Oh please. As if I could pick a “winner” or
“winners” even among my much adored little grower Champagnes. Unlike children,
of which I do have an actual favorites, I simply cannot pick one Champagne over
another, (in our store that is) and proclaim it “better”. Can’t and won’t do
it. I can however share my impressions, talk sales figures and go over what
wines blew me away….and which ones I felt didn’t quite show their stuff in that
kind of setting, which always makes me sad but is part of the whole tasting
thing/problem as some wines, many in fact, just aren’t made to be flashy and
for that they can suffer the crush of rounder, louder and more showy wines.
Subtlety and grace are kind of enemies of the side by side, or comparison
tasting….of which I try and remind our customers not to do, not to compare
glass A to glass B in the “Oh this is better” fashion, but rather explore and
appreciate each wine for what it has, and what it has not in some cases. It was
while taking in the subtle, or profound, differences in a couple of the flights
that it occurred to me once again, applying a numerical score to a wine, while
tasting them in a one after the other sort of setting is not only stupid, it’s
flat-out inaccurate.
Because I had to add a second evening class, which
ended up being arranged for the night before the original class, as confusing
as that is, I had a decision to make, do I pour the same wines both nights and
risk running out of the wines I originally wanted to pour, which might kind of
punish, (should anything sell out) the people that were savvy, and dedicated
enough to act quickly and sign up right away for the event the second they saw
it announced, or do I use that opportunity to showcase more than ten wines,
saving the first selections for the ones that filled the reservation book to
overflowing which caused us to book the second event…for the night before? See?!
Confusing. I made a few adjustments but for the most part I stuck with the same
wines, using that first (but second) class as a trial run and making mental
notes to tweak the order if need be.
It was on the
second (which was actually the first) night while tasting a Blanc de Blancs
that had been moved, but only one spot down, noting how different it was
showing compared to the night before, getting my grubby paws on another open
bottle of the same Champagne just to make sure it wasn’t bottle variation, that
was when I looked at my coworker and remarked, “Last night this wine would have
gotten a much, much higher score. It was elevated by the wine that went before
it. Tonight, well it is showing way more savory notes…more interesting maybe
but a tad lower on the deliciousness scale” and I spent the entirety of the
night totally geeked out on just how much the wine before and after can change
your perception of any given wine. How the hell can scores be accurate then?
Fuck, just think about all those long, wordy, flowery tasting notes you read,
wonder what wine they had before that brought out the hibiscus nectar?
Fascinating really and a valuable reminder for me about context and how I want
to write my tasting notes.
On the whole both nights were successful. The first,
(second) night showed way fewer sales and attendees that were almost scary
quiet. Intent on listening and learning, a much greener group of people many of
which were tasting their very first grower Champagnes that night. The second,
(first) night was packed, loud, one of my favorite couples actually stopped and
bought fried chicken, for the entire group of forty people, the dump buckets
were dry….these grower Champagne veterans were closing out a year of fantastic
Champagne experiences with a bang, and fried chicken! Those were the people
that come to every one of my Champagne events, have been for years now and are
now people that drink Champagne, or our little Champagnes I should say, like it
should be, like a wine and not some twice a year bubbly treat. Reflecting back
on both I have high hopes that maybe a couple of those second, (first) night
people will be inspired to continue exploring the wines I so adore and have
devoted over ten years to sharing with others…in fact I know at least a couple
will, (one dude in particular, saw it all over him, he was bitten, and good)
and now I wonder, if I had poured the wines in the order I did on the second,
(first) night, would that have made a difference in sales? Like I said,
confusing but aside from being super beat and having the skin on my palms feel
as if it was on fire while opening even more bubbles Saturday afternoon, (think
my last count as to number of bottles I opened, with my hands and not a corkscrew, in less than 36 hours, 99
bottles. Pass that around my friends…ouch) I had so much fun, learned even more
and found myself enraptured and seduced by a wine that had somewhat fallen out
of my favor. If I were forced to give the whole experience a numerical score….I
wouldn’t, it deserves more.
The Wines That Made Me Swoon
2005 Agrapart Pere et Fils Grand Cru Mineral Extra
Brut Blanc de Blancs ($72.99)
I went on a limb and even though priced higher than
many of the wines later on in the class I started with this delicate and
mineral-rich wine from Agrapart. Still quite young the wine needs some time to
gain some fat, fill out and settle the hell down, but even now you can get an
idea of what remarkable base wine this is made from. The purity of cool climate
Chardonnay on the nose, almost Chablis like in that salty, kind of briny way.
Cold river stones, green apple, seashells and just a hint of faintly toasted
brioche.
N.V. Jose Dhondt Blanc de Blancs ($56.99)
Remember when Blanc de Blanc was more reserved and
sort of austere? Well Jose Dhondt doesn’t. Rich, weighty, bursting with salted
caramel and citrus. A big, busty wine that begs for gulping.
2004 Marcel Moineaux Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs,
($62.99)
One of my heart-stoppers of the evening. I’ve loved
this wine for years now but right now, it is in the sexiest, most complex spot,
so much so that it killed me to pull my nose from the glass. Deeply nutty
aromatics, like hazelnuts that have been roasted in warm butter, crushed oyster
shells, sea spray and the long, achingly long finish is all warm honey on
toast. A brilliant wine that evolves in the glass, changing a few minutes and
defying you to ignore it. Wild, it drove me wild.
N.V. H. Billiot Grand Cru Brut Reserve, ($58.99)
Over the years I’ve had an on-again-off-again
relationship with the wines from Billiot. Sometimes finding the wines clumsy,
sloppy, shut down or just plain dull. Right now, Billiot and I, we are SO on
again. All three wines from this estate were rock stars at our events but it
was this wine that captivated me, seduced me and reminded me why I fell in love
with Champagne in the first place. Power, regality, deep concentration,
staining texture and a finish that won’t stop. Get some, now. Damn…
N.V. R.H. Coutier Grand Cru Brut Rose, ($57.99)
Always cracks me up, the N.V. Brut from Coutier is
all showy, flashy and full of junk in the trunk but this Rose, delicate and
restrained in a way that draws you in and refuses to let go. Just the prettiest
pale pink, a nose of sweet black cherries and wild strawberries, lemon curd and
warmed cream. Just pretty, supple, generous without being overpowering, pure
and polished. Delightful.
2004 Camille Saves Grand Cru Brut, ($73.99)
You like bubbly wine? Step away from this bottle.
You like the flavor of small production wines grown in France’s famous region
of Champagne, that just so happen to have super-fine bubbles in them? Pick this
bottle up, go straight home, pop it in the fridge and pull out some cured meat
and cheeses, get out the potato chips, pop the cork and find out why the wines
from Camille Saves take home our Champagne of the Year awards year in and year
out. Gobs and gobs of sexy red fruit,
berries and black cherries sprinkled with holiday spices and tossed in a
buttery pie crust. Unbelievably rich, palate staining and long the bubbles here
are the thing that keep the wine perfectly in balance. Insane how stunning this
wine is.
