Grand Cru Tasting Group – 17 June 2020 – Champagne

[Waiters Friend]

G’day

After three months of lockdown, what else would the theme be but Champagne? 12 of us descended on the recently re-opened Mayfair Lane for a memorable tasting.

As usual, the wines were tasted blind, with NVs first, then vintage wines from youngest to oldest. The notes below incorporate the group’s comments, and are not necessarily my personal opinion.

Please also be aware that all wines were tasted in our usual (moderately substantial) wine glasses, and not in flutes. This of course affected how long the mousse persisted

So, onto the wines:

Gosset Brut Grande Reserve NV: Pale yellow in colour with a velvety mousse. The nose shows lemon / citrus, brioche, bruised apple and macadamia oil. The palate is tangy, with almost sharp acidity, and shows lemon sherbet, green apple, and some salinity. It’s quite developed, a little toasty and has good length and drive. Well regarded by the group.

Pascal Agrapart Grand Cru (Avise) NV: Disgorged in 2016. Pale yellow, with a fine bead initially. There’s lemon, strawberries, green apples, and some root vegetables (parsnips especially) on the nose, along with a hint of toffee and some yeast. The palate is showing lemon curd and lime juice, along with some development and yeast autolysis. Overall, it’s quite fragrant. The palate is initially quite expansive, but finishes a fraction short.

Louis Roederer NV: Pale yellow with a persistent bead. The nose shows green apple, citrus, cranberry, and gooseberry, along with flint, salinity and perhaps a touch of mint. There’s modest yeast on the nose as well. The palate is tart and acidic with more lime and apple. There’s good length of flavour.

Marc Chauvet NV: Yellow in colour with a fine mousse. This shows yeast, red apple, caramel and some rose petal on the nose. The palate reminded me of apple cider / baked apple or custard apple, with some sherbet and caramel, and appeared lower in acid than previous wines. Good length and finish.

Ayala NV: Disgorged 2018. Pale yellow with persistent mousse. Savoury nose, with some cinnamon, stewed apple, dry hay, and churned butter. There’s also chalk, minerality and salinity. The palate shows high acid and salinity, with savoury notes and floor polish. Interestingly, it also shows orange peel on the back palate and is showing signs of development.

G.H.Mumm “4” NV: The “4” means 4 years in oak. Pale yellow in colour. The almost pungent nose has loads of preserved lemon, brioche, caramel, along with some chalk and autolysis. The preserved lemon persists through the palate, as does the chalkiness and minerality. One of the features of the palate was rhubarb crumble, and as it warmed up, its richness became apparent. Good length.

Ayala NV: Disgorged 2018. Pale yellow with persistent mousse. No, this is not a copy and paste, we saw the same wine twice in three wines (of course, blind). It’s interesting to see bottle variation, as the nose on this one displayed nuts, citrus, strawberry and yeastiness along with (surprisingly) some chlorine and aldehyde. The palate was savoury, almost meaty, with salted grilled lemon. Excellent mouthfeel and length, but considered to be short on acid. The group debated whether this is Pinot dominant (it is) and the reactions of the group could be best described as “confused’.

Piper Heidsieck NV: Pale yellow with big bubbles. Strong yeast autolysis, intense strawberry and those root vegetables reappeared, along with bruised apple and some toast. The palate has a touch of sherry to go with the toastiness (is this oxidation or aldehydes?) along with some bitter orange peel. This divided opinion, with some feeling the wine was a little simple and some complimenting the persistent flavour and good length.

Then we moved onto the vintage Champagnes:

Pierre Gerbois 2012: Disgorged 2016. Pale yellow with fine but persistent mousse. The nose showed apricot alongside the expected citrus, and some wet pebble / slate. The palate is rich, with lemon, apricot and a soft acid grip. The group considered that this is Pinot dominant (it is) and was described as elegant and interestingly “Chablis like”. This final comment is fascinating, as the vineyards are roughly halfway between Reims and Beaune, and the winemaker considers their product to be more influenced by Burgundy than Champagne. The group also considered that we were drinking this way too young.

Franck Bonville “Collection Cuvee” 2008 (Avize) disgorged 2019. Pale to moderate yellow in colour, with a persistent mousse. Now we’re seeing the value of vintage champagne with a little age (and in this case, a lot of time on lees). This had an expressive nose, light toast and nuttiness, with yeast and some butter. The palate is quite complex, with salinity, fresh raspberries, green apples, and peaches and cream. A long finish. Surprisingly, there was debate as to whether this wine was too young or too old – for me, it was the best wine I tasted for the evening. Highly regarded by the group.

Pierre Gimonnet Blanc de Blanc 2008: Pale to moderate yellow in colour. The nose was quite different to many of the other wines, with honey, lupins, almonds and oats, along with some minerality. The palate shows a touch of the sherry we saw in the Piper Heidsieck, in this case, perhaps a function of age. The sherry character was even specified as flor. There’s some salinity and considerable complexity. This wine divided the group.

Lanson Gold Label 2005. Only just yellow in colour. It’s heavy on the toast, with almonds and yeast autolysis. There’s lots of stone fruits, peaches and golden apples. A taster considered that the wine showed “powdery acidity” and then had to explain what they meant. Good grip and length. Drinking at its best now.

Despite being divisive, wine of the night was the Pierre Gimonnet Blanc de Blanc 2008, and it was clear that the vintage wines far exceeded the NVs in quality.

A thoroughly enjoyable tasting, and a great way to emerge from the cocoon. Thanks to all involved.

Cheers
Allan

Champagne line up.jpg

[Croquet King]

Thanks for the notes Allan.

I'm a big fan of the Gosset GR. When I was living in HK I was buying it on special for about $40 a bottle. It was the house champagne of my manor.
I've got a few of the 05 Lanson as well, so looking forward to those.