Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
The latest vintage in the NPU range to be released, 2004 saw cool spring conditions with a late bud-break, followed by a hot and dry July, a wet August and a warm, dry September. The fruit, a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, is sourced from six grand cru villages - Oger, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Chouilly, Verzenay, Mailly and Bouzy. This sticks to the classic NPU formula of barrique-maturing the still wines for 10 months before assemblage, ageing the Champagne on its lees for 12 years before disgorgement, and minimal dosage. It's an intense, incredibly fresh wine with pillowy brioche supporting licks of ripe tangerine and stone fruit. The gentle wood structure is injected with plenty of saline drive, leading to a long, mineral finish. This is drinking superbly now but, judging by the older vintages, this should really show its colours in another three to five years.
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine from a great Champagne vintage is at its peak. Poised between maturity and fruitiness, it reveals richness and texture. This is a dry Champagne, full of ripe white fruit and toast that mingle easily. Drink this wine now, although it can age for many years.
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Wine & Spirits
This is a 50-50 blend of pinot noir and chardonnay from four grand cru villages: Oger, Chouilly, Verzenay and Mailly. It’s mature and spicy, with green floral notes, ornate leesiness and a rich combination of chalk and cream. A rich, nutty wine, this is ready to pour with roast sweetbreads.
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.’