The Auswine Forum

Some impressions from a fizz tasting at work...

Trevisiol Le Figli Prosecco della Valdobbiadene Extra Dry NV (Veneto, Italy)

Nice light aperitif style. Very fresh, nice red apple fruit, pleasant if uncomplicated.

Pere Ventura Cava Brut NV (Penedes, Spain)

Some Chardonnay added to the traditional indigenous varieties. Touch of yeast autolysis on the nose, nice soft palate, quite light yeastiness overlaying citrus fruit. Excellent value for money.

Green Point NV (Yarra Valley, Australia)

The Domaine Chandon NV bottling. Quite a broad Chardonnay driven palate, clean with little yeastiness, lemon/lime zest, slightly honeyed Chardonnay fruit. Decent, but the Pelorus NV is better IMHO.

Laurent Perrier NV (Champagne, France)

A lighter style, but not without some complexity. Better than some LP's I've had. Very fine persistent bead, touch of autolysis, nice elegant palate; green apple, some floral touches, very nice.

Nyetimber Blanc de Blancs 1995 (West Sussex, England)

A multi-award winning wine from England's premier sparkling wine producer. Does not pale in comparison to either the Perrier or the Bollinger. Quite developed Chardonnay fruit - honey, brioche and hints of toast - both on the nose and the palate. Fine soft bubbles, elegant but rich at the same time. Very good, drinking at its peak now and unlikely to improve further.

Bollinger Special Cuvee NV (Champagne, France)

One of my perennial faves. Powerful toasty and yeasty bouquet, reflected on the palate, quite broad, complex and definitely not clumsy or overworked. Showing very well.

Moet et Chandon Vintage 1995 (Champagne, France)

Fully developed toasty nose - not much subtlety here - you know where this wine is coming from. Toasty and honeyed, quite a mellow and soft palate. Decent if not complex.

Moet et Chandon Vintage 1998 (Champagne, France)

Quite backward compared to the 1995 and one would not expect it to be anywhere near as developed with three more years bottle age. Both the nose and palate show lemon/lime zest and just a hint of development, good acidity. Will develop well, but needs time.

Billecart-Salmon Brut Rose NV (Champagne, France)

Pale salmon pink in colour. Nice clean nose with just a touch of autolysis. One of the most fruity wines of the evening; light strawberry fruit, elegantly structured, with perhaps the only detracting point being a slightly higher level of sweetness than I would prefer - yes it's dry, but I think they were probably pretty generous with the dosage.

Fox Creek Dry Sparkling Shiraz-Cabernet Franc NV (McLaren Vale, Australia)

I am not a fan at all of Fox Creek's table wines. However, I think their sparkling red is pretty respectable stuff, and some of the Pommies seemed to think so as well. It mightn't have the ageing structure of a Seppelt Show SS or a Rockford Black, but it's a pleasure to drink now. In the Fox Creek style, quite rich, well fruited, evident liqueuring - lots of kirsch comes through. I couldn't think of a better wine to have with Peking Duck!

Cheers
Phil

Hello Phil,

For many, Champagne can be a difficult wine to describe. Could almost smell/taste some of the above as I sit here salivating over your notes.

Wondering if you've had the chance to try the Billecart N/V of late? Just about my favorite N/V at present, with the Piper Heidsieck also travelling well, but only after 12-18 months after release. Tart, lemony and somewhat one-dimensional initially, the Piper puts on weight, becoming wonderfully complex with some time in the cellar.

Thanks again for the excellent post!

David

I must admit that it's been sometime since I drank the regular Billecart-Salmon NV. From what I recall, it was a nice clean, quite elegant wine, perhaps a Chardonnay driven blend, but not a super powerful yeasty style - perhaps better as an aperitif than a food wine - very nice nonetheless.

When it comes to buying Champers here in the UK, I tend to buy up when one of the major supermarkets (I won't mention names) discounts their entire portfolio by 25% and you can get Roederer Brut Premier and Bollinger Special Cuvee for £18-£20 a bottle by the 6-pack.

I'm yet to try Krug, Salon and many of the prestige bottlings of the bigger houses, but my best Champagne experience to date has been the wines of Champagne Raymond Boulard, a very small family owned producer. You won't see them in Australia and next to none makes it to the UK, but it is definitely worth a visit if you do make it to Champagne; extremely good well priced wines, and he's trying every trick in the book - biodynamics, barrel fermentation; he's just released a "solera" Champagne (that I have not been lucky enough to try).

Cheers
Phil

Phil,

Agree with the B-S being more of an aperitif style. Certainly in the opposite spectrum to the creamier, toasty Bolly house-style. Being a recent 'find' it will be interesting to see, with time, how it develops in the bottle (if I can keep my hands off it, that is!)

Roederer was my benchmark N/V for many years, but like the Pol N/V seems to have gone on and off the boil and jumping, alarmingly, in price. Or perhaps the odd bottle or two I've tried have been poorly stored or stored too long on cork? Consistency of quality seems to a problem with a number of houses of late.

Krug N/V stands high in my estimations and over the years I've opened quite a few bottles on special occasions. Funnily enough, the freshly disgorged bottles seem almost too virile and acidic to my palate. Several years bottle age realises far greater complexity, eventually delivering just magnificent harmony to the patient owner. The '82 Krug tracked a very similar path with its' development, losing very little of its' freshness over many years. The '85 was, similarly, stunning. I've heard great reports about the potential of the '88, with the local rep. suggesting it needs years on cork before revealing its full potential. Everincreasing prices for these prestige cuvee's keep my purchasing decisions on the backburner as a rule. AUS$50 for the Billecart N/V was great QPR at the time. I bought a case. The '90 Dom continues to improve dramatically in the bottle with a long future predicted. Luckily, I have several left in the cellar.

Anyway, time to visit 'the land of nod'. Shite, it's almost 2 A.M. over here! How time flies when you're having fun

Goodnight or good afternoon, as our case may be.

David

Not having cellared the B-S I can't speak for experience on its development, but my guess is that it would "broaden" in time, and show honeyed fruit and a slight nuttiness. Personally, I think I like this style relatively young, but each to their own.

As to the Louis Roederer, I shared a bottle of the Brut Premier for brunch a couple of weeks back and it was very much on song; elegant, very fine bubbles, plush and soft but quite rich!

As to the likes of Dom and Krug, some of us just aren't lucky enough (woe is me......).

Cheers
Phil