What a great wine! Pinot Noir from the Cote Champenois. Very mineral, with some nice red fruit on the palate. You can taste where a Blanc de Noir gets its profile from in this wine. Great to have this “Grand Cru” with some age on it (9 years). I picked up two bottles up in the silent bid auction of the 2025 Wine on Wheels event. Such a lucky buy. Enjoyed with home cooked grilled lamb, sautéed mushrooms with a Sherry reduction, asparagus and wild rice medley. Pretty good, although probably a touch better with something more along the lines of poultry (roast chicken or duck, maybe turkey). — 9 months ago
Haven’t sipped this in quite awhile. 375ml to refresh my palate memory.
40% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay and 20% Meunier. Varietals fermented separately in stainless steel vats. 5 to 10% of wine is vinified in old Burgundy oak barrels.
Texture is round and elegant. The fruits are; both peach, mango, apricots, slightly oxidative white citrus-lime hovers the edges & pineapple juice. Nougat, marzipan, toasted nuts, brioche, saline, crushed chalk, white spice that presses into the palate, notes of cheese cloth, limestone marl, moist, pulpy, grey volcanic minerals, yellow lilies with spring white flowers, jasmine blooms, round, soft acidy and a well; balanced, structured & tensioned finish that lands squarely on mid minerality and lasts 90 seconds.
Photos; Charles Heidsieck signage, Charles Heidsieck, chalky tasting area in their cellar and Cote de Blanc vineyard. — 2 years ago
Oaky, weighty, strawberry — 4 years ago
With New Years around the corner, grab something nice for 2022. Made with 100% Pinot Noir from 10 different "crus " (or villages), from the North & South areas of the Montagne de Reims, as well as the famous Cote de Bouzy. Deep salmon pink with full aromas of berry fruit and citrus mineral notes wrapped in a delicate fine mousse. On the palate flavors of raspberry and strawberry, bright acidity with spicy notes and orange zest. Long silky finish, ending with earthy yeasty mineral character. — 4 years ago
This Champagne Brut NV Blanc de Blanc Grand Cru comes from vines with an average age of 35 and located on the 4 Grand Cru vineyards of the Cote des Blancs namely: Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Oger.
Tasting notes of lemon/citrus, wet stone/crushed rock, white flowers, notes of brioche. Body medium, dry, 12% EtOH, nice acidity. — 6 years ago
Founded over 160 years ago, Delas Frères was acquired by Champagne Deutz in 1977. 100% Syrah from a blend of grapes 70% Cote Brune & 30% Cote Blonde, aged in French oak (30% new), aromas of red berry fruits and complex spice. On the palate raspberry and plum flavors, savory with herb pepper spice. Fine tannins, nice mouthfeel, lingering ending with fruit and mineral on ending. — 7 years ago
Solid cuvée. Their entry level.
A bit sweet at 8g but Extra Brut in 375’s a little harder to come by. 65% Pinot Noir, 32% Chardonnay and 3% Pinot Meunier. Base vintage 2020. Disgorged June 2024.
The mouth entry glides with rich, ripe; green apple, pineapple, white stone fruit, cherries, lemon pulp to meringue, lime zest, kiwi, tropical melons. Vanilla, caramel, cream, some yeast notes, toast, slivered almonds, crisp volcanic minerals with limestone, white spice that plunges into the palate with some heat, dry herb notes, chalk in bits & powder, saline, sea fossils, yellow flowers, white spring flower bouquet, crisp acidity with nice balance and a 90 second finish that long sets on spice & minerals.
In all my many travels to world wine regions during or just post harvest, the Clos De Goisses Pinot Noir fruit was absolutely the best…everything else, a fairly distance second. I ate 2-3 clusters.
Photos of: my visit to Philipponnat, 10/23. The Clos Des Goisses vineyard that strangely grows over their facility, the view of the Cote de Blancs from the Clos Des Goisses vineyard & entrance to their cellar. — 4 months ago
Champ Persin Brut. Marvelous. — 2 years ago
Light, smooth, grapefruit accent, very nice aperitif. — 3 years ago
100% Chardonnay sourced from the Cote de Sezanne just south of the Cote des Blancs, the Hugues de Coulmet is single vintage cuvee that spends 24 months sur lie prior to release. Pale straw lemon color with frothy mousse and lively bead of bubbles. A nose of fresh fruit with yeast, nutty notes and floral scents. On the palate flavors of peach, berry and citrus flavors with biscuit tones. Nice balance with acidity, delicate textures, medium+ finish ending creamy with toasty oak and chalky mineral character. — 3 years ago
Good value. Crisp green apple 🍏 — 6 years ago
The first “ah ha” Selosse wine for me many years ago. The south facing La Côte Faron is particularly “Selossien” and therefore particularly singular, with its oxidative complexity, textural richness and generous sun kissed ripe fruit expression. Like all Selosse wines, it’s layered and particularly aromatic for Champagne with intense caramelized red berry fruit, licorice and wildflower honey. The palate shows tremendous volume and intensity with a powerful, full bodied and satiny texture and a long, vibrant, mineral finish. So good. — 8 months ago
New Years Eve Blind Tasting NV 🍾QPR Champion @ $39.99 Cheers 🍾👍🏻👏🏻
Winemaker Notes:
“The Blanc de Blancs Signature Brut is the jewel of Maison Philippe Gonet, founded in 1830, in the village of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. This exceptional cuvée is made from Chardonnays from prestigious terroirs of the Côte des Blancs, the Côte de Sézanne and Montgueux, offering a pure expression of the 100% Chardonnay grape variety.” — a year ago
2008 doesn’t disappoint. My other bottles will lay down for another 5 years plus.
It is fresh, lush, rich with great o2. The flavors burst onto the palate. Bruised apple, Bosc pear, ginger ale to ginger, cream soda, cream, lemon, lime, orange citrus, biscuit, yeasty, limestone, chalk, saline, baguette crust, yellow & white florals, the acidity is outstanding. The finish is well balanced, structured, big structure and lasts two-minutes.
Pictures of my October visit Philipponnat. Pano from their Clos de Goisses of the beautiful Cote de Blancs, upward look at their Clos de Goisses, Clos de Goisses signage as you walk up to that vineyard and their cellar.
Really good w/ Himalaya Pink Salt Popcorn!!! — 3 years ago


I’m in the minority it seems in preferring the cote faron — 5 years ago
Delicious cremant from the Cote D’Or. Crisp, dry, and balanced with nice minerals. — 6 years ago
pale yellow, fine mousse, good persistence; lemon, honey, white flowers, chalk, bread crust; citrus peel, very focused acidity, 12.5% ABV; made from 100% Chardonnay partially vinified in oak, sourced from their certified organic vineyards in Côte de Sézanne, partial MLF, zero dosage, disgorged September 2018, winemakers are husband-and-wife team Loïc Barrat and Aurélie Masson; $50 — 6 years ago
Matthew Cohen
Guy de forez rose. Rose de riceys 2018.
N: floral. Beautiful
P: tasty fruit. Linear. Mineral. Beautiful. Singular. Remarkably charming. — 25 days ago