Wine & Spirits - December 2021 - 41

Champagne
Champagne
Our blind panels tasted 192 Champagnes
for this issue. Our critic for the wines of
Champagne, Joshua Greene, rated 82 as
exceptional (90+) and 4 as Best Buys. We
organized our blind tastings by producer,
and present the recommendations that
way as well, with information on the
producer before the wine notes. Find a
complete list of wines tasted and all reviews
at wineandspiritsmagazine.com.
bARON-FUENTE
Négociant-Manipulant in Charly-sur-Marne;
founded in 1967; owns 100 acres, averaging
40 years old. Cellarmaster: Ignace Baron;
70,000 cases produced. § Imported by DJK
Imports, San Francisco, CA
88 | Baron-Fuenté
$35
Champagne Brut Grande Réserve (BEST
BUY) ^ ^ A simple sparkler, this wine's sweet fruit
is supported by mineral acidity and some
umami notes of green tea.
bILLEcART-SALmON
Négociant-Manipulant in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ
(Vallée de la Marne); founded in 1818; owns
247 acres; average vine age: 30 years. Cellarmaster:
Florent Nys; Vigneron: Denis Blée;
167,000 cases produced. Imported by Chambers
& Chambers, Los Angeles, CA
94 | Billecart-Salmon
$85
2009 Champagne Extra Brut ^ A majority
of red grapes (40 percent pinot noir and 27
percent meunier) from a majority of grands
crus (73 percent) make up this pan-regional
blend. Vinified in stainless steel, it has maintained
freshness over the course of long aging
on the lees, presenting brisk, cool flavors
of lime zest, star fruit and pear. That fruit
complexity lasts, while the textural pleasure
brings you back for another sip.
bILLIONAIRES ROW
See Duménil; 4000 cases produced. § Imported
by Billionaires Row Global, NY
90 | Billionaires Row
$110
Champagne Premier Cru ^ Pink-gold in color,
this is a simple pinot meunier with lively, rustic
red-wine flavors and freshness that last. Pour it
with something gamey, whether chicken-liver
mousse to start, or roast squab.
H. bILLIOT FILS
Récoltant-Manipulant in Ambonnay (Montagne
de Reims); founded in 1937; owns
12 acres: 75% pinot noir, 25% chardonnay.
Vigneron: Laetitia Billiot; 3,000 cases produced.
Imported by Skurnik Wines, NY §
95 | H. Billiot Fils
$61
Champagne Brut Rosé ^ This is an exuberant
rosé of pinot noir (including 20 percent chardonnay
and 10 percent of the pinot vinified
as a red wine). The pale copper-pink wine ferments
in stainless steel and gains its substantial
richness from Ambonnay fruit. The brisk
chalk tension takes the red-currant flavors in
a refreshing direction, a vinous Champagne
with the kind of lush richness that would
be delicious with ripe Camembert or other
bloomy-rind cheese.
92 | H. Billiot Fils
$54
Champagne Réserve Brut ^A 75-25 blend
of pinot noir and chardonnay, like almost
all of Billiot's wines, this does not undergo
malolactic conversion, creating a powerfully
structured, muscular wine. The fine bubbles
add to the briskness of its mouthwatering red
fruit, its fruit-skin depth making the finish
rich. Pour it with hamachi kama (grilled yellowtail
collar).
Négociant-Manipulant in Aÿ (Vallée de la
Marne); founded in 1829; owns 440 acres:
60% pinot noir, 25% chardonnay, 15% pinot
meunier. Cellarmaster: Gilles Descôtes. §
Imported by Vintus, NY
95 | Bollinger
$180
2016 Coteaux Champenois La Côte aux
Enfants ^ This vineyard, close to the top of
the steep chalk hill in Ay, is a 9.9-acre monopole
assembled by Jacques Bollinger in the
early 1930s. The pinot noir for this red wine
comes from a 2-acre parcel facing southeast.
This is the first vintage in which Gilles
Descôtes included whole bunches in the fermentation,
which, combined with the active
limestone acidity, he hopes will enhance the
wine's structure for aging. On release, its a
wine of luscious elegance, with delicate berry
savor and umami richness. " It's a wine that
comes from the earth, that's been warmed
by the sun, " said NYC-based journalist Jamal
Rayyis. " The fruit is ripe and softens the acidity. "
A chic beauty, this wine has a Wow factor
that is hard to overstate.
94 | Bollinger
$130
Champagne PN VZ16 Brut ^The second
release of Bollinger's PN is based on fruit
from Verzenay in the 2016 harvest. It's all
pinot noir, including the reserve wines, as
muscular as Bollinger's classic vintage wines
but with a rich berry-fruit component to fill it
with ripeness. There's a ghosting of red-wine
tannins in the cinnamon and red-apple-skin
flavors that last with focus and precision.
93 | Bollinger
D E c E mb ER 2021
WINE & SPIR IT S
$160
2013 Champagne B13 Brut ^This pinot noir
Champagne is almost entirely grown in
41
bOIZEL
Négociant-Manipulant in Épernay (Vallée de
la Marne); founded in 1834; owns 17 acres:
average vine age: 30 years; oldest vines: 58
years years. Cellarmasters: Florent and Lionel
Roques-Boizel; 40,000 cases produced. §
Imported by Taub Family Selections, Boca
Raton, FL
91 | Boizel
$82
Champagne Blanc de Blancs ^ This chardonnay
from the Côte des Blancs has a breezy
acidity and fine bubbles bringing out the
wine's chalk-earth pallor. It contrasts button
mushroom and Granny Smith apple flavors,
lively and lasting.
bOLLINGER
https://www.billionairesrow.com/champagne http://www.wineandspiritsmagazine.com
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