Winemaker Notes
#6 Wine Spectator Top 10 Wine Values of 2023
It is composed of Chardonnay for elegance and delicacy, Pinot Noir for roundness and structure and Pinot Meunier for fruitiness. Pale gold in color, abundance of delicate bubbles. Floral aromas of fruit with subtle predominance of white fruits: pear, apple, almonds and hazelnuts. Fresh opening, smooth, pleasant and balanced.
This wine has endless pairing options and is especially great with creamy dishes, fried foods, seafood and fruit-based desserts. Some great pairings include barbecue, French fries, sushi, eggrolls, and berry tarts.
Blend: 40% Pinot Meunier, 40% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
A gleaming assortment of honeysuckle, fresh apricot and orange with a lick of raspberry fragrance. Fine-spun and glossy with a succulent spine of lemon zest acidity to endure.
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Wine Spectator
Anise, lime blossom and graphite aromas are subtle accents wafting through the white cherry, honeydew melon, lemon zest and salted almond flavors carried on the creamy mousse of this bright, balanced Champagne. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier.
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James Suckling
This balanced and creamy Champagne has aromas of sliced pears, peaches, honey and brioche. It’s medium-bodied, silky and balanced. Chardonnay, pinot noir and meunier.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The NV Champagne Reserve Exclusive Brut is a blend of 40/40 Pinot Noir and Meunier, with the rest Chardonnay, aged for three years before release, using the 2021 base vintage and reserve wine from 2018. (About 30% of the blend is reserve wine.) Disgorged one year ago, the wine is straw-colored and it has a fruity and approachable nose with notes of fresh apricot, yellow plum, fresh flowers, and fresh bread. It’s medium bodied and features a fine, peppery, fresh mousse.
Neary 50 years of unique history, starting with a beautiful story, a story of many different people coming together. That of Henri MacQuart, pioneer founder of the Centre Vinicole de la Champagne (The Champagne Wine Centre). That of Nicolas Feuillatte, a daring businessman. That of volunteer winegrowers who, together, dare and succeed in a gamble to create a brand of excellence, Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte.
Anchored in the heart of the prestigious Côte de Blancs, our champagnes draw their strength and full flavors from a remarkable array of crus, enhanced by the subtle art of blending. Nicolas Feuillatte champagnes reflect the harmony, finesse and freshness of this unique region. An extensive variety of perfectly ripe grapes make up the champagnes in our range, vinified individually by cru or by area and by grape variety, together with a meticulous selection of Grand Crus and Premiers Crus.
Today Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte is the #1 Champagne in France and #3 in the world. There are over 250 employees working for Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte, based in Chouilly in the heart of the vineyard. On a daily basis, they work hand in hand with more than 5,000 member winegrowers, in the elaboration, distribution and marketing of champagne wine.
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.’