Winemaker Notes
#86 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2022
Golden yellow hue with a fresh nose of dried fruit (apricot) and a hint of citrus. Smooth palate, fresh, balanced and fruity (fresh apricot, white peach, citrus) with an aromatic finish.
Blend: 40% Pinot Meunier, 35% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Noir
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The NV Champagne Premier Cru Tradition Brut pours a bright straw color and is initially powdery and yeasty, with notes of bread dough. Medium-bodied, it has an elegant and approachable feel to its notes of fresh pineapple, white peach, and tangerine, and on a second tasting in New York, its red fruits shone even more brightly, featuring ripe strawberries and a floral perfume on the finish. I really like this cuvée, which comes to life with elegant, fresh fruit and offers a creamy, elegant mousse and a clean finish. It can age without a problem, but it’s ready to drink now, and I enjoy the crisp freshness that shines through on the finish. This is a delightful wine to drink over the near term. Made from 40% Meunier, 25% Pinot Noir, and 35% Chardonnay, the base vintage is 2021 with 20% reserve wine.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Disgorged in May 2019, the latest release of Chiquet's supremely dependable NV Brut Premier Cru Tradition reveals an inviting bouquet of crisp yellow orchard fruit, fresh peach, honeycomb, Meyer lemon and warm biscuits. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, fleshy and charming, with a youthfully frothy but refined mousse, a succulent core of fruit and ripe but racy balancing acids. It's already drinking well.
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Wine Spectator
Vibrant and balanced, with flavors of nectarine, candied orange peel, slivered almond and oyster shell set on a lacy texture. Fragrant hints of white blossoms and lemon thyme show on the finish.
A term typically reserved for Champagne and Sparkling Wines, non-vintage or simply “NV” on a label indicates a blend of finished wines from different vintages (years of harvest). To make non-vintage Champagne, typically the current year’s harvest (in other words, the current vintage) forms the base of the blend. Finished wines from previous years, called “vins de reserve” are blended in at approximately 10-50% of the total volume in order to achieve the flavor, complexity, body and acidity for the desired house style. A tiny proportion of Champagnes are made from a single vintage.
There are also some very large production still wines that may not claim one particular vintage. This would be at the discretion of the winemaker’s goals for character of the final wine.
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.’