Grower Champagnes at Le Caveau

Ahhh, a little more Champagne was in order at a pre-New Years Eve visit to Le Caveau in Atlanta. Le Caveau is quite the old world-focused wine shop, featuring smart selections from all of the high-points of France, Italy, Spain & Germany, among others. They have a tasting counter as well, which was a great place to imbibe in some of the shop’s grower-producer Champagne (courtesy of my part-time boss at Arcadian Winery, Joe Davis- thanks Joe!)

Three Champagnes at Le Caveau

Of the three wines, the Laherte Frères Grand Brut Ultradition NV (formerly Brut Tradition) was probably the most well-rounded – featuring sharp and bright fruit and mineral notes throughout with an underlying yeast and wheat complexity. This is a very nice and easy-going Champagne, but with enough depth to make it something more special.

The wine is estate-grown and comes from a blend of parcels spanning ten different villages; all farmed either organically or biodynamically. According to Peter Liem in ChampagneGuide.net, the estate most represents the terroir of the Coteaux Sud d’Epernay, an area south of the town of Epernay falling between the Côte des Blancs and the Vallée de la Marne featuring a notable mix of soft chalk soils and clay. The blend is 60% Pinot Meunier, 30% Chardonnay, and 10% Pinot Noir, with 40% coming from reserve wines. The still wine is partially barrel-fermented and undergoes partial malolactic fermentation prior to bottling.

With retail prices averaging in the mid $30 range, this is economical as far as Champagne goes. I recommend it, and Le Caveau as well!

Mmmmm Champagne!

It wasn’t a tough decision to make time after work on a Thursday to attend the 6^th Annual Holiday Champagne Tasting at Renegade Wines in Santa Barbara. This was a treasure trove of hors d'oeuvres and Champagne, including smaller production and grower-producer bottlings. The selection consisted of non-vintage cuvees, showcasing the house styles of the featured producers.

Between bites and with mostly one hand, I managed to scratchout a few notes while enjoying the wine. Overall it was a tight group from a quality standpoint; but with a nice range of styles. In the end I was able to pick out a few favorites.

The house of Alfred Gratien has been producing Champagne since 1864. They employ traditional production techniques in the primary fermentation such as fermenting in barrel, while inhibiting secondary malolactic fermentation. These methods build a base wine of great depth and character, while retaining focus and purity of fruit. All of the fruit comes from the Vallée de la Marne, Côte des Blancs and Montagne de Reims terroirs. Each of Alfred Gratien’s Champagnes is aged in bottle for at least three years. The Alfred Gratien NV Cuvée Classique Brut is a blend that features Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. It’s full of yeast and chalk on the bouquet, but the fruit beams through on the palate with much focused apple and lime. It’s bright with good depth and nice mouthwatering length on the finish. This is very enjoyable and highly recommended. $45-$50.

Champagne Le Mesnil is a coop-owned production coming from the chalk soils of grand-cru vineyards in the famous Le Mesnil-sur-Oger village in the Côte des Blancs. The Champagne Le Mesnil NV Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru is fine in appearance and full of aromas of yeast & chalk and caramel-candied apple. It’s a big wine that is rich and sharp to the palate with bright fruit and mineral-driven spice. It’s got lots of body and structure throughout and has a solid finish. This is also very nice and highly recommended. $45-$50.

Lastly, a couple of rosés from two of Champagne’s oldest houses were great highlights of the tasting.

The house of Ruinart, established by the monk Dom Ruinart in 1729, was the first established Champagne house. Its wines showcase Chardonnay coming from Côtes des Blancs and Montagne de Reims. The non-vintage wines are aged up to three years in bottle. The Ruinart NV Brut Rosé is made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, mostly classified Premier Cru, and is fermented in stainless steel before undergoing full malolactic fermentation. This rosé was clean and pure, with a floral nose and aromas of rose petal, strawberry and slate. It brought rocky notes to the palate, along with spice and strawberry. It’s rich and lush through the finish and focused throughout. Excellent overall. $60-$65.

Gosset is the oldest wine house in Champagne, established in 1584 in Aÿ. Its wines are made up almost entirely of grapes coming from Premier Cru and Grand Cru vineyards, and are known for their structure and longevity. They avoid malolactic fermentation in their winemaking, and age their wines in bottle between 3 and 5 years. The Gosset NV Grand Rosé Brut is made up of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, blending three vintages and including 10% reserve wines. It’s tightly wound with soft wheat aromas and big structure on the palate with flavors of wheat, red berry and spice. Richly polished in feel and with a full finish, this is beautifully complex, and good for cellaring. $70-$75. 

The best of the rest

I try to do more than just blog tasting notes, but I've amassed a few over the past month on wines I've not otherwise blogged about. Several of the wines are very nice, so I thought I’d combat writer’s block by dedicating a post to these notes!

~Arrowood 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Réserve Spéciale, SonomaCounty – Aromas of plum, earth-slate, and currant with deep black fruit on the palate with tobacco, cedar, and blue-floral notes. It’s balanced and rich with round polished tannins and a full finish. Nicely developed and still tastes young. $68.

~Cakebread 2009 Chardonnay, Napa Valley – Touches of mineral, honey and butterscotch, along with stone fruit. It adds subtle notes of citrus on the palate, with polished feel, good acid, solid structure, and a decent finish. Drinking well. $38.

One of the highlights

~Domaine Drouhin Oregon 2007 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley – Popped and poured with Thanksgiving leftovers. Clear ruby and medium body in the glass. Aromas of black tea leaf, red curry, sandalwood and fresh fig. Beautifully expressive palate of open red fruit, melted stone, red florals and flourishes of spice. It’s polished in feel, elegant, and fleshy throughout with balanced acid and fine tannin. It finishes long with nice black peppery fruit. Excellent, really drinking well right now. $38.

~Firestone 2010 Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara County – Nicely expressive strawberry and cherry fruit throughout with subtle spice and earthy depth. Silky and rich with elegance, roundly structured with good acid-tannin balance. Decent finish. Very good value. $24

~Firestone 2009 Malbec, Santa Ynez Valley – Black and blue fruits dominate with secondary black peppery notes and hints of oak. Full fruit, round on the palate, easy drinking style with fleshy tannins. Good. $24.

Firestone Vineyard in the Fall

~Firestone 2007 Chairman Series Merlot, Santa Ynez Valley – Cedar and leather on the nose draping the fruit. The flavors are black cherry and blackberry with subtle oaky vanilla and mocha notes along with hints of dried herb. Dry firm finish with decent length. Nicely done. $42.

~Firestone 2009 Chairman Series Cabernet Sauvignon, SantaYnez Valley – Plenty of cassis and currant aromas along with dried herb. Cassis and red fruit flavors on the palate nicely integrated with subtle medicinal herb along with oak notes of cedar and espresso. Fine firm tannin and a full finish. Very good. $42.

This big boy needs a little time and TLC!

~Firestone 2009 Proximity Twenty Six, Santa Ynez Valley – Bordeaux blend- mostly Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Red currant, cedar, cherry and licorice are on the bouquet. There’s tons of oak on the palate, with flavors of coffee and cedar with currant, cassis and brown spice. Round and lush with silky tannins and a spicy long finish. It needs time for the oak to resolve. $75.

~Perrier-Jouët Champagne Cuvée Fleur de Champagne Blanc de Blancs – Tasting out of Bordeaux glass so not a great display for the bubbles. Plenty of yeast, toast and brioche notes on the nose. It’s bright with lively citrus on the palate with mineral notes to accent the bready yeasty depth. Slightly honeyed flavors with a deep and long expansive finish. Excellent. $230.

~Tenuta Sant’Antonio Scaia, Veneto IGT – Garganega/Chardonnay. Light straw color. It’s very Sauv Blanc-like on both the nose and palate with tons of gooseberry and grapefruit and very subtle depth. Round and bright on the palate with full body and a crispness to the finish. This is a bright and pleasant casual drinker with an odd similarity to new-world Sauvignon Blanc. $12.

~Sea Smoke 2010 Southing Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills – Aromas of rhubarb, earth and plummy fruit. Well balanced on the palate, showing nice mineral, earth, tea, and dark floral notes that temper the darker fruit. Silky feel on the palate with sharp acid and fine tannins. Medium-long finish. Nice complexity. Very well done. $60.

~Siduri 2010 Sonatera Vineyard, Sonoma Coast – Popped and poured with dinner. Nice bouquet of tea leaf, wild mushroom, white pepper, Christmas spice and cherry fruit. It’s ripe and aggressive to the palate with black cherry and fig jam along with piney, earthy and herbal depth. Fine and polished in tannin with seemingly good acid and a decent finish, it's just not very graceful or balanced with this tasting. The fruit awkwardly sticks out like a sore thumb. Not how I remembered it, perhaps it just needs some time to mature back into balance. Day 2- Much improved with the fruit integrating and adding nuances of cedar and sandalwood. Shows balance and elegance. Nice mouthwatering acidity and fine tannin on the finish. Good on the second day- air it out before drinking or hold. $48

~Silverado 2006 Merlot, Napa Valley – Notes of cigar box, black currant and leather on the nose. This is densely structured palate of cassis, cedar, tobacco and black cherry. It’s broad on the palate, nicely polished, and with big chewy tannins, along with hints of mineral and earth on a full finish. Drinking well. $29.

~Stag’s Leap 2009 Artemis Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley – Plummy aromas with anise, currant and cedar notes. Black fruit on the palate with stony, black-floral, and ashy-mineral notes. Integrated oak. Elegantly structured with fine tannin and full finish. Very nice. $45.

Guilt-free bubbles

my only complaint was that the bottle was not photogenic

I took a day-trip to Hollywood last weekend and by chance found myself perusing the floor at K&L Wine Merchants. It was mostly fantasizing about wines that I can't afford to buy right now... Literally in every direction! Luckily the solution for all of the fantasies was in a good selection of half bottles on the shelves in front of the check out lanes. On those shelves was a magical guilt-free half bottle of Fleury NV Champagne Carte Rouge Brut for $21.99.

Fleury is well known as a grower-producer from the department of Aube in the south of the Champagne region. Early practitioners of organic viticulture, the estate began a conversion to biodynamic farming in 1989. Fleury is planted to 90% Pinot Noir with the balance being Chardonnay. The vineyards are located on steep slopes with soils of mostly calcareous clay. The Carte Rouge is a non-vintage Blanc de Noirs Brut. 

Notes- The mousse is foamy with a consistent medium-sized bead. Full golden color. Slightly maderized notes of baked apple and honey; with stone fruit and winter wheat aromas. Ripe and opulent on the palate with a depth of flavors consistent with the bouquet. Adds a tinge of mineral on the mid palate and finish. Ends crisp, dry and full. Very nice. $40 (rating- I like+!)