letuffeau.com
(Link)
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“Like gold to ayery thinnesse beate”
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Champagne, forbidding mourning
“Though London became the primary market for nearly a century of sparkling wine from Champagne (until briefly unseated by the tastes of the Russian Tsar and his court), the sparkling wine as we know it was not extant when John Donne penned the above lines. The finest Champagnes posses a sense of grace, an ineffable lightness of touch as they dance across the palate with acid freshness and minerality never dominating; a perfect co-mingling of fruit, lees, and dosage nuances in harmony together.
Now follows some Champagne that have inspired us recently. Those of you familiar in-store no doubt heard us wax lyrical about the below.”
— David
R. Pouillon
Mareuil-sur-Ay
“The R. Pouillon website proudly boasts a ‘Manifesto’ page. Quite naturally, I am intrigued.
Though a local family for well over a century, the famille Pouillon established their grower-producer identity in 1947 - predating the craze by about 50 years! Now in it’s third generation, the famille Pouillon seem unwilling to rest on reputation or merely cultivating their 7ha of parcelles scattered across the Grand and Premier Cru villages. Everything is now organic; dosage is by the antiquated method of adding naturally sweet grape juice, rather than cane sugar; and experimentation with soleras for the non-vintage wines is well underway. The ‘Les Blanchiens’ came very close to sweeping me off my feet; with Champagne, that is difficult. Even more so at this price.”
— David
I
R. Pouillon NV Champagne 1er Cru Extra Brut ‘Grand Vallee’
(Shelf Price: $159.00)
Offer: $139.00
“Quite unique. As if a Selosse had offspring with Tissot’s Cremant ‘Indigene’. Will certainly appeal to those seeking their Selosse (or his students, e.g.: Prevost) fix at a fraction of the price.
65% Pinot Noir; 20% Pinot Meunier; 15% Chardonnay.
Reserve wines from old solera. Oxidatively handled. 2g/L dosage.
Stops you in your track. Deep onion skin, bronze highlights. Earth and minerals dance together with dried orange peel and yellow peach-skin to an oxidative, nutty beat. Intensely saline as well; sea spray and crushed osyter shells. The palate is fresh, fine and light; with strong phenolic presence and an alert quality to the acidity that belies the colour and aromatic presence. Red apple and some freeze dried strawberry, further dried citrus peels, mineral nuances; long and lip-smacking close. Gastronomic and gourmand.
I initially did not warm to this but writing this note I feel myself reaching for another close. Consider me converted.”
— David
Order here
(Link)
II
R. Pouillon 2016 Champagne 1er Cru Brut Nature ‘Les Blanchiens’
(Shelf Price: $352.00)
Offer: $299.00
“From a mid-slope parcel in Mareuil-sur-Ay, ‘Les Blanchiens’ was the founding vineyard for Fabrice’s grandfather (Roger); old Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vines planted on a 1.2m deep layer of clay above pure chalk bedrock. 50% each of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. 1 year in oak; 5 years on lees. Zero dosage.
Immediately arresting on first pour, the 2016 ‘Les Blanchiens’ presents enticing aromas of white flowers, orange rind, orchard fruits; wafting alluringly around this core are nuances of chiffon cake, toasted pepper and spices, and broken rock. Fulsome in style, satiny and enveloping, this is clearly a champagne that never needed dosage. Ripe pear and nectarine, together with brioche (one feels the butter practically melting off the still-warm rolls here), and citrus curds. Rich, yes. But with a fresh and driven finish along the fine line of acidity, saline notes (fleur de sel) in support. Very fine.”
— David
Order here
(Link)
Lelarge-Pugeot
Vrigny
“The famille Lelarge has roots in Vrigny (not just Champagne!) that stretch back to the twilight years of the eighteenth century. Current custodians, husband Dominique Lelarge and wife Dominque Pugeot have dedicated themselves to respectful farming, phasing out: all in-organics since the 1990s, sulphur in 2014; phasing in: horse-ploughed plots in 2009, ECO-Cert Certification in 2015 and DEMETER Biodynamic Certification in 2017, and biodiversity through bee-hives and fruit trees in parcelles in 2020. No resting on laurels here. These wines are alert, brimming with life.”
— David
I
(Link) II
Lelarge-Pugeot 2016 Champagne 1er Cru ‘Vrigny’ Extra Brut ‘Les Meuniers de Clemence’
(Shelf Price: $189.00)
Offer: $162.00
~ please note : orders of this wine by reply email only ~
“Sampled at dinner with the Australian importer. Notes from … hazy memory. Paired excellently with Moules au Champagne, naturally.
A slightly fuller, almost bronze-gold in the glass with rosy highlights, this 2016 100% Pinot Meunier Champagne bristles with life and energy; traits too often missing from 100% Meunier wines. Aromatically: yellow orchard fruit tangles with tangelo, freeze dried strawberry, and salty mineral nuances with aeration bringing depth to the fruit and adding a dash of the exotic, smashed mixed peppercorns. The has noticeable breadth while never lacking drive; there is considerable activity and tension here that mark this wine as singular. Fresh and dried peach skins, further aromatic citrus. Fine … if I could just remember more.”
— David
Robert Moncuit
Mesnil-sur-Oger
“A classical, fifth-generation family based in the heart of the Cote de Blancs. Attention to detail is key here; all wines spend time in oak for ferment and elevage. A Grand Cru in the Burgundian sense; ‘Les Chetillons’ is one of the most revered vineyards in Champagne, with few families holding plots. A wine of enormous power.”
— David
IV
Robert Moncuit Champagne Grand Cru ‘Les Chetillons’ Extra Brut
(Shelf Price: $325.00)
Offer: $292.00
“The 2016 Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Les Chetillons picked in the eponymous site in Oger, spent 60 months on lees after the base wines fermented spontaneously in oak. Despite being labelled extra brut, it has zero dosage. The nose opens with wonderfully enticing smoky reduction that blends into creamy dried corn husk. The palate offers salty, buttery shortcrust pastry, smooth and melting yet somehow taut, bright and fresh. The oaky creaminess shines through but does not detract from the serene, elongating lemon brightness, all supported by the finest mousse. A gorgeous, smooth and stunning Blanc de Blancs.”
96pts — Anne Krebiehl MW, vinous.com
Order here
(Link)
~ a bonus wine, for those of you that have read this far ~
20% off 750ml and 1500ml (MAGNUM) of the below
A. Bergere NV Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut
(Shelf Price: $179.00)
Offer: $143.20
“100% Chardonnay from Chouilly, Cramant, Avize, Oger, and Mesnil-sur-Oger (all Grand Cru villages).
We first looked at this wine at an 11.00am meeting. The cork was popped just for us. Across the table it was immediately arresting. Vividly remembered.
Led by enticing aromas of freshly baked chiffon cake (the CWA stall beckons), this fine Champagne leaps from the glass with lemon zests, white florals, butter, pepper, and chalk all in support of those delightful bakery notes that are upfront. Texturally, this wine is “Like gold to ayery thinnesse beate”; weightless and graceful on the palate even accounting for the 4g dosage. Fine acidity brings tension and brightness. Lemon zest and confiture abound, buttered brioche and pastry follow, chalky mineral echoes on the close. Very fine, moreish even.”
— David
Order here
(Link)
A. Bergere NV Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut (MAGNUM)
(Shelf Price: $365.00)
Offer: $292.00
~ please note : orders of this magnum by reply email only ~
(photo credit: Paul dalla Rosa)
If you would like any of the above, would like to come by for a private appointment, or just have some questions — please let us know.