Champagne

This is a blend of 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Noir.  Straw gold in color.  A steady bead of tiny bubbles.  The nose is nice with apples, slight peach, spice and a bit of baked bread.  Full bodied.  Firm structure at age 16.  On the palate, red fuji apple, some green apples, some salinity and minerality.  Lots of depth, it unwinds in the glass to show a delicious complexity.  Long, tart finish.  This wine drinks beautifully on its own and will work well with just about any food.  Fried foods would be perfect.  Drink over the next ten to fifteen years.  

A nice solid Champagne.  Light golden in color with a persistent stream of tiny bubble.  The nose has toast and limes.  Medium bodied.  Good acidity.  On the palate, nice lemon lime notes. Clean finish.  

This is made from 75% Le Mesnil Chardonnay blended with 25% Pinot Noir from Grand Cru vineyards in Ambonnay. 8 g/L dosage.  Copper with slight pink notes in color, clear, bright and with a moderate amount of small bubbles.  The nose is delicate but persistent with strawberries and slight cherries.  Plenty of minerality.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, strawberries and black cherries with lots of minerality.  Tart, especially on the finish.  Very food friendly, this would work well with fried chicken or popcorn, too.  Drink within five years of purchase.  

Light golden in color, clear and bright with a steady stream of small bubbles.  Very nice nose with some citrus (tangerine?), a hint of ginger, plenty of toast and slight CO2.  Full bodied.  On the palate, plenty of minerals with slight tangerine.  Lots of depth.  Long finish.  This drinks very well and is very food friendly.  It is should probably be consumed within three to five years of purchase.

Spectacular Champagne.  The P2 series is held back for almost 15 years before being released.  This one is from the excellent 2002 vintage.  The extra time has served to make this a bit fuller and rounder but with all the verve of the original release.  Golden in color with some green hues.  A lovely stream of tiny bubbles in the fluted glass.  On the nose, this is smoky with lemons, salinity and spice (ground coriander?).  Full bodied.  On the palate, this is incredibly smooth and seamless.  Deep.  Notes of lemons, limes, smoke and salinity.  Great balance.  Incredibly long finish.  And, d

This is 100% Pinot Noir from an excellent producer if a bit under the radar.  Light golden in color, with a nice mousse of fine bubbles.  The nose has slate, chalk, apples and Meyer lemons.  Medium bodied with moderate acidity.  On the palate, the  Meyer lemons come thru along with some chalk.  Very tasty.   Good finish.  This is drinking very well now and should continue over the next five to eight years.  It is nice on its own and will work well with almost any food.  

My first time trying this (available only in Magnum), it was obviously young and needed some time to open. The  is made from 100% old vine (80 to 100 years old) Clairette grapes.  Very concentrated and unique.  The nose shows almonds, limes, some peach and wax.  Full bodied.  It seemed a bit blowsy.  On the palate, almonds and limes come thru along with some wax.  It is very concentrated yet also has some volume to it.  With every sip my palate adjusted and I enjoyed it more and more.

Tasted from Magnum.  Great showing.  In the world of semi-affordable Champagne, this is one of the top Rose's.  Ruby/copper in color, clear and bright.  A steady steam of tiny bubbles form a pretty mousse.  The nose has strawberries, slight orange peel and just a hint of currants.  Medium bodied.  Nice acidity.  Fresh and clean.  On the palate, the red currants really come out along with a bit of red raspberries.  Nice finish.  This drinks easily and served as a wonderful prelude to a long dinner, both stimulating the palate and working well with Potato Pave.  Drink over the next few years

Always a pleasure to try this wine although it underperformed expectations for the  wine in this vintage.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  Nice mousse with lots of tiny bubbles.  The nose is toasty with slight lemon and a hint of smoke.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, this has tart acidity.  Green apples with slight lemon.  Very long on the finish.  This is very tasty.  It seems to be about at peak or at least turning from a young vibrant Champagne to a mature one.  Drink  over the next ten years unless you like them old.  This is very food friendly and would work with just about any fo

First time trying  the producer.  A very nice reasonably priced Champagne.  It is a blend of 50% Pinot Meunier, 25% Pinot Noir, and 25% Chardonnay.  Apparently the last few generations of the family were all Hot Air Balloon enthusiasts so the label features a hot air balloon.  Light golden in color, clear and bright with a fair amount of smallish bubbles.  The nose is nice; toasty with some green apples and a bit of ginger.  On the palate, the toastiness comes thru along a nice minerality and some lemons.  Good acidity.  Nice finish.  This makes for a very pleasant start to an evening.  It