Featured Sparkling Wines

Champage, and sparkling wines in general,  will always have a certain je ne sais quoi that will keep opposing teams on their toes or heels. Part of it is the bubly nature of its being, but part is also rooted in the tradition and fundamentals stretching back over centuries that helped make Champagne what it is. Champagne can floor you with grace, freeze you with style or blow by you with power-- in any case, Champagne is always one to watch (in this case, one Champagne, one  Jura).

PLOYEZ-JACQUEMART EXTRA BRUT “PASSION”
This small family operation, which is nestled in Ludes in the heart of the Montagne de Reims, is a definite “must see” for anyone touring Champagne. The firm has one of the deepest, most picturesque cellars in the region and offers accommodations at their very elegant B&B. P-J’s non-vintage Brut has long been one of our faves, but her new “EBP” limited edition Laurence Ployez-Krommydas has really taken the NV Brut genre to the next level. It is three-quarters Grand and Premier Cru juice from the excellent 2004 vintage. To add structure, a third of the wine was aged in aged in oak without undergoing malolactic fermentation. Further complexity was imparted by the addition of 25% reserve wines. After 4 years aging sur-lees, the “EBP" was disgorged and topped off with an ultra low dosage. This “Passion’s” style is dryer and more subtle than Claude Carré’s (see below), but it is a real charmer nonetheless. It is fresh and complex, honeyed (not toasty) and is impeccably dry without being the least bit austere. All in all, a remarkable tour de force at it modest price point.

$39.98 750ml [325595] 

J. LASSALLE 2002 BRUT “CUVEE ANGELINE”
While grower Champagnes are rightly all the rage these days, we have been in the game since the early '80s when we first fell in love with the exuberant Champagnes of Olga and Chantal Lassalle. “Angeline” is the firm’s prestige cuvée and is a classic blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay. “Angeline” is created with an old-fashioned wooden basket press, aged on the yeast for 6 years, and is finally riddled by hand in the traditional manner. These practices, along with the family’s impeccable fruit, have wrought a Champagne with excellent depth and complexity. Aromas of ripe Macintosh apples mingled with hints of strawberries and bakery scents dominate its bouquet. In the mouth this Brut is creamy yet firmly structured as it showcases highly focused red berry notions in the front palate, while lip-smacking citrus and nougat inflections emerge in the finish. With a few more years aging on the cork, this ’02 will certainly rival the legendary 1996 “Angeline.”

$49.98 750ml [325516] 

CHARLES GARDET BRUT SELECTED RESERVE
Situated in the Montagne de Reims hamlet of Chigny-les-Roses near J. Lassalle, Gardet is a small (5,000 cases per year), family-run firm that produces a range of wonderfully expressive Champagnes at prices that are way under the market. Their offerings are so remarkable that we included two in this year’s “best of” roster. This Brut’s full-tilt Edwardian style is as nostalgic as the bottle’s retro label. It is a golden, broad-shouldered Champagne that has an almost chewy texture along with heaps of toasty baguette, honey and baked apple flavors. This rich mouthfeel and complexity is the result of a costly eight-year aging regime and enables this modesty priced Brut to outsize, if not outclass, Bollinger’s Special Cuvée.

$34.98 750ml [325591] 

ANDRE JACQUART BRUT BLANC DE BLANCS “EXPERIENCE”
Andre Jacquart is a family-owned Champagne operation based in Vertus on the Côte des Blancs. “Experience” is a new endeavor that is made from 100% barrel-fermented and -aged (8 months) Chardonnay from the family’s Grand and Premier Cru vineyards. Wisely, a light hand was applied with the oak so the Chardonnay and mineral flavors take the spotlight while the wood just contributes fascinating background atmospherics of ginger, vanilla and spice. Oodles of sophistication and flavor interest for the money.

$39.98 750ml [325483] 

DOYARD BRUT “CUVEE VENDEMIARE”
Yannic Doyard, a fourth generation Champagne vigneron, has succeeded in creating a strikingly complex Champagne that delivers an authentic luxury Champagne experience for a song. This limited production (650 cases made) cuvée is a blend of three vintages (1998, 1999 and 2000) drawn exclusively from the family’s holdings in the Premier Cru village of Vertus. Half of the base wine was barrel- and malolactic-fermented while the other half was left in stainless steel. After blending, the wine was bottled in 2001 and aged on the yeast until late 2007. The result is majestic, layered Champagne that weaves fruit, toast and autolysis elements into a seamless fabric. We would have placed this bargain a lot higher on this list, but we could only corral fifteen cases.

$37.98 750ml [325482] 

VEUVE FOURNY 2002 BRUT BLANC DE BLANCS 1ER CRU
The Fourny brothers, Charles and Emmanuel, are definitely one of the Côte des Blancs' most dynamic duos. Organic farming, well-situated old vines and the judicious use of seasoned oak barrels are the key reasons for this firm’s meteoric rise to prominence. The brothers believe in keeping their dosage levels as low as possible to better enable the Vertus terroir to be expressed in their wines. Situated in the Côtes des Blancs next to Mesnil-sur-Oger, the village of Vertus is a bit higher and cooler than its neighbor. This climatic factor gives the Fourny Champagnes their signature high-toned acidity and floral aromatics. For this 2002, Emmanuel allowed the malolactic fermentation to proceed creating a Champagne that that is at once elegant and pure while at the same time redolent with the rich fruit that is the hallmark of this outstanding vintage.

$45.98 750ml [325545] 

SALON 1997 LE MESNIL BLANC DE BLANCS
Salon, of course, is one of the truly legendary names in Champagne and the relase of a new vintage is always a big deal; that is, except this year. The problem was not the wine, which is probably the best Champagne made from the 1997 vintage, but its sky high cost which would have put our retail price near the $400 mark. So we, along with many other merchants, just didn’t buy any. This informal boycott seems to have worked as the price has now been rolled back to a much more realistic level. Well, better late than never, as they say. Here is the Wine Enthusiast’s spot-on rave: “Salon’s latest release is much riper and softer than the great steely 1996 vintage. That suggests it is likely to be ready to drink soon. In the meantime, the acidity is supremely fresh, with grapefruit edges and green apple flavors. And then there is minerality and a tight structured aftertaste as a reminder that this great Champagne is always going to be more than its fruit. 96 Points. (12/1/08).”

$249.00 750ml [325367] 

JEAN MILAN 2002 BLANC DE BLANCS “TERRES DE NOEL”
This Blanc de Blancs is made entirely from Côte des Blancs' famed “Terres de Noel” vineyard located in the Grand Cru village of Oger. This parcel, which is steep and perfectly exposed, is planted with Chardonnay vines that average more than 50 years of age. Not surprisingly, Milan’s “Christmas Earth” bottlings feature highly charged fruit and acidity along with a deep-seated chalkiness. This 2002 was released last year and while it had all the makings of a blockbuster, it was clear that it needed another year on the cork to show its true stature. We set aside a small stash for this Holiday Season so that you could see what this old-vines powerhouse is all about.

$79.98 750ml [378067] 

CHARLES GARDET 2002 BRUT ROSE DE SAIGNEE 1ER CRU
This 2002 is a blend of 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Pinot Meunier from mature grapevines that average 30 years of age. Its striking salmon pink hue is achieved by macerating or “bleeding” color from the skins of the grapes. This is a tricky, labor-intensive method that is rarely practiced today. Most producers simply adjust their rosé’s color with still red wine. This is a weighty, well-evolved rosé that offers appetizing aromas and flavors of flambéed cherries, carob, stones and smoke. Lingering hints of sweetness on the finish enable this Champagne to pair well with the richer fare found on the Holiday table.

$35.98 750ml [325592] 

JEAN MILAN BRUT BLANC DE BLANC “GRAND RESERVE 1864”
We first tasted this remarkable Champagne last May and knew then and there that we had found our top Champagne of the year. It exhibited a dazzling array of flavors and possessed a richness and length that was reminiscent of the very best Champagnes of our tasting experience. Well-cellared bottles of Salon and “Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill” came to mind. We will let the importer Terry Theise fill out the picture for you: “It’s made up of equal parts 1998-1999 and was en tirage for eight years. The palate is lush on entry but visibly firms up, and it’s that dialogue between richness and structure that confers the paradox that is the prerequisite for great wine. It’s mealy yet charged with mineral; the softly open-pored face of wood but by no means “oaky”, a toasted-lees finish and an impossibly complex array of spices, old brush teas, truffles and semolina. It’s so huge and vinous I wouldn’t serve it ice-cold, nor in a too narrow a glass.” Limited.

$69.98 750ml [325518]