It started out as a very quiet day at Graileys Fine Wines, with only a member or two stopping by for a glass of vino as the afternoon came to a close and the evening began. The Front Room left us empty by 6’oclock and we really did not know who to expect on such a quiet evening. Then a bright, smiling face came in through the front door. It was Ryan’s wife Jennifer, in to meet Imee for a ladies’ pre-dinner vino-vino. You rarely see Graileys without a heavy testosterone presence, but that is what this evening had becom; as member’s wives came in without their significant others, which made this quiet night truly special.
We started with NV Gonet-Medeville Premier Cru Extra Brut Rose. 70% Chardonnay from Les Mesnil-sur-Oger, 27% Pinot Noir from Ambonnay and Bissueil, with another 3% Ambonnay still rouge: each sip carried notes of light, bright strawberries, raspberries, and a touch of orange citrus. This rose is one of my favorite go-to pink bubbles. Mouth-filling, creamy bubbles pop with clean minerality to give this wine a beautiful balance. With a long finish of fresh red flowers and berry fruit, no wonder this rose is a Graileys’ crowd pleaser.
NV Godme Premier Cru Brut Reserve showed more richness in fruit and complexity with notes of baked pears and golden apples, salted, toasted hazelnuts, and a weird touch of smoke (a good “weird”). The recipe consists of a little less Chardonnay than the Gonet Medeville with 60%, 30% Pinot Meunier and 10% of Pinot Noir, based on the 2009 vintage and the rest of the assemblage from the 2008, ’07, and ’06 vintages. Located in the Pinot Noir territory of Verzeney in the Montagne de Reims, these vineyards are painstakingly tended to with love and care the biodynamic way, receiving their biodynamic certification this year. The final wine expresses top quality in fine Method Champenoise with this entry level wine from the small Grower being just as complex, if not more, than some Negociant’s Prestige Cuvees. The finish is long and the mousse is fat and creamy, adding the final touch to this full-bodied Champagne.
The next two Champs are everyone’s favorite in the luxury line of Negociant Champagne. The NV Billecart Salmon Brut Reserve was as elegant as their house style calls for it to be. This classic Champagne is full-bodied. Drinking this Billecart takes me back to living in Charleston where I once worked at a restaurant that had a large Magnolia tree and two kumquat trees that would drop ripe kumquats on our heads as we tended to guests out on the beautiful patio. And of course biscuits are frequently being baked no matter where you are in the South. These are the flavors that I pick up in the graceful pearls, as they pop with white and yellow flowers; and an assortment of fruits from limes, kumquats, and blood orange zest to sweet pineapples, ripe apricots, and green apples. I love how this wine displays spicy notes of ginger and biscuits in the mid-palate too. There is much to be loved in this classic Champagne.
And lastly NV Krug Grand Cuvee sits at THE TOP of the list of luxury Champange houses. No other Champagne house is as baller as Krug when it comes to strength, depth, and complexity. All of their wines are considered the top of the line Presitge Cuvee. All of their wines undergo oak again which gives their wines richness like no other. As Billecart’s signature style is about elegance, Krug is about power and this power comes from their true art of blending. Each parcel from Krug’s almost 50 acres of vines is vinified separately, which brake down to nearly 200 different wines! These wines are then blended with their reserve wines, and for this Grand Cuvee, almost half of the wine is from reserve stock 20 vintages back. With such precise blending, no wonder Krug is a power Champagne house and considered the best of the best of Champagne.
We typically open big, bold reds or more serious wines of late vintages with Graileys members. But this fun night was on the lighter fair, filled with celebrations for Heather’s closing on a lease for her new florist shop and Mary’s newly engagement to an already life-long relationship. So naturally we popped Champagnes throughout the night to celebrate the professional and personal success of the women of Graileys. We had a wonderful flight of Champs, much like the company, all expressing an array of styles from lean, clean and austere to extravagant, rich and complex; it was fun to enjoy these different characteristics of Champagnes with this small group of strong women.
Other fine wines that were consumed…
2011 D’Ardhuy Bourgogne Blanc
NV Pierre Peters Champagne
2010 Robert Foley Merlot