I love it when my colleague goes on a Grower Champagne binge- our cellar is stocked full of terrific Growers Champagne ready to spread holiday cheer for this upcoming season. Although no one has come close to knocking over our little tightrope man, each bottle we have opened thus far have stunned our palates with every cork pop! From the list of the best Growers, my favorite has been the 2006 Vilmart & Cie Coeur de Cuvee- this is how I want my glass of Champagne to be- rich and toasty with ultra creamy bubbles. The flavors are not as wild and austere as most Grower Champagnes can be- more sophisticated, weighty and powerful in style fully loaded with poached pear, hints of caramel and salted almonds, deep minerals and warm pie crust.
On a brighter perspective, the 2006 Pehu Simonet Millesime Grand Cru is strikingly charming! Brighter, almost crunchy minerality with river rock and ocean spray salinity, more stonefruits than orchard with fresh white peach and apricot with fresh white flowers. The flavors were more unrestrained and the bubbles were really tight and precise. This is an awesome Grower Champagne for the glass!
The 2010 Marc Hebrart ‘Special Club’ Brut is golden! The fruit is so bright and pure- think soft yellow peach, meyer lemon and white pineapple with hints of candy apple, lemongrass, white flowers and fresh parsley. The toasted almonds and brioche come through more in the palate which is just jaw-dropping! The bubbles are uber tiny and ridiculously creamy and it leads into a lengthy finish that starts with flint and crushed oyster shells, yet ends with baked apples, depth and profound weight. Focused yet expansive- this fascinating Special Club bottling made a huge impression this week.
In Graileys’ style, we cannot go a week without opening amazing Bordeaux and of the Bordeaux that we have had this week, the most memorable was the 1995 Grand Puy Lacoste showing beautifully straight from the bottle. Beautifully structured with rich black currant, dried plums, crushed gravel, dried licorice and deep soil, the texture was silky and polished. A beautiful bottle of Bordeaux indeed!
The 2000 Monbousquet was luscious and simply delicious! Dark chocolate with an abundance of juicy wild blueberry, black cherry and blackcurrant; wild purple petals, wild herbs and dark nutmeg, licorice, star anise spice. Really fleshy and boastful, ’00 Monbousquet was a hit!