Matt

9.4

Denis Varnier is one of my favorite producers in the Cote de Blancs/Avize. His passing was tragic but the magic of his work lives on in these bottles and Thanksgiving seemed like an appropriate time to enjoy one. Classic Avize power but this cuvée always has a real mineral cut to it. This was gorgeous with air, balance of pure orchard fruits, rocks, and earthy elements like mushroom and fresh cut hay. Another facet I love in these wines is the texture, there’s room for interpretation, but you cannot get around the lengthy imprint these leave on your palate. 100 CH from “Clos du Grand Père,” 5 years sur lie, 9/2014 disgorgement — 6 years ago

James Webb

9.5

Gorgeous. Lemon peel spritz and apricot nose. Some subtle smoke and minerality. Full body with big lemon notes. Such a fantastic grower Champagne from the Cote de Blanc. Grand Cru awesomeness and the price is amazing! — 7 years ago

Neil Cornish

9.5

Cote dOr with bubbles. There are noticeable Pinot Noir flavors here. Sexy stuff — 8 years ago

with Michael, Jon and 1 other

Gary Westby

Champagne & Sherry buyer K&L Wines

9.3

This yet-to-be released replacement for the non-vintage brut has a higher proportion of Chardonnay and an extra year on the lees. It takes advantage of a great purchase of vineyard and contracts made several years ago by LP allowing them more access to Chardonnay from the cote de blancs. With nearly Puligny like limey drive and pure chalk on the finish, the wine world needs to get ready for some serious entry level stuff from LP! — 8 years ago

Max Tierno

9.5

My first pick for the Corkbuzz list. I have probably already had 25 bottles and considering how many this rising champagne star has made its an absolute honor. Sentimental bias aside I truly love this wine and have dedicated my time as a sommelier to spreading the love for Etienne Calsac. Looking forward to watching this guy's promising ride as one of the greatest producers in the cote de blanc — 9 years ago

Michael Horkay

10

A perfect champagne and one of the most exciting things I've ever tasted. Still a baby but this champagne stole the show. Wei one after wine I kept coming back to this beauty even with grand cru raveneau Robert chevelion premier cru burgundy verset cornea and ogier cote rotie. Even with those open you still were drawn too this master piece. Golden yellow with intense minerality and Carmel notes..... But there is more..... There was always something more..... In fact I think I can still taste this today. If there ever was a wine to spend your hard earned money....This would be it. — 9 years ago

John Osgood

9.4

2010 base - fantastic power and precision. — 10 years ago

David Speer

9.7

Amazing wine. Shows cote de blanc and perle Blanche. Wow. Drink it if you can! — 10 years ago

Cathrine Todd

9.4

1996 Duval-Leroy Fleur de Champagne 1er Cru Brut that is around 70% Chardonnay & 30% Pinot Noir from Grand and Premier Cru vineyards in the Grand Vallee de la Marne, the Montagne de Reims and Cote des Blancs. Duval-Leroy's most famous cuvée and signature Champagne. This 1996 has great zing of acidity you expect with nice balance of a creamy body, nutty aromas, and slightly evolved flavors of bruised apple. It's funny how some '96s are still tightly wound. This was giving a lot right now in contrast. — 11 years ago

Thibaud Brocard

Winemaker/Winegrower Champagne Brocard Pierre

9.8

Chardonnay 80 % - Pinot Blanc 20 %. The perfect blend for a blanc de blancs of the Cote des Bar ! — 11 years ago

Andrew Lampasone

Owner Wine Watch Selections

9.3

This is 100% Pinot Noir from the cote de Bars on Kimmeridgian — 12 years ago

Fredrik Finn

9.6

Absolutely extraordinary. A wine that deserves to be ranked amongst the absolute top tier of Champagnes. 100% CH, 3gr RS, blocked MLF and 57 months on the lees. The wine is acting like a symphony as it’s stepping up and reaching the crescendo. While being sharp and linear it’s also rich and complex with a dynamic development in the glass, everything balanced in a symbiotic relationship throughout an everlasting finish. Don’t be afraid to serve this in a Burgundy glass. — 7 years ago

Katerina

9.0

Skvele, ciste, plnejsi, krasna kyselinka. Vyborne. Pierrières is a 1.2 ha vineyard located in the village of Vert-Toulon. In Pierrières, the chalk in the vineyard is extremely close to the surface and mixed with black silex.

Pierrières is powerful, racy and penetratingly complex. It covers an incredibly wide range, from layers of citrus to stone fruits, stony minerality, smoke and herbs. There’s an amazing radiant expansiveness to the wine. Olivier Collin začal v Congy vinařit tak, že v roce 2003 obnovil 4,5 ha vinic, které jeho rodina pronajímala. Koupil si starý traktor, pluhy a začal kultivovat zemi. Poté zakoupil použité burgundské sudy. Vinařskému umění se učil u Anselma Selosse, na vinici používá organické přípravky a postupy, všechna svá vína fermentuje alkoholicky i malolakticky spontánně v 220l dubových sudech, nefiltruje je ani nečiří. Dosage drží na hranici Extra Brut nebo ji nepřidává.Terroir Côtes de Sézanne je zcela unikátní, neboť v křídovém masívu se skrývají uhlíkaté formy pazourku a onyxu. Toto podloží je zcela ojedinělé v celé Champagni. Dnes Olivier obhospodařuje 8,75 ha vinic, nicméně roční produkce činí pouze 30 000 lahví.

Vinařství ULYSSE COLLIN produkuje autentická, jednoodrůdová vína, která jsou zastoupena jen v těch nejlepších podnicích světa. Olivierova vína jsou neuvěřitelně harmonická, charakterní a věrně v sobě odrážejí vinice, ze které pocházejí. — 7 years ago

Neil Cornish

9.4

Smokey Pinot. This is Cote dOr with bubbles. Champagne that tastes like serious wine. Yum — 8 years ago

with Jon

Michael H

9.1

All good.... any time — 8 years ago

Tom Kobylarz

9.6

An ambitious wine made in a solera style where still wine has been set aside and blended with other vintages going back to 2004. It is a till wine through that progression and then bottled with a tirage to initiate the bubble creation from secondary fermentation. 100% Chardonnay from a single site in the Grand Cru Cote des Blancs village of Mesnil.
#selosse #matteroftasteNYC — 9 years ago

with Blair and Karyn

Aldo Mussio

9.5

Cote de Blancs, grande espressione dei profumi e delle note burrose e allo stesso tempo taglienti dello Chardonnay perfettamente a suo agio con la spiccata freschezza di mille agrumi e il gusto un po' tostato di cereali — 9 years ago

Peter Scudamore-Smith MW

9.6

Visiting Charles Heidsieck; crayeres, tasting this magnificantly successful Blanc de Blancs crafted by previous celebrated chef de cave from all four grand crus in Cote des Blancs plus Vertus; amazing smoke/brulee bottle character; #champagne #drinkchampagne #charlesheidsieck #reims #blancdeblancs #blancdesmillenaires #1995 #uncorkedandcultivated #wineandfoodtour #france2015 — 10 years ago

Jonathan Hu

9.2

great Blanc de noir ! Treat this champagne like any of your delicate wine. Needs decant for couple hours to reach the peak. Still very young to drink , lots going on when drinking. — 11 years ago

Thomas Pastuszak

Sommelier/Wine Director The NoMad

9.0

Fun new discovery from the Cote des Bars — 11 years ago

John Trinidad

Wine Blogger SFWineBlog

9.8

Chris - you rock and win #WOTN! — 11 years ago

thibaut bourtembourg

9.1

60% pn (25% red from cote de bar) 58.01 — 7 years ago

Michael Goldstein

9.0

If Himmler has chosen viticulture over genocide perhaps this blanc de blanc champagne from cote de blancs would be the result. Aggressively pure and clean, lighter than the French attitude to adultery and elegantly frothed. Would be excellent with San choy bow — 7 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.1

On the nose; floral fruits of blackberries, dark cherries, black plum, plum, blue fruits, black raspberries, limestone, dark raspberries, black cherry cola, dark rich soil, vanilla, cinnamon, volcanic minerals, anise, violets and fresh red floral bouquet. The body is full and the tannins are about half resolved. The structure is still fairly big as is the tension with good length. The fruits are rich & ripe; blackberries, dark cherries, black plum, plum, blue fruits, black raspberries, limestone, dark raspberries, black cherry cola, dark rich soil, vanilla, cinnamon, touch of clove, darker spice, a little bit of Christmas cake, suede leather, crushed dry rocks, volcanic minerals, anise, violets, lilacs, and fresh red floral bouquet. The acidity is round, good but could be better. The long finish is rich, fruit driven with just the right mix of fruit, earth and medium spice. Producer notes and history...Chateau La Lagune has a long history that dates all the way back to the 16th century, under King Henri IV. The same time the Dutch engineers started draining the water from the marshes and swamps making way for all those Pauillac Chateau’s. Their beautiful chateau was built in 1715. The chateau was designed by architect, Baron Victor Louis, who earned fame for his design of the Grand Theater in Bordeaux. By 1730, Chateau La Lagune was already known for producing Bordeaux wine. The property remained under the ownership of the well known de Seze family for several generations. Moving ahead a few centuries to the modern era of the 1950’s, Chateau La Lagune experienced problems caused by the end of World War II along with the economic crisis. As well, there was the great frost of 1956; which destroyed a large portion of the vineyards in Bordeaux. In 1958, George Brunette purchased Chateau La Lagune with only 5 hectares still planted with vines. It was George Burnette that began a large replanting Chateau La Lagune. However, George Brunette also took an economic hit during that era and was forced to sell Chateau La Lagune to the Ducellier family of Champagne Ayala. In 2000, both Chateau La Lagune and Champagne Ayala were sold to the Frey family. The Frey family sold Champagne Ayala and bought the legendary estate of Jaboulet in the Rhone, which of course includes the crown jewel of the region, Jaboulet La Chapelle. The Frey family also owns a substantial piece of Billecart-Salmon. In 2014, the Frey family bought Chateau de Corton Andre and its 7 hectares of vines in the Cote de Beaune area of Burgundy. Caroline Frey (shown in the right photo) is the manager and Winemaker of Chateau La Lagune, as well as their estate in Hermitage, Jaboulet. In November, 2013, La Lagune purchased the 8.9 hectare estate of Chateau D’Arche, from Mahler Besse. Chateau D’Arche is located in the commune of Ludon, not far from La Lagune. This purchase made more than economic sense for the property, as the vines were once part of La Lagune when the original 1855 Classification took place. La Lagune has 72 hectares (180 acres) under vine. Their grape variety is a distribution of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Petit Verdot. Chateau La Lagune is fermented in a total of 72 different, temperature controlled, stainless steel vats that vary in size from 22 hectoliters to 200 hectoliters to allow for parcel by parcel vinification. The vats are laid out in a functional and architecturally interesting pattern (Shown in the bottom photo). Malolactic fermentation takes place in vat. The wine is blended before the aging process begins. This is similar to what takes place at Chateau Haut Brion. La Lagune is aged in between 50% and 60% new French oak barrels for 18 months. — 7 years ago

Devin Bray

9.1

From the Cote des Blancs, just south of the Montagne de Reims region.

100% Chard (old vines, all grand Cru status)

50% of the wine goes through Malolactic fermentation.

Aged 2 to 3 years.

Panettone, brioche, candied citrus, peaches, flinty, complex. — 9 years ago

Aldo Mussio

9.4

Dal cuore del cote del Blancs, un Grand Cru che fa i suoi bei 6 anni sui lieviti. Un bel giallo oro con una bolla finissima e lunghissima che ti accarezza con delicatezza tutta la bocca. Molto intenso con belle note ossidative mai fuori dal lecito. Gessoso, tagliente con gran carattere e una lunga persistenza che ricordare caramelline e d'orzo — 9 years ago

Peter Scudamore-Smith MW

9.0

A brut Rose with freshness; excellent exposition from the Cote des Bar region of Champagne; enjoyed at Le Jardin in the Chateau des Crayeres; #sergemathieu #champagne #cotedesbar #lejardin #rosé #drinkchampagne #uncorkedandcultivated #wineandfoodtour #france2015 #2013 — 10 years ago

Tom Kisthart

Owner Craft & Curd

9.5

This domaine is in the Cote des Blanc but in the 1er cru village of Vertus so they can grow both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. — 11 years ago

Peter Hunken

9.0

Lovely Cote Des Blancs, Vertus Chardonnay — 11 years ago

Yoon Ha

Master Sommelier/Wine Director Benu

9.1

A MdR BdB that echoes the refinement of northern Cote des blancs. — 11 years ago