Tour De Champagne 2010

Day 3 Monday May 31. We were met by our bus and left Paris at 8.30 am for Champagne. Our first appointment was with Veuve Clicquot at 11.00. We were met at V.C. by Louise Vicq who is in charge of reception at VC and we received a brief explanation of the 3 varieties of grapevine in Champagne before meeting chief oenoligist Philippe Thieffry. Philippe (pictured above) had prepared a most instructive tasting for us where we were shown the base wines (vins claires) of the 3 different varieties. Firstly we saw the Pinot Meunier then the Pinot Noir and finally the chardonnay. This was followed by a blend of the 3 wines. It was extremely interesting to see the different flavour characteristics that each variety brings to the final blend. After the blended Vin Claire we tasted the real thing, the Veuve Clicquot non vintage from magnum. Here we could see all the flavours marry together as well as the complexity that the second fermentation and time on lees can give to the wine.

As a special treat Philippe then produced a magnum of the 1990 Veuve Clicquot. A wine Philippe discribed as his baby and what a wonderful champagne!! Youthful, fresh, complex and delicate a real treat for the tour group to see a champagne with age.

After the tasting it was back onto the bus for the short trip to Verzy where we enjoyed a magnificent lunch provided by Veuve Clicquot in their mansion, the Manoir de Verzy. Our aperatif was the 1998 Grande Dame and the exquisite food was accompanied by the vintage 2002, Rose 2004, Rose 1985 and dessert was a perfect match with the cuvee riche. Above, the tour group outside the Manoir de Verzy after their lunch. After lunch it was back to Reims for a tour of the VC cellars, a wonderful conclusion to a perfect day.

Tour De Champagne 2010

Day 1 Saturday May 29. First day of the tour and the tour members met in the foyer of the Hotel Mathurin in Paris before taking our guided tour of Paris. It was always going to be a tight finish for the people arriving at 6.00 in the morning to be at the Hotel by 10.00am and so it proved to be as Ann and Melissa ran through the door at 10.10 and then straight out again and onto the bus. The tour of Paris was excellent especially for those visiting Paris for the first time. The tour took us past the Opera, along the Seine, through Saint Germain past the Pantheon, Notre Dame, Place de la Concorde, Champs Elysee, Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides and the National Assembly to name but a few of the features and monuments.

The afternoon was free giving the new arrivals a chance to shower and settle into their rooms while the rest of us hit the shops of Paris, trawlling the wine shops and Bistros.

At 6.00 pm that evening we gathered in the bar of our hotel for the official welcome and a very enjoyable glass or two of Taittinger NV champagne. The tour was officially underway.

Tasting Notes

Goutorbe 2001 Tasted 9/01/10

Champagne Goutorbe is owned and operated by husband and wife team Rene and Nicole Goutorbe with the assistance of their children Elisabeth and Etienne. Located in the village of Ay with 20 hectares of Grand Cru vineyards in the surronding hills they make complex flavour driven champagnes.
The 2001 is light yellow to green in colour and does not reflect it's 9 years of age. The nose is refined with lovely toasty, brioche aromas whilst still showing plenty of youthfulness as does the palate which is fresh and lively. This wine will benefit from further cellaring.

Pol Roger 1999 Tasted 5/02/10
The house traditional blend for the vintage cuvee is 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay. Whilst the Chardonnay is in the minority it appeared to be having the dominant impact on this wine at the time of tasting. The wine had a youthful green colour and a fresh yeasty nose, quite restrained. The palate was equally refined and showed little of the power one associates with Pinot Noir. Youthful in every aspect this wine will benefit from futher cellaring.

Louis Roederer Rose 2003 Tasted 20/03/10
Rose champagnes vary wildly in the degree of red. Some have a very strong red hue others a very mild salmon pink. This champagne was very much in the later catergory. In the glass there was just the faintest of salmon pink hue to the wine. The palate too was elegant and extremely delicate. This champagne certainly wasn't overwhelmed by the addition of red wine which provides the colour and so often a greater sense of fullness on the palate. In many ways it was comparable to the Louis Roederer vintage champagne. An excellent champagne as an aperatif or accompaniment to a light entree.

Tasting Notes

Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve
Tasted 22/12/09
Lovely bead and fresh, bready aromas.
The palate is youthful and tight with fresh acidity and good length.
At this stage the Heidsieck is very much in the aperatif mould but given its quality it could easily be cellared for a couple more years and I am sure that the palate and nose would both open up.

H. Blin 2002
Tasted 22/12/09
H. Blin is a co-operative champagne producer located in the village of Vincelles within the Marne Valley. This champagne is a blend of Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The colour was green to yellow with a lovely fine bead. The nose was complex autolysed yeast showing some toasty aromas. The palate was delicate and fine with great length and finesse. A wonderful champagne.

Tasting Notes

Egly Ouriet Blanc de Noirs NV. Tasted 11 December 2009
Egly Ouriet is a small family producer located in Ambonnay which is itself located in the Montagne de Reims region of Champagne. Pinot Noir is the predominant grape variety in the Montagne de Reims, hence the Blanc de Noirs.

This wine was golden in colour with a touch of brown and it showed a candied, toffeed aroma that in a way is a trade mark aroma of Egly Ouriet. I suspect this is a result of more oxidative handling of the wine prior to tirage bottling.

The palate was quite intense with the toffeed flavours coming through before the enslaught of acid. The acid was quite dominant on the palate and it was almost a little painful until we matched this champagne with some terrine and cheese which helped to sooth its aggession.

J L Vergnon Blanc de Blancs 1998. Tasted 6 December 2009
J L Vergnon is an independant grower producer in Mesnil-Sur-Oger in the Cotes des Blancs region of Champagne. They produce fine, delicate yet steely champagnes which age exquisitley. This is certainly true for their 1998. This wine was light and delicate with racy acidity when I first tasted it in 2004. My recent tasting in
December 2009 saw a more developed and luxuriously flavoured wine with a slight golden hue. The aroma was quite toasty whilst still showing plenty of youthfulness and the palate had filled out considerably exhibiting a greater level of intensity balanced with a lingering crisp finish.

Pol Roger Chardonnay 1998. Tasted 6 December 2009.
Pol Roger is best known to most champagne drinkers for their blended vintage wine. Less well known is their Chardonnay champagne. Interestingly they don't call it a Blanc de Blancs. Previous tastings of this wine have been excellent as the wine has displayed tremendous finesse and that trade mark Pol Roger creaminess on the palate. Unfortunately this bottle was slightly corked which took the edge off the palate and the wines bouquet. I have no doubt as to the pedigree of this wine and I look forward to tasting future bottles.

Tasting Notes

Recently Karen and I attended a Bollinger dinner at Vue du Monde in Melbourne in the lead up to the Melbourne Cup. Bollinger is a wonderful, old traditional Champagne House still privately owned by the Bollinger family with an excellent Non Vintage and vintage champagne. Please find my tasting notes below.

Bollinger 'Special Cuvee'. Tasted 2nd November 2009
The wine opened with a delightfully fine bead and youthful yellow / green hue.
The nose was yeasty with aromas of freshly baked bread, warm from the oven, very appealling. The palate was soft and creamy with tremendous delicacy and length.

Many champagne houses keep their reserve wines in tank or large barrel but amazingly Bollinger keep half a million magnums filled with their reserve wines in their cellar for blending purposes. It is the combination of these older reserve vintages blended with a predominantly younger vintage that make up the Special Cuvee.

Bollinger La Grande Annee 1999 Tasted 2nd November 2009.
Slightly more yellow in colour than the Special Cuvee the 1999 none the less pocessed the same fine bead. The nose was more complex with aromas of vegimite, toast and almond. The palate was full and very intense though not extracted. The house style of delicacy, and creaminess with wonderfull length of flavour came through.