Drappier Grande Sendree Brut 2006
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Enthusiast
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Wong
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James
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Ideal as an apertif. Superb accompaniment for broth of crayfish with grapefruit, carpaccio Saint Jacques, and poultry from Brese with truffles a la creme.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This vintage of Drappier’s top cuvée is showing signs of delicious maturity. With tropical fruits morphing into toast and ripe almonds, it’s a wine on the cusp of greatness. For now, there is still plenty of freshness there, tight acidity and the ripe character that’s typical of Champagnes from the Aube. Drink now, but better wait until 2016.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
If I were a Champagne I would have love to have grown up and become as delicious as the 2006 Drappier Grande Sendrée is today. This is a Champagne that we all dream about- perfect balance and wise maturity. Deep yellow, gold color, tiny beads, subtle mousse; complex aromas of creamy apple and peaches, vanilla and sweet yeast notes; richly textured, complex feel on the palate; dry, fine acidity, well balance; mature flavors of ripe fruit, cream and almost hazelnut; long, generous finish. I may have to call for lobster in a drawn butter sauce to celebrate how well this Champagne has aged. (Tasted: October 21, 2014, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine Spectator
An elegant version, with a smoky underpinning and finely knit flavors of black raspberry, candied kumquat, toasted almond and biscuit, layered with vivid acidity. Long and lacy on the lightly spiced finish. Disgorged February 2014. Drink now through 2026.
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James Suckling
The pithy lemon, grapefruit and grilled hazelnut here is handsomely savory, leading to a palate of crisp apple, pear and peach fruits. Finishes soft and easy.
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Although the vines in Urville were originally planted by the Romans 2000 years ago, it was Saint Bernard, founder of Clairvaux Abbey, who had cellars built in 1152.
Seven centuries later, in 1808, the family domaine was created -- today, it is headed by Michel Drappier, and cultivated according to organic and natural principles. Urville is an area in which Pinot Noir thrives, however, Drappier also cultivates "forgotten" grape varieties: Arbane, Petit Meslier and Blanc Vrai.
Rather than ultra-sophisticated, sometimes overdone, wine, the winery prefers authenticity and a natural approach, limiting usage of sulphites.
Representing the topmost expression of a Champagne house, a vintage Champagne is one made from the produce of a single, superior harvest year. Vintage Champagnes account for a mere 5% of total Champagne production and are produced about three times in a decade. Champagne is typically made as a blend of multiple years in order to preserve the house style; these will have non-vintage, or simply, NV on the label. The term, "vintage," as it applies to all wine, simply means a single harvest year.
Associated with luxury, celebration, and romance, the region, Champagne, is home to the world’s most prized sparkling wine. In order to bear the label, ‘Champagne’, a sparkling wine must originate from this northeastern region of France—called Champagne—and adhere to strict quality standards. Made up of the three towns Reims, Épernay, and Aÿ, it was here that the traditional method of sparkling wine production was both invented and perfected, birthing a winemaking technique as well as a flavor profile that is now emulated worldwide.
Well-drained, limestone and chalky soil defines much of the region, which lend a mineral component to its wines. Champagne’s cold, continental climate promotes ample acidity in its grapes but weather differences from year to year can create significant variation between vintages. While vintage Champagnes are produced in exceptional years, non-vintage cuvées are produced annually from a blend of several years in order to produce Champagnes that maintain a consistent house style.
With nearly negligible exceptions, . These can be blended together or bottled as individual varietal Champagnes, depending on the final style of wine desired. Chardonnay, the only white variety, contributes freshness, elegance, lively acidity and notes of citrus, orchard fruit and white flowers. Pinot Noir and its relative Pinot Meunier, provide the backbone to many blends, adding structure, body and supple red fruit flavors. Wines with a large proportion of Pinot Meunier will be ready to drink earlier, while Pinot Noir contributes to longevity. Whether it is white or rosé, most Champagne is made from a blend of red and white grapes—and uniquely, rosé is often produce by blending together red and white wine. A Champagne made exclusively from Chardonnay will be labeled as ‘blanc de blancs,’ while ones comprised of only red grapes are called ‘blanc de noirs.’