Friday 20 July 2012

GOSSET 1995 CELEBRIS

Another Gosset today. Well not exactly. This entry has remained in my drafts since Christmas.

I found a bottle of Gosset 95 very unexpectedly and was I happy! Yes of course I was! My favourite vintage and my favourite producer too! However I cannot say that on the first few occasions I was impressed! But this time, I cannot say I was disappointed.

Although with Gosset the Grand millessimee is beyond Celebris on many accounts, Celebris is evidently made with future in mind. This wine was first tasted in 2002 then in 2005 and then in 2011. And what more can I say other than some Champagnes show their beauty with age!

Notes of honey and nuts with exquisite taste of lemons gave the wine such life in 2011 that even Bollinger's RD could not measure up, in fact not even Louis' BB 88. As if it were saying : 'I might have matured/developed, but I am full of life and nowhere near retirement' and for 95 harvest it could not have been a better statement!

:)

GOSSET (Vs) VILMART - well not really!

Ok! I admit! Comparisons never work!

And it is true!

I chose for my evening two companions, the long awaited Gosset's new baby, its NV Blanc de Blancs and Vilmart's Grand Cellier D'or 2006.

Yes, you're right; a non vintage along with a vintage? Perhaps a move against all reason but still I bought the two and felt it was important and even more so, interesting to run a duel tasting!

So as for Gosset: I cannot emphasise more how much I love Gosset, however the blanc de blancs isn't quite what I had hoped the cellar master would conjure but, and with Gosset there is always a 'but', I will die before I see this wine develop in a bottle or on lees. It is an impressive Chardonnay with the standard nose of one, perhaps a little more mineral but alas nothing too out of the ordinary. And the 'but': My god it will age spectacularly!

Vilmart on the other hand 'hello baby!'. Seriously, this one has a nose of a very strange character, I cannot really make up mind whether it is powdery (like some frangrances, yes odd I know) somewhat mushroomy, a little off, tad rummy, somewhat notes of milk and a little caramel, with a hint of bailyes. And after a while the nose develops slightly and a facet of a slight tinge of rose water comes in!

So if your Champagne experience gets a little too dull, then go against all reason...as one would anyway :)

and which one won? I shall save the answer for later; ask me again in 10 years!

LOUIS ROEDERER BLANC DES BLANCS 2003

Finally!

When I sometimes discover wines which over the years became my favourite my usual dilemma (what am I going to drink?) is resolved.

As you know the time I spend in wine shops has no limit. Today, for instance, I could easily sleep amongst all the bottles and feel so at home there! Perhaps a wrong idea but still!

Anyway, one day before Christmas I walked into the shop and spent at least 45 minutes for all the bottles to speak to me. And when I cast my eyes on Louis BB 2003 it was set! It turned out to be more expensive but hey....

Let's get the facts right. So we know that all Louis BB regardless of vintage deliver something very interesting and showcase masterfully the character of the vintage it is released. I would refer to previous entries on BB by Louis and also review the article about 2003 by Bollinger.

To sum up, 2003 was impressive vintage and an interesting one too, but why did I find Bollinger's 2003 and Louis very similar?

:)


Saturday 7 July 2012

NOT EVERY WINE FROM CHAMPAGNE IS FIZZY

Yes it is true! The bold declaration, strangely enough mostly in capital letters, on any label of Champagne as we know it can only be applied to the fizzy stuff.

But! There is not just the fizzy stuff made in our favourite patch of the wine world.

Years have I been looking, albeit not actively, for the red wine made in Champagne called, and as such, having its own appelation, Coteaux Champenois.

I found couple of producers from Champagne making wines under the aforementioned appelation and naturally with a bottle of Champagne in one hand I reached out for the more expensive one of the two that were in the shop.

I opened in a few minutes ago and my first reaction was 'Corked'! Bugger! The corked smelled as though it was but the wine did not taste very much like a corked one as the over powering smell of griotte liquor came through like a slap! I recalled pickled cherries in rum and dark chocolate which is a box of chocolate of very distinctive flavour and aroma. But the wine gives the impression that it has too much alcohol in it, which of course it does not as it is half a per cent below classic Champagne.

The wine is from Ay. Home to the likes of Gosset, Ayala, Bollinger and it is classified as Grand Cru.

The body is pronounced and the aromas big it does not lack softness. My first conclusion is that perhaps it is not the ultimate favourite and I would prefer the classic Ay Champagnes however, I can really see how some  people can find this tipple immensely appealing! Cheers Jazz! :)