Perrier-Jouët Wins 2 Golds at the Champagne and Sparkling Wine World Championships for its magnums Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque Blanc de Blancs 2004 and Perrier-Jouët Blason Rosé

The Champagne and Sparkling Wine World Championships is the most respected, comprehensive and rigorous international sparkling wine competition in the world. The 2017 edition attracted entries from 29 countries, which was more than ever before. Perrier-Jouët is very proud to have been awarded by the judges two Gold medals for two magnums: Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque Blanc de Blancs 2004 and Perrier-Jouët Blason Rosé.

Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque Blanc de Blancs is the quintessence of the Perrier-Jouët style. The cuvee expressed the purity of the Chardonnay: floral and intricate with the brilliance and rarity of a yellow diamond.

Perrier-Jouët Blason Rosé is the most gourmet wine of the collection, a full and fruity blend that confers generosity and spontaneity. The cuvee is fresh, fruity and floral, with an inviting salmon pink hue.

About Maison Perrier-Jouët

Maison Perrier-Jouët is an iconic champagne house with an exceptional vineyard. It is known for the finesse and elegant floral style of its wines, fashioned by the expertise of only seven Cellar Masters since its foundation in 1811. Since its 1902 collaboration with Art Nouveau pioneer Emile Gallé, creator of the anemone design for its Belle Epoque prestige cuvée, Perrier-Jouët has commissioned work from established and emerging artists including Daniel Arsham, Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance, Miguel Chevalier, Makoto Azuma, Tord Boontje, Studio Glithero and Simon Heijdens, and more recently Tord Boontje, Vik Muniz, mischer’traxler, Ritsue Mishima and Andrew Kudless.

WINE REVIEW: RUINART BLANC DE BLANCS

The blend is 100% Chardonnay from various years (20 to 25% of which are wines reserved from the 2 previous years).

A large majority of Premiers Crus from the Côte des Blancs and Montagne de Reims vineyards for aromatic refinement, supplemented by Sézannais wines known to provide maturity.
Finally, several wines from the north of the Vesle valley give a light, fresh touch.
Vinification:

• Hand picked
• Fermentation in temperature-regulated stainless steel
• Full malolactic fermentation
• Dosage : 9 g/l

TASTING NOTES
Beautiful pale golden yellow colour with gentle touch of green; there is an active effervescence with a persistent release of bubbles; On the nose fresh ripe citrus notes with some hints of white flowers and peaches; harmonious on the palate with a long finish.

FROM FLUTE TO PLATE
Perfect champagne for aperitifs; Is an excellent accompaniment for seafood and shellfish; perfect with a sea bass, sole and tartare.

Rating 91
Liz Palmer July 2017

Happy International Chardonnay Day (May 25th) and What is Blanc de Blancs Champagne

First of all Blanc de Blancs is a French term that means “white from whites”, and is used to designate Champagnes made exclusively from Chardonnay grapes.

Secondly – Champagne Geography – the key districts for Blanc de Blancs are the Côte des Blancs and Côte de Sézanne. The Côte des Blancs is particularly famous for its Chardonnay and yield the best examples of this style. The six grand cru villages include: Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger and Oiry. In Champagne, unlike Burgundy, the grand cru classification is linked to its villages and not vineyards. The designation denotes not only the highest-quality grapes—but also, generally, those that command the highest prices.

Thirdly, the differences in aromas and flavors are attributable to terroir. For instance, the Côte de Sézanne tends to yield riper fruit, hence riper wines. Other differences are the result of winemaking techniques, the degree of dosage, and other variables.

A classic Blanc de Blancs is restrained and elegant when its young, yet with ageing, it develops a mouth-coating brioche richness that overlays an intense expression of fruitiness.

Blanc de blancs Champagne is vibrant in its acidity it wants nothing more than to throw itself into comfort foods, seafood, and fried foods.

Producers include Salon, Billecart-Salmon, Jacques Selosse, Dom Ruinart, Krug, Guy Larmandier, Champagne R&L Legras, Champagne Henriot, Pol Roger, Krug, Louis Roederer, Dom Ruinart, Vilmart, Taittinger, and J. de Telmont  – also seek out smaller producers, you will be surprised and delighted.

CHAMPAGNE AFFECTED BY CHARDONNAY SHORTAGE

During the London launch last week of Dom Ruinart 2006 and Dom Ruinart Rosé 2004, Ruinart’s Chef de Cave, Frédéric Panaïotis said that supply was now being constrained by the amount of Chardonnay grapes it could source for the house – a specialist in Blanc de Blancs Champagnes.

“Everything is going well but my boss would be happier if we could get more Chardonnay grapes,” he began.

“Chardonnay is still less than 30% of the planted area in Champagne, and the price is not cheap for Chardonnay grapes, while buying vineyards is not easy, so we have to grow slowly: demand is faster than the growth we could have, but we are used to it,” he added.

Frédéric Dufour, the president & CEO of Ruinart, said that the supply of Chardonnay was limiting growth for the house, describing the grape as a “precious raw material” in Champagne.

“The hardest grape to get is Chardonnay, because even if you have Pinot Noir, you need Chardonnay, and Chardonnay is the least planted grape [in Champagne],” he said.

He then commented, “And for great Chardonnay you need chalk, and certain slopes, and the quantities of Chardonnay produced can be tricky – the grape is fragile because it blossoms early; so great Chardonnay is the most challenging to get.”

He also recorded that, despite the shortage, no more Chardonnay is being planted in Champagne, commenting, “Everything that can be planted to make good Chardonnay has been planted.”

Having observed that “everyone is after good Chardonnay,” he stated, “Good Chardonnay is the most precious raw material in Champagne today.”

Of the 34,000 hectares of vineyards in Champagne today, approximately 10,000ha are planted with Chardonnay, an area that has gradually risen almost 30% over the past 20 years.

Chardonnay is the least planted grape in Champagne, with more than 13,000ha devoted to Pinot Noir, and around 11,000ha given over to Meunier.

Ruinart is a specialist in Champagnes made from Chardonnay: Its ‘R’ de Ruinart NV contains a minimum of 40% Chardonnay; its Ruinart Blanc de Blancs is 100% Chardonnay, sourced predominantly from Premier Cru vineyards, while the Ruinart Brut Rosé is typically 45% Chardonnay and 55% Pinot, of which 18% is red wine.

Meanwhile, the prestige cuvée Dom Ruinart is made entirely with Grand Cru Chardonnay, predominantly from the Côte des Blancs (70%) and the remainder from the Montagne de Reims. And the Dom Ruinart Rosé has the same basis as the blanc, to which 15%-20% red wine (Pinot Noir from Verzenay and Verzy) is added.

The suggested retail prices for the current releases from Ruinart are as follows:

Dom Ruinart Blanc 2006 – £140.00

Dom Ruinart Rosé 2004 – £200.00

 

 

Source:  The Drinks Business

Roederer launches Brut Nature 2006 in Toronto

Louis Roederer Champagne, known for its tête du cuvée Cristal, has launched its first new cuvée “Brut Nature 2006” in more than 40 years.

The new cuvée was created in collaboration with world-renowned French designer, Philippe Starck and is the first non-dosage for Louis Roederer.

This non-malolactic, zero dosage vintage champagne was unveiled by Roederer’s Chef de Caves, Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon, during a launch event in Toronto a few weeks ago. In attendance was a select number of wine journalists and members of Authentic Wine & Spirits Merchants.

According to Lecaillon, his team carried out a series of bottling trials for 2003, 2004, and 2005 (extra-brut cuvées – 3-6 g/l of sugar). These wines were fine-tuned and culminated in the selection of the 2006 vintage and marked the birth of Louis Roederer Brut Nature.

“Before 2003 we didn’t have the raw materials…the grapes, the terroir, sufficient ripening with this texture—the natural ingredients that would allow uw to go further with [lowering the dosage] in Roederer’s non-malolactic style.”

“The land and soil are the keys to great wines” says Lecaillon in between sips of champagne.

The 2003 growing season was ideal – it was an excessively warm, sunny and a dry year. The grapes come from 10 hectares of south-facing, biodynamically-farmed vineyards in Cumieres. Lécaillon says “You have a higher ripeness with biodynamics, different texture and fruit,” he said. “This wine might not have been possible without biodynamics.”

Lecaillon further states that all the grapes were picked on the same day and pressed together ‘I didn’t want any varietal taste. The idea was to eliminate the varietal characters and let the terroir speak’.

The grapes were picked much riper than usual and as a result, the lower sugar level of the wine-making process was altered. Fifty percent of the wine was aged in 9,000 litre oak casks and bottling at the lower pressure of 4.5 atmospheres versus the widely used 6 aided the wine’s texture. “Pressure and texture interact,” explained Lécaillon. “If you’re too high in pressure, you lose the texture.”

‘This is a small production with 60,000 bottles. The next warm year to expect a no-dosage cuvee will the 2009 vintage’ says Lecaillon.

Brut Nature 2006 contains 56% Pinot Noir with equal parts Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier.

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Tasting Notes:

Brut Nature 2006   

This cuvée is ample, elegant, and pure.

The deep golden color with lively bubbles.
Layers of fruit with hints of lemon peel, pear, flowers with some hints of
hazelnut and spice.
On the palate – stones, fruit, mineral freshness with a creamy texture,with a
long powerful finish.

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“It’s a very good Champagne – definitely for foodies and sommeliers! “ Liz Palmer

 

Other Champagnes Tasted:

 

Brut, Blanc de Blancs, 2008       
Pale yellow with active bubbles and soft effervescence.
Roasted nuts, orchard fruits, with white flower aromas.
On the palate – elegant and fresh with a creamy texture, refined acidity with
hazelnut, slight minerality with a long finish.

 

Brut Vintage 2007

Pale gold with lively bubbles and soft effervescence.
Toasty, apple, pear, hazelnut, and vanilla aromas.
The palate is characteristic of Roederer’s vintages with the attack
being ample and dense with apple, pear, subtle citrus, almond, white chocolate and caramel flavors, ending with a long finish.

 

Brut Rose Vintage 2008   

Salmon color with active tiny bubbles.
Intriguing complex red fruits, orange peel, subtle spice, floral with chalk aromas.
On the palate –   full-bodied, creamy, well structured, cherry, raspberry, orange peel, some spice flavors with some minerality ending with a Long finish.

 

Cristal 2006

Pale gold color with plentiful lively bubbles.
Layered aromas of lemon, orange and toasted nut aromas, followed by apple, peach, ginger and mineral aromas.
On the palate – creamy delicate mousse with some pear, apple, citrus zest flavors and spicy notes, with some minerality, ending with a long finish.

 

Cristal 2002

This 12-year-old wine comes from 30-year-old vines.

Brilliant yellow with some amber highlights.
A beautiful mousse with fine beads
Intense and delicate on the nose, revealing hints of Biscuit, honey, cocoa, toasted hazelnuts and candied citrus.
One the palate – savory explosion of ripe fruit on the attack, revealing red fruit, white chocolate, caramel and pastry.
Intense, powerful, beautiful balance with a long finish.

 

Cristal 1995

Tasting this was another special treat – there is only a few hundred bottles left in the world.
This 19-year-old wine has been 10 years on lees.

“Time on less is powerful and important” says.. says Lecaillon

Bottles were opened two hours before serving in order for them to breathe.

Light golden color with a very strong mousse, with lively bubbles.
Deep, yeasty aromas which are dominated by toffee, butterscotch and toast.
Fresh in the mouth, with hints of yellow fruits, strawberry and toasty flavors.
Finishes long and lean with some mineral.

 

Liz Palmer