Champagne!

I have been slackerly in the ways of winetasting lately and, while I have certainly been drinking here and there, I haven't been thinking about it much, and have been writing about it even less. The other day I spotted a bottle at the wine shop and I was pretty sure I remembered not liking it much, but alas, I did not make notes on it, so that information will be lost forever. And right there I decided to get back on the horse, or the wagon, or whatever it is that dumped me.

I also haven't been to a proper Saturday K&L tasting in forever, so I recently started up again. What could be better to start up with than Champagne? I don't think anything. We tasted ten of them, and I went home with two. And then went out and bought a very expensive suit for a wedding, but I can't blame that on the Champagne.

We tasted a lot of NV Champagne, which often people shun since it isn't vintage, but, as you can see from my notes below, NV Champagne has to come from some place in time, and sometimes it is actually a single vintage even if it isn't labelled as such (since a vintage year was not declared). And some of them were very good. I could go into a long boring discussion about the declaration of vintages in Champagne and how that controls supply and demand, etc etc, but even I don't want to hear myself talk about that. And I really have nothing against blending. Blending can be your friend.

I will point out that we tasted these with potato chips and crackers, and the chips were quite tasty although not as good as french fries. Naysayers hush right now... Champagne and french fries is the best pairing ever. The salty greasy starchy fries are cut beautifully by the acid and bubbles of Champagne. Don't knock it until you try it.

I rated on a ten point scale because I felt like it.

N/V Leclerc Briant "La Croisette" single vineyard Brut, Epernay ($30) Chardonnay from the 2000 and 2001 vintages. Unusual, usually he does red fruit based Champagnes, and Epernay is more town than vineyards. Pale straw. A sharp nose of lemon and cream. Sharp and acidic, with lemon zest, apples, and rocks. 7.

N/V Franck Bonville Brut Selection Blanc de Blancs, Avize ($24) Blend of 1997, 1998, and 1999 Chardonnay. Pale straw. Delicate white floral nose with yeasty biscuit undertones. Creamier and less acidic than the Leclerc, and in the mouth it is nutty, yeasty, biscuity, with a peach finish. 8.5.

N/V Launois "Cuvée Reserve", Mesnil/Oger ($26) Chardonnay, 90% from 2000 vintage, 10% from 1998. Again, pale straw. Trademark fine bubbles, with a kind of odd flinty beery nose. The mousse is sharp and acidic and we are back to green apples and lemon, although the finish is all apricot (with that slight dull bitterness apricot has). 7.5.

N/V Franck Bonville Cuvée Les Belles Voyes, Oger ($60) All 1997 vintage Chardonnay. Darker straw than the previous, this has a heady, feminine nose of peaches and flowers. It's a little big and blowsy in the mouth, with a lot of stone fruit, and it is so fruit-rich it tastes overripe to me. It was better with a potato chip, although it is not my thing. 7.

N/V Tarlant Brut Zero, Oeuilly ($27) 1998, 1999, 2000 vintages. 1/3 each Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier. Medium straw. Sharp but pleasant nose of minerals, some sweet apple and lily that starts to smell like baby asprin/orange cremesicle after it sits out a while. Not sharp or acidic, the finish is dry as expected (since it gets no dosage), but seems a little blunt and dull to me. Nice with the chips, though. 8.

1996 Leclerc Briant Cuvée Divine Brut, Epernay ($40) 50% Chardonnay, 50% Pinot Noir, 10-plus years old. People are crazy for this... the shop got it in a few days before the tasting and it was already sold out (they will have it again in a month or two). Medium yellow/straw. A sharp, prickly nose. Placid lemon-scone in the mouth, very elegant and pretty. The finish backs off gently and lingeringly. Beery but nice, I felt slightly let down by the finish. 8.5/9.

N/V Marguet-Bonnerave Brut Rose, Brouillet ($26) 70% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir. 60% from the 2000 vintage, 40% from 1998/1999. I have had this before and liked it. You won't see any more for a year and a half, so get it now while you can. The guy who makes it under the label had his brother die. His mother, who owned most of the stock, went kind of crazy and sold the vineyards to some big conglomerate (I forget which one). The rest of the family tried to sue to stop her but lost. So now the winemaker is left with a name and no grapes. He is regrouping and supposedly the grapes he is getting are better than what he had been getting, even, and in about two years he will release under the name Bonnerave. Salmon-pink in the glass. A goregous nose that defines why I love rosé Champagne... full of what I think of as rough strawberries. It's got some toast in the mouth, but is bursting with berries and is very very pretty. 9.

NV Ariston Brut Rosé, Brouillet ($29) 50% Pinot Noir, 50% Pinot Meunier, all from the 1999 vintage. Pale pink. Less rough strawberry than the Marguet-Bonnerave, and more of a clear fruit nose, with a tiny grassy note. Sharper acids with more clear fruit on the tongue, with a cherry flavor bordering on cough drop/cardamom. Pleasant enough, but not as good as the previous. 8.5

N/V René Collard Brut Carte d'Or, Reuil ($40) 100% Pinot Meunier from the 1992 vintage. Dark yellow. A fantastic earthy nose of mushrooms, dirt, manure, truffles (when aged, Pinot Meunier does that). Reminds me of the nose some Barberas have. Very smooth and mushroomy in the mouth... no fruit. Has a finish that borders on sherry-like but not too much so and if you aspirate it, you can taste the earthy flavors you can smell in the nose. (We had a bottle of this a few days later and it does best with a little air.) 9.

1985 René Collard Cuvée Reservée Millesime, Reuil ($60) 90% Pinot Meunier, 10% Chardonnay. Darkest yellow yet. Couldn't place the nose right away, but it is nutty and dry-smelling, like paper. Very austere and sherry-like. Interesting enough but a little too old for me, I think, and I liked the Carte d'Or better. 8.

So my favorites and the two bottles I bought (and in one case, bought again) were the René Collard Brut Carte d'Or and the N/V Marguet-Bonnerave. They are as different as night and day, really, but I loved them both for what they did and did well.

Tasting quote of the day:

Scott (hosting the tasting) to group of gay men, explaining the tasting order: "The first four are all Chardonnay based... you always start with white fruit."

Man in group: "Well, I'm here!"