cru Extra-Brut - France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru (5/14/2018)
Quite a bit of components to this wine. 60% Chard / 10% PN / 30% P Meunier, with vintage bases of 2009-12, with 10%, 20%, 30% and 40%, respectively. Dosage of 3.5 g/l, and this is the usual approach to almost all of the more recent Godme cuvees, which suits me well. Like the Brut Nature, this shows the same chalky quality of the Verzenay soils, the same mineral and lime character, too. Cherry, lemon with a similar cut of the Brut Nature, too.
Posted from CellarTracker
My next entry in this blog will be for Tuesdayâs 2 visits, for which I will talk about the wines of MINIERE, through my visit to Frederic Miniere in Hermonville, and then followed by that will be our visit to see Benoit Marguet of MARGUET in Ambonnay. Thank you for staying along with me as I recount the trip.
Awesome, canât wait to duplicate this trip sometime in the future. Love seeing all of the pictures.
Excellent post, Frank. Something Iâve wondered: how is Godme pronounced?
Heâs giving your most excellent Northern Rhone thread a run for the money!
Ah, not unlike âThroatwobbler Mangroveâ 
And yes he is
Alan did an outstanding job on that report he filed from his trip, which coincidentally I was telling my wife about today as we dragged out jet-lagged asses out earlier this morning (well, me much more than herâI am wiped out today) to Costco to get food for our empty fridge.
Alan, Iâm not French as you know but from what I can understand as to saying Godme, it would be:
Yoog God-me
God-mee. Last letter is Ă©.
This Kings fan canât, but the heartfelt stories are great, and the photos are fantastic. Thanks, Frank.