TN: Melbourne Group drinks some Champange

[mychurch]

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Thanks to Andrew (who I don’t think is on this site) for putting together this tasting. We tried a whole spectrum from Aldi up to the Dom. Cuttlefish wrote some extensive notes, which I hope he will share, while my notes are just some memories from the morning after.

12 Dom Perignon 3.5+*
What a way to start - i doubt there is any debate that this is the best wine made in the world given its combination of quality, volume and ageworthiness. This was not up to the level of 2 bottles I tried last winter, but it’s a great wine. None of the Extended lease notes others showed, this has some pinapple and grapefruit on the palate. Lovely bubbles. One to come back to over the next 10 + years

14 Voirin-Jumel 3*
Bigger bubbles, lots of lees notes on the nose. Big wine - could have been from Tasmania. Lots of red apple. Food wine.

NV Veuv Monsigny Premier Cru 3*
The top Aldi wine that sells for $35. A bit more refined than the 14 it was drunk with. Quite well balanced, but it’s not up to the level of most of the wine we had. Still, if you are having a big event and need some bubbles, it’s a bit of a no brainier.

Charles Heidsieck Mis en Cave 1996 4*
Put together by the great Daniel Thibault, who died unexpectedly in 02. Much older than the others, the colour, the bouquet, texture and finish were deeper, richer and more complex than the rest. Perfect wine for a group of experiences tasters, but the Champange-Is-A-Party-Wine brigade would disagree. The wine that first made me appreciate Champange and it was great to revisit.


Jacquesson 737 (3*) and 742 (4*)
Oxidative style of bubbles that we all seemed to enjoy.
The 737 was funky - some thought it was corked, but Jan explained that it’s a known feature of these wines. The 742 was just behind the Bolly as the wine of the day. Lovely saline wine, with a yeasty, lambic nose. Worth buying.

2014 Bollinger Grand Annee 4*
2008 Lanson 3.5*
If we exclude the Heidsieck, that came from another time, then the clear wine of the day was the Bollinger. It showed exactly why Bond would want to drink it - complex nose, some bread, lovely fine bubbles, creamy. Just oozed class. The Lanson was a nice wine as well, but it just missed the elegance and refinement. Palate fatigue was kicking in as well

2019 Coteaux Grand Cru Chardonnay, Domaine Vincent 3.5*
2019 Mareuil Rouge, Domaine R.Pouillon 3.5*
1983 Marquise de la Tourette Hermitage, Dallas 3.5*
We had some still wines as well. The Chardonnay and Pinot both came from Champange and I really enjoyed them. The Chardonnay was very modern with plenty of salinity and lemon. Reminded me of a modern Yarra wine. The Pinot had a stinky nose and some animal notes. Quite complex and had the most personality. Yum.

The Hermitage was opened at the end and was probably a mistake. It has a lot of sediment and needs time to stand up, so ended up cloudy - either needs to be drunk at home or decanted before leaving. Not a lot of fruit, but the acidity is there and I guess the leather and animal tones will come out in a better bottle. Nice treat though.

There was also a standard Moet right at the end, but that was just to help with the party spirit

The event was hosted at East End Wine Bar and it was a great venue. Lots of good food, plenty of space and reasonable glasses

Looking forward to the April event, which will be young Shiraz. Hopefully Con can make it as he was missed today.

[cuttlefish]

Thanks for the writeup, Cam.

My notes were as follows:
Starter:
Dom Perignon 2012 - Faintly golden straw colour. Beautiful depth and toasty richness to the nose with sweet biscuit/brioche notes. Excellent depth of flavour with confident acidity giving good length.

Bracket 1:
Champagne Veuve Monsigny 1er Cru Brut NV - Light, white/yellow straw colour. Leaf/mint edged with white fruit aromas, and a suggestion of bitter almond. Light and almost briny on the palate. Leaner but pretty sound wine.

Champagne Voirin-Jumel 2014 Brut - Brighter, slightly more golden white straw colour. Faint bruised apple, into nectarine. More autolytic and a richer style as a result.

Bracket 2:
Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve (1996 base) - Mature nose, but clean. A clear deep golden colour. A wonderfully vinous nose: honeycombe, dried mushroom. A fantastic wine with excellent bottle aged character

A breaker wine:
Domaine Vincey Coteaux Champenois Blanc 2019 - This is a still wine falling both within and outside of the theme. Quite waxy aromas, with lanolin and custardy citrus, and mineral streaks running through it.I found the palate here a touch watery at times, but then fine, laser-edged acidity through the finish.

Bracket 3:
Jacquesson Cuvee No. 242 - Lovely strawberries and cream aromas, plus more savoury elements along the lines of sweet barn floor. One member described it as having aromatic qualities of a lambic beer, and I could see this. The acidity, here, is paramount and took on an almost sherbetty quality; very fine and powerful.

Jacquesson Cuvee No. 737 - I thought this had mild cork taint, so I didn't really take notes.

Bracket 4:
Bollinger La Grande Annee 2014 - Tight and sophisticated. A complex nose of lanolin, biscuit, and more savoury elements. Waxy flavours and some bottle-developed complexity. High-class mouthfeel with smooth citrus-type flavour.

Lanson Vintage 2008 - Pink grapefruit, and wax/lanolin aromas. A creamy palate, with quite exciting vibrant acidity giving good length.

A couple of red wines to finish:
Domaine R Pouillon e Fils Carriere D'Athis 2019 - 100% pinot noir. Miniscule production. Showing some EA, faint brett, lipstick, ferrous notes. I also wrote plastic kids pool, which is a kinda specific thing, but probably some type of chemical note. Those are my only notes for this one, and probably do not do the wine justice at all.

Delas Cuvee Marquise de la Tourette 1983 - Well we love aged wines, and this one is very mature, but I loved the aroma profile so much: tomato leaf, savoury earth, herbs, saddle leather, and a ferrous note. Just missing a beat on the front palate, but really very good drinking. Dry cedar, wood spice and the overall amalgam of spice aromas is quite alluring. A nice old bottle, in my opinion.

Thanks to all attendees, and thanks to everyone for their very generous contributions.

Cf.