Chartogne-Taillet 2002 Champagne redux

A year ago I enjoyed a bottle of this wine and put the rest of the case away. Today, I opened a bottle.

Pale straw color, many streams of vigorous pin-point bubbles. I could (and did) copy & paste this from last year.

Smell of bread dough rising, pear.

Flavors of pear, peach into apricot, toast, with lemon at the end.

This remains an excellent medium-to-full-bodied bottle. I'm reminded why vintage Champagne is more highly prized than is NV Brut.

I'll open another bottle in a year.

Marc Hebrart non-vintage Brut Selection Premier Cru Champagne

Disgorged 7/30/2007.

Extremely pale color, many streams of pinpoint bubbles.

Freshly-risen bread dough smell, wildflowers, a bit of peach.

Taste of pear, peaches, toast. A classic austere style.

Very good medium-bodied bottle for $42.05.

H. Billiot Fils non-vintage Grand Cru Brut Reserve Champagne

Pale straw color with many streams of tiny bubbles, vigorous almost to a fault.

Smells of apple, pear, and peach.

Dry tastes of apple, berries, cherry pie, and peach pie. Toast.

Excellent full-bodied bottle for $50.40. I've long loved Pinot-heavy Champagne, this wine reminds me of the special virtues of such a cuvee.

H. Billiot Fils non-vintage Brut Rose Champagne

Long-lasting streams of pin-point bubbles rise in this orange/pink wine.

Apple and strawberry smells, and a hint of a dark-smelling organic something that others liken to cocoa (I'm more put in mind of a bruised stem of Datura, but that's poison and thus inappropriate for a tasting note on a wonderful wine like this.)

Apple and strawberry flavors, cherry pie, long lemony finish.

Excellent (if pricey) full-bodied bottle for $60.67, the finest pink champagne I've ever tasted and a reason to explore further.

Chartogne-Taillet 2002 Champagne

60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay.

Pale straw color, many streams of vigorous pin-point bubbles.

Smells of ripe red cherries, toasted home-made bread.

Peach and cherry flavors, buttered baking-powder biscuit at the end, lemony-good finish.

Pricey but not painfully so bottle for $60.67, I accept that Champagne is never cheap (especially vintage Champagne) and the degree of hand-work in producing it somewhat justifies that.

I'll open another bottle in a year.

Ruinart non-vintage Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne

Moderate golden color, long-lasting streams of small bubbles.

Buttery apple smell, perhaps it's just the power of suggestion, but this all-Chardonnay Champagne smells just like a still Chardonnay does.

As with the smell, the flavor unhesitantly proclaims this as Chardonnay.

Good bottle for$31.60 / 375ml, if the Champagne name wasn't itself a valuable marketing tool, I'd suggest "Sparkling Chardonnay".

Egly-Ouriet non-vintage Brut Tradition Grand Cru Champagne

Pale golden color, long-lasting streams of pin-point bubbles.

Melon and citrus smells.

Pear flavor, oaky toasty character in the background.

Good bottle for $67.50. It occurs to me that in 2002 Richard Juhlin published '4000 Champagnes' and in his 2008 'Champagne Guide' he claims to have enjoyed 6500. Perhaps it's time I consolidated what I've learned I most enjoy rather than keep trying to find one better bottle. But not right away, maybe later.

Ruinart non-vintage Brut Rose Champagne

Salmon-pink color, long-lasting tiny bubbles.

Ripe mango smell, berry, apples, and toast.

Tart berry flavor, ends a bit tart and thin.

Inadequate bottle for $44.88 / 375ml, and pricey(!) I probably won't buy more of this. I wish I liked it better, I greatly admire the bright cheery color of Rose Champagne, but this isn't the one.

A. Margaine non-vintage Brut Premeir Cru Champagne

Medium-pale straw color, long-lasting streams of very small vigorous bubbles.

Very restrained smell, apple and orange as it warms.

Green apple taste, orange, buttered toast if you go looking for it.

Very good bottle for $43.20, idiosyncratic in a good way, does your champagne land butter-side up or down?

Chartogne-Taillet non-vintage Brut Champagne Sainte-Anne

Pale straw color, long-lasting streams of tiny very vigorous bubbles.

Smell of ripe apples and toast.

Big ripe (maybe slightly over-ripe) apple flavor, Bartlett pear, cherry, toasted almonds, creamy texture.

$41.40 is an outstanding price for a bottle of very good real Champagne. My love for Bollinger Special Cuvee isn't diminished, but I must reconsider its status as "my everyday Champagne".

Update: The problem of posting out of order - now Paul Laurent non-vintage Brut Deluxe Champagne Cuvee des Fondateur at about $30 / 750ml, is certainly my everyday Champagne.

Moet & Chandon Champagne Nectar Imperial

Pale honey color, vigorous tiny bubbles.

Freshly risen bread-dough smell, peach pie, apple, and citrus.

Sweet peach, apple, and berry flavors.

Interesting bottle for $24.85 / 375ml. I was lead to expect this was a Brut competitor to the Bollinger Special Cuvee with its high degree of reserve wine. I find it instead closer to a demi-sec which might or might not have a comparable percent of reserve wine. (Who can tell thru the residual sugar?). Since I have a special regard for Special Cuvee, perhaps I'm prejudiced.

I say it's demi-sec and I say 'to hell with it!'

A. Margaine non-vintage Brut Rose Champagne

Very pale pink color, delicate. Many tiny bubbles.

Freshly-toasted bread, citrus and berries smell.

Apple and citrus flavors with a few blackberries, generous with the fruit, seems just a little sweeter than I expect from a Brut.

I recognize that pink Champagne is a bit of an affectation, but I'll try any Terry Theise Estate Selection, and have not yet been disappointed by that policy. Despite Jancis Robinson dismissing this wine and it getting a poor rating in Richard Juhlin's book, I enjoyed this $49.05 bottle. As I write this it's a Formula 1 weekend, and that calls for fizzy wine, more, it's Monza this weekend, and that calls for Champagne!

(Ah! It's clear (even if only to F1 fans, who know Monza was in September, that sometimes there's a delay between writing a post and publishing it.)

Nicolas Feuillatte non-vintage Brut Reserve Particuliere

Pale straw color with vigorous small bubbles.

Sweet apple pie smell, cinnamon, hints of menthol.

Off-dry apple pie flavor, drying to a thin flavor at the end.

An adequate half-bottle for $20.80 / 375ml, technically correct wine that is lacking in excitement or conviction. I won't buy more of this.

Paul Laurent non-vintage Brut Deluxe Champagne Cuvee des Fondateur

Pale golden/amber color, long-lasting streams of small bubbles.

Ripe peach smell, apples, hints of melons.

Peaches and apples, melons and figs. The taste of toast creeps up as the glass warms.

Excellent bottle for $29.25: I may have found a new everyday Champagne.

More than ever before, I think I get the point of 'farmer champagne': this is, first, wine. It behaves like wine before it behaves like Champagne. I greatly approve.

(Interestingly, while it's not advertised as such, the Richard Juhlin Champagne Guide says this is a Blanc de Noirs; 80% Pinot Noir, 20% Pinot Meunier).

Update: Paul Laurent themselves say 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay.

Pierre Peters non-vintage Champagne Blanc de Blancs Cuvee de Reserve

Pale straw color, vigorous pinpoint bubbles.

Smells of toast, wet stones, peach. The smell of some well-aged reserve wine in the cuvee is apparent.

Flavors of green apple, pear, citrus, toasty flavor of long contact with the lees.

I stand in awe after my first experience of Terry Theise-selected Champagne. I find this a bargain at $34.99 / 375 ml. Even though I know this exceeds my stated high-water-mark for posting, even though it's only a half-bottle, it's champagne and I'll pay for champagne. Soon, I think, I'll remove the whole paragraph at the bottom of the blog template about having a high-water-mark.

100% chardonnay.

Delamotte non-vintage Brut Champagne Blanc de Blancs

Golden color, small vigorous bubbles.

Smell of fresh-baked apple pie with a good crust, a bit of citrus peel.

Apple flavor, a bit bready, pineapple (which I can't help but think would be a good ingredient in the apple pie), grapefruit and toast in the lingering end.

Pricey bottle for $50.99, but Champagne can't be had cheaply.