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$39.98
We introduced Bernard Tornay’s nifty multi-vintage Carte d’Or Champagne last fall. That Champagne made a great introduction the luxuriant Tornay style and was an excellent value at Read More...
just thirty-six dollars. Remarkably for a few more dollars more, we are now able to offer Tornay’s stellar 2002 Millesime which is considerably grander, more profound Champagne. It’s a 50/50 blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the Grand Cru villages of Bouzy and Ambonnay. Initially fermented in stainless steel with full malolatic, this cuvée was bottled in early 2003 and was patiently aged sur lattes for eight years in the family’s cellar. The result is sumptuous Champagne whose brassy-yellow hue works nicely as a backdrop to show off its fine strands of gentle bubbles. The well-developed bouquet displays nuances that run the gamut from baked apples and white chocolate to brioche and brown spices. Its broad, silky palate presents ripe golden apple, Bartlett pear and sage honey flavors juxtaposed over a taut undercarriage of chalk-flecked acidity. Here, then, is a full-framed, but well-poised Champagne that offers a wealth to ponder and savor and one that gets our vote for the best Champagne value from the esteemed 2002 vintage. Drink now and over the next several years.
$35.98
This Bouzy-based grower producer is one of our niftiest Montagne de Reims discoveries we have found in some time. The origin of the Tornay family’s involvement in Champagne viticulture Read More...
goes back to the early 1600s. Bernard Tornay became the successor to the house through his marriage to Simone Barnaut. Soon after their marriage the couple made a trip to Napa Valley and became inspired to create a state of the art underground cellar on some land they owned outside of the village. The new Tournay cellar is quite small (total annual production is less than 10,000 cases), yet it features 40 stainless steel vats in which the family keeps its reserve wines, segregated by vintage, parcel and varietal. These vessels are vital in giving this house its remarkably diverse blending palate. As a result, this Brut is an intricate and seriously compelling blend of five vintages dominated by the firm’s Pinot Noir holdings in Bouzy. This Gold Label serves up well-evolved aromas of hazelnuts, fresh baked biscuits and poached strawberries. Creamy and refined in texture, it offers up layers of honey wheat toast, macerated cherry and lemon meringue flavors that fade with impressive reluctance. Underneath the creaminess there is the requisite tanginess to trigger one’s desire for another sip. There is no question that this Tornay cuvée really over delivers at its price point while managing the deft trick of being at once powerful and swanky.
$42.98
An easygoing, soft-textured, almost sweet bubbly with light, spicy fruit flavors. Tasty and straightforward. Drink now.
$49.98
WINE SPECTATOR 90 POINTS - "Rose, apple and berry aromas and flavors grace this medium-bodied, elegant Champagne. This is harmonious, with a slightly Read More...
chalky feel and a firm finish. Disgorged May 2010. Drink now through 2012"
$44.98
Since the mid-fifties the Fournay family has made its own Champagne featuring grapes drawn exclusively from
their home, the Premier Cru village of Vertus. Today Charles-Henry Read More...
their home, the Premier Cru village of Vertus. Today Charles-Henry Read More...
and Emmanuel Fournay assiduously farm
16 acres of vines employing organic methods when ever possible. The “R” designation here stands as a tribute to
the brother’s father, Roger Fournay, who loved to blend Chardonnay with a touch of Pinot Noir. This Champagne
is sourced primarily from Les Barillées, an old-vines vineyard situated mid-slope on the northern side of Vertus in
the cru’s coeur de terroir. Cuvée R is vinified entirely in small oak casks (with partial malolactic), bottled and then
“rested” on its lees for four years prior to disgorgement. Despite its bone dry dosage, this Champagne is not at
all austere but pleases the palate with kaboodles of exotic guava and stone fruit essences that mesh perfectly with
the vanilla/ginger notes imparted by the oak. Underpinning everything is a smoky/stony minerality that fans out
and drives its long running back palate. This is handcrafted, multifaceted Champagne that offers tremendous flavor
excitement for the money.
16 acres of vines employing organic methods when ever possible. The “R” designation here stands as a tribute to
the brother’s father, Roger Fournay, who loved to blend Chardonnay with a touch of Pinot Noir. This Champagne
is sourced primarily from Les Barillées, an old-vines vineyard situated mid-slope on the northern side of Vertus in
the cru’s coeur de terroir. Cuvée R is vinified entirely in small oak casks (with partial malolactic), bottled and then
“rested” on its lees for four years prior to disgorgement. Despite its bone dry dosage, this Champagne is not at
all austere but pleases the palate with kaboodles of exotic guava and stone fruit essences that mesh perfectly with
the vanilla/ginger notes imparted by the oak. Underpinning everything is a smoky/stony minerality that fans out
and drives its long running back palate. This is handcrafted, multifaceted Champagne that offers tremendous flavor
excitement for the money.
$119.99
WINE SPECTATOR 94 POINTS-"Shows lovely texture, with fine balance between the wine's finesse and its rich layers of poached apple, pastry, black currant candy, Read More...
spun honey and orange zest. Silky and mouthwatering throughout, with a long, spiced finish. Drink now through 2027. 26 cases imported."
The annual Terry Theise Champagne Portfolio tasting is always the most important event on our fall buying calendar. This year we sampled more than one hundred Champagnes, all of which were from quality boutique producers. Even in such a strong field, this 2004 Vilmart had the depth and majesty that enabled it to stand head and shoulders above all the rest. Coeur de Cuvée is a single-vineyard prestige cuvée sourced from vines over 50 years old in the vineyard of Blanches Voies and is composed of 80 percent Chardonnay and 20 percent Pinot Noir. As the name implies proprietor Laurent Champs selects only the finest 800 liters from the middle (or “heart”) of this pressing to make this top-of-the-line Champagne. It’s fermented and aged entirely in one- to three-year-old barriques. It is both opulent yet sleek, as it delivers a panoply of baked apple, pastry dough, pear and barrel flavors. Its memorable finish reverberates with spice, citrus and mineral tones that are a joy to behold. Simply magnificent and a most worthy top-pick for 2012!
2 STARS CHAMPAGNEGUIDE.NET-"This is 80 percent chardonnay and 20 percent pinot noir, all from 50- to 55-year-old vines in the vineyard of Blanches Voies. It's shapely and sleek, with the shimmering brightness and tension found in many 2004s, and the fruit on the palate takes on an exotic tone, hinting at litchi and mandarin orange. It shows all of the sophistication and character expected of this cuvée, and it should develop a terrific complexity and depth with time in the cellar. Last tasted: 3/12."
The annual Terry Theise Champagne Portfolio tasting is always the most important event on our fall buying calendar. This year we sampled more than one hundred Champagnes, all of which were from quality boutique producers. Even in such a strong field, this 2004 Vilmart had the depth and majesty that enabled it to stand head and shoulders above all the rest. Coeur de Cuvée is a single-vineyard prestige cuvée sourced from vines over 50 years old in the vineyard of Blanches Voies and is composed of 80 percent Chardonnay and 20 percent Pinot Noir. As the name implies proprietor Laurent Champs selects only the finest 800 liters from the middle (or “heart”) of this pressing to make this top-of-the-line Champagne. It’s fermented and aged entirely in one- to three-year-old barriques. It is both opulent yet sleek, as it delivers a panoply of baked apple, pastry dough, pear and barrel flavors. Its memorable finish reverberates with spice, citrus and mineral tones that are a joy to behold. Simply magnificent and a most worthy top-pick for 2012!
2 STARS CHAMPAGNEGUIDE.NET-"This is 80 percent chardonnay and 20 percent pinot noir, all from 50- to 55-year-old vines in the vineyard of Blanches Voies. It's shapely and sleek, with the shimmering brightness and tension found in many 2004s, and the fruit on the palate takes on an exotic tone, hinting at litchi and mandarin orange. It shows all of the sophistication and character expected of this cuvée, and it should develop a terrific complexity and depth with time in the cellar. Last tasted: 3/12."
$67.98
From one of Champagne’s true cult producers, Vilmart’s Rubis Rosé is simply a joyous Champagne that will
appeal as much to the novice as it will to the die-hard Champagne geek. It Read More...
is a vinous blend of 90% Pinot Noir and
10% Chardonnay from the domaine’s vineyards in the Montagne de Reims village of Rilly-la-Montagne and Villes-
Allerand. Proprietor Laurent Champs always avoids malolactic fermentation in order to retain structure and finesse.
To add a bit of roundness and spice, Laurent “raised” the base wines for this rose in large oak foudres for ten months
before bottling. Champagne critic Peter Leim of The Champagne Guide paints the finished picture well: “It’s creamy
and luscious, displaying pungent flavors of rhubarb, strawberry and cranberry along with underlying hints of sweet
herbs and peppery spice. Drinking superbly well now, it combines a serious, vinous character with sheer delicious
slurpability.” Note that our low Special Purchase Price is limited to stock on hand.
$67.98
WINE ADVOCATE 92 POINTS-Robert Parker calls it "a breathtaking Champagne at this level" The blend here is 70% brioche toasty Chardonnay & 30% Read More...
Pinot Noir. Pale gold, with almonds and hazelnuts on the nose then a fresh citrus explosion of tangerine and grapefruit and crystalised lemons.
STEPHEN TANZER 92 POINTS-Light yellow with a fine bead. An exotically perfumed bouquet offers scents of pear nectar, orange, honeydew, toasty lees and minerals. Suave, palate-coating orchard and pit fruit flavors are underscored by smoky minerals and, picking up notes of allspice and cinnamon with air. At once creamy and nervy, showing seductive spiciness and a hint of sweetness on the back end. Very rich but by no means heavy, thanks to its strong finishing cut and minerality and striking clarity.
STEPHEN TANZER 92 POINTS-Light yellow with a fine bead. An exotically perfumed bouquet offers scents of pear nectar, orange, honeydew, toasty lees and minerals. Suave, palate-coating orchard and pit fruit flavors are underscored by smoky minerals and, picking up notes of allspice and cinnamon with air. At once creamy and nervy, showing seductive spiciness and a hint of sweetness on the back end. Very rich but by no means heavy, thanks to its strong finishing cut and minerality and striking clarity.
$79.95
2 STARS - PETER LIEM
"This is notably more open and accessible than previous editions of this cuvée have been at the same stage, even with a relatively Read More...
"This is notably more open and accessible than previous editions of this cuvée have been at the same stage, even with a relatively Read More...
recent disgorgement in October of 2011. It shows a voluptuous texture and a rich depth of red-fruit flavor, underlined by an intensely stony minerality, and it finishes with excellent balance and length. The ripeness of the 2009 vintage seems to be ideal for this cuvée, balancing the woodiness that Fidèle often shows in its youth—here the components feel harmoniously integrated from the start, allowing the wine to feel pure, expressive and exuberant. Last tasted: 4/12."
THE WINE ADVOCATE - 93 POINTS
The 2009 Extra Brut Fidele (Pinot Noir) is rich, exuberant and powerful. Dried pears, white orchard fruit, flowers and spices burst from the glass in this intense, head-spinning Champagne. Clean veins of minerality frame a huge, powerful finish imbued with the essence of Pinot. Weighty, rich and powerful, the 2009 impresses for its fabulous balance and inviting, utterly irresistible personality. This is a great showing for the Fidele. Disgorgement date: December 12, 2011. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2019. - Antonio Galloni.
THE WINE ADVOCATE - 93 POINTS
The 2009 Extra Brut Fidele (Pinot Noir) is rich, exuberant and powerful. Dried pears, white orchard fruit, flowers and spices burst from the glass in this intense, head-spinning Champagne. Clean veins of minerality frame a huge, powerful finish imbued with the essence of Pinot. Weighty, rich and powerful, the 2009 impresses for its fabulous balance and inviting, utterly irresistible personality. This is a great showing for the Fidele. Disgorgement date: December 12, 2011. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2019. - Antonio Galloni.
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