The day started out great with a glass in my hand and a few dozen producers pouring their vin clairs and champagne.

I would llke to say all were fabulous --  yet will modify this by saying all were clean and precise and from that point it is personal taste.  Many people from all over the world came here just to taste from this select group. I met an Australian and also saw importer Michael Feuerstein from New York, as well as ex=New Yorker Peter Liem from Wine & Spirits who has since moved to Champagne.

The woman in the picture above was the first producer encountered on the way from the hotel Castel Jeanson to the "back lot" tasting that took place both outside and in a sort of shelter. This winemaker was Francoise Bedel and offered very terroir driven wines with minerality and acidity.

Of course the weather was freezing, yet it was not raining and at noon in the sun brisk and pleasant for Chapagne.

Many of the producers strived for zero dosage which is fine.

It works for the style.

Perhaps what the last few days have brought home to me is that there are many champagne styles.

I read recently that when Americans order champagne it is from a list of four or five big houses each with a "house style."

So this grower experience is valuable in that I experience the two dozen or more styles and perhaps more importantly the soil.

The soils are so important in the blend. As a group, these were basically terroir-focused producers who marched to the tune of their own drummer. As this is my second day tasting this fresher, more intensely mineral and higher acid (no malo) style I have come to appreciate it.

Producers included:

• Horiot
• Agrapart
• Françoise Bedel
• Bérche
• Francis Boulard
• Chartogne-Taillet
• Couche
• Doquet
• René Geoffroy
• Etienne Goutourbe
• Jeauneaux-Robin
• Benoit Lahaye
• Laherte Fréres
• Tarlant
• Leclapart
• Franck Pascal
• Hubert Paulet
• Pouillon & Fils

On the way to my hotel Clos Raymi in Eperney, the driver pointed it out to me. I could see many people through the upstairs windows with glass in hand and could not wait to drop off my luggage and attend.

Okay, so the theme is terrior and the winemakers brought rocks like you see above from their estate and vins clair (still wines) to show how the rocks produce the minerality in the still wine that makes the champagne blend.

I visit each producer in turn.

One is  Champagne Michael Loriot whose daughter speaks English and so does Madame ... a bit. The daughter directs the booth (table)  with her male cousin who is shy or does not speak English.

We looked at the soil which is marl and calcarious. It looked like a brick of seashells and an attractive beige color.

The best thing about this and also the other festivals is the focus on terroir. During my WSET studies when we thought about champagne we really only learned about the chalk soil, yet during this week of tastings it was incredible to taste the vins clair from all the different soils.

And "chalk" takes on a whole new meaning when you are able to touch it! It can also be messy if you are wearing black.

You can see why the complexity and differences of soils makes champagne so special.

In any event my favorite Michael Loriot wine was the Millesime Brut 05. I tasted the still wine and it was earthy with ingredible minerality. They use mostly pinot meunier which gives fruit in this region.

Serge Matthieu, another producer, is distributed in NYC. The daughter and a man who may be her husband (or cousin!) pours the wine. Their village is mostly pinot noir (pn) and I liked their 2005 brut prestige with pn and chard.

Though the fair is small, it is interesting to observe and meet people mostly from france yet also all over the world. I stood next to an Aussie importer, very polite, who popped open the bottles for a petite female producer and had come for this event. The producer, curiously enough, spoke halting english as she began to speak to us, yet by the end of our visit her school studies suddenly returned and she was very conversant.

This is SUCH a great tasting in that it and reinforces all my education and actually goes beyond my WSET education as I am able to speak with and question producers.

What I notice throughout the tasting is that it is possible for a producer to present two cuvees with the same vinification methods, the same percentage of cepage, yet the wines taste completely different because they are composed of different vintages. For example, one was a blend of key vintages 06 05 and 04. Then I tasted the blend of 07 06 05 and experiencedvintense pleasure! The second blend was much richer and seemed like it had oak yet it was stainless steel fermented and matured.

Here are the producers:

From La Montagne de Reims:

• Aspasie
• Maxime Blin
• Penet Chardonnet

From La Côte des Blancs:

• de Sousa
• André Jacquart
• Vazart Coquart

From La Vallée de la Marne:

• Janisson Baradon
• Michel Loriot
• Sélèque

And Jacques Copinet from Le Sézannais
and  Coessens from further south in La Côte des Bar

More tomorrow!

I am SO excited to visit Champagne next week! I heard about the three festivals on LinkedIn from Jiles Halling (My Man in Champagne) and he has been very helpful in helping me set up the trip.

The first event is  Terroirs et Talents de Champagne and  takes place in Epernay on  Sunday 15th April at the Restaurant Au  Théatre. In no particular order (!) Champagne producers taking part at this tasting are:

From La Montagne de Reims:

• Aspasie
• Maxime Blin
• Penet Chardonnet

From La Côte des Blancs:

• de Sousa
• André Jacquart
• Vazart Coquart

From La Vallée de la Marne:

• Janisson Baradon
• Michel Loriot
• Sélèque

And Jacques Copinet from Le Sézannais
and  Coessens from further south in La Côte des Bar

The Second Event is Monday 16th for the Terres et Vins de Champagne at the
Hotel Castel Jeanson , Ay, and in no particular order, here are the champagnes being presented at this tasting:
You can see pics from last year here

• Horiot
• Agrapart
• Françoise Bedel
• Bérche
• Francis Boulard
• Chartogne-Taillet
• Couche
• Doquet
• René Geoffroy
• Etienne Goutourbe
• Jeauneaux-Robin
• Benoit Lahaye
• Laherte Fréres
• Tarlant
• Leclapart
• Franck Pascal
• Hubert Paulet
• Pouillon & Fils

And third is Les Artisans du Champagne on Tuesday 17th April at Regates Remoises, (Reims Rowing Club) Reims.  You’ll be able to meet and chat with these producers there:

• Maillard
• Paillard
• Savart
• Huré
• Hébrard
• Gerbais
• Doyard
• JL Vergon
• Alfred Gratien
• Margaine
• Vilmart
• Lancleot Pienne
• Dehours
• Gonet Médeville

You’ll need to go here to get yourself into this event:

http://www.lesartisansduchampagne.com/

Aurielle 2008

A very smooth and well balanced California cab marked with "restraint" in terms of keeping med+ acid, smooth tannins, richly concentrated fruit in balance. The use of oak is only apparent from its benefit in terms of giving oxygen to the wine (new french oak and used). Lots of Bordeaux cherry, some zesty cranberry, and interesting layers of flavor.
 

N.V. Pommery Champagne POP Earth (France, Champagne)

bubbles: gorgeous, fast moving, tiny ... beautiful to behold
nose: med+ intensity, brioche, toasty, very delicious
palate: dry ... seems like at least under five grams/litre RS, possible just 2 or 3, acid is med tannin is low body is med alc is 12 estimate finish is med with minerals, citrus notes, hazelnut skin ...

Style note: The gorgeous light gold color, fountain of bubbles, and aroma make a gorgeous presentation. The palate is medium bodied with citrus as well as brioche and baked apple. Good with dessert. By Josh Raynolds
Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, December 2009
(NV Pommery Pop Earth Brut) ($55; made from sustainably grown grapes; L91870) Bright yellow with a strong bead. Orange rind and green apple aromas are straightforward and fresh. Juicy orchard fruit flavors become drier in the middle palate and pick up a hint of white pepper. Pleasantly bitter and refreshing, with good finishing clarity, spiciness and a slightly hard edge. This wine has a dosage of 10 g/l, which is far lower than that of the other current Pop bottlings. 87 points

Wilson Winery Carl's Vineyard 2009 Zinfandel

Interesting story about this spicy delicious Zinfandel ... the vineyard is named after Ken Wilson's father, an electrical engineer ... a vineyard named after his mother, Dorothy, is nearby. The wine is very well made, medium-bodied yet rich and extremely well balanced at the same time, with layers of flavor and a medium + finish. Perfect with grilled lamb.

596 Cases, $34

2009 Black-Sears Vineyard Zinfandel Howell Mountain V. Sattui Vineyard

Coming from the highest vineyard in the Howell Mountain sub appellation, this gets more sunlight yet has cooler mountain air, so the wine is full and rich yet has bracing acidity and a long finish. The rocky porous volcanic soils provide excellent drainage.

Winemaking: Grapes de-stemmed without crushing the berries, fermented in stainless steel, racked to French oak barrels and aged for 18 months. Only 329 cases produced $42. Wine is extremely well balanced without being too jammy, very elegant with lots of finesse. $42

2009 Crow Ridge Vineyard Zinfandel Russian River, V. Sattui Vineyard

White chalk soil from volcanic ash deposits is one of the more unique aspects of the terroir. The wine is very old world in style, with excellent balance, med+ acidity, and med+ length. Aged 18 months in 20% new American oak and 70% new and seasoned French/American oak. 727 cases produced. Delicious. $37.

2009 Quaglia Vineyard Zinfandel St. Helena V. Sattui Vineyard

This plot used to be where Italian growers planted "field blends" and you can still detect some Petite Sirah and Carignane in this delicious spicy wine. This was barrel-aged for 18 months in both new and seasoned American and French oak barrels. 446 cases produced. $39.

So now after two and a half days of drinking $$$$ of very fine champagne (as a guest!) I am back in New York and looking for something slightly more affordable for Christmas.

At Le Bernadin last week, sommelier Aldo Sohm (who won best sommelier in the world competition and is always winning new ones) introduced me to two new champagnes, Phippe Gonet 3210 -- very clever title as it means 3 years of aging, 2 terroirs, 1 grape (chardonnay) and zero dossage. I LOVED this champagne ... it was a pure beam of clean fruit with a delicate mousse that dissolved like a cloud in your mouth.

Alas ... I couldn't find it for Xmas so the store recommended Laherte Brut Tradition NV (below)

The other wine was Jacques Lassaigne Les Vignes de montgueux, which I bought today for our Christmas feast with pastries from Thomas Keller's Bouchon.

Jacques Lassaigne is a 4.7 hectare family vineyard located in Montgueux. The vineyards boast prime southeastern exposure & consist primarily of Chardonnay vines (94%) & the rest is made up of Pinot Noir (6%). The Montgueux vineyard sites were originally held for the Montrachet of Champagne & are located near the gates of Troyes—the former capital of Champagne.

The terroir in Montgueux is nearly identical to the growing sites found further north in le Mesnil, as they share the same limestone vain —this is exceptional terroir for making great champagne. The non-vintage Blanc de Blanc is a blend of nine different vineyard sites & two successive vintages.

Age of Vines: 35 Years

Yields: 60 hl/ha

Pruning Method: Guyot

Soil: Heavy clay.

Varietals: Chardonnay.

The grapes are harvested by hand—from 9 different sites—at their maximum ripeness before being destemmed & gently pressed. The fruit undergoes complete malolactic fermentation & no sulfites are added to the blend. The wine is aged in new & old barrels for 12 to 24 months & held in bottle for 1 to 5 years until it is disgorged, corked & released.

Tasting Note: Pale straw in the glass with lovely mineral, dried fruit & citrus zest aromatics that reflect the purest expression of the Montgueux terroir. The palate is vibrantly alive with crisp citrus & melon flavors that are backed by deft acidity & dazzling minerality. The finish resonates with succulent citrus notes.

Laherte Brut Tradition NV

The word on cellertracker is mixed ... some call it "adolescent" (ouch! after all that mature 1980's Champagne in Champagne a few weeks ago!) with some giving it the dreaded 88 points ... the "kind" score for a wine you want to support but don't really like.

Still, I am re-assured by some people saying it has notes of honeydew, strawberry, green apple, and lemon cake (a real fruit salad) though others call it bracing, zippy, and full of "masculine charm"

And yet JW of Chambers street wines  recommended it highly, saying:

"On occasion saying that we’ve made a ‘discovery’ is really kind of silly. In this case these wines have been around for quite a while (1889, in fact – a mere newcomer by some standards) but they’re new to us – thus a discovery.

I’d been hearing about Laherte, and I ended up tasting them in Italy – at the fabulous natural wine fair called VinNatur; there were a few Champagne producers there, but none of those wines came close to the distinctiveness – and just plain excellence of Laherte. As you might now assume, this is natural wine: organic and biodynamic farming on an unusually diverse and large number of terroirs (over 75 vineyard parcels in 10 different villages).

Each wine is vinified separately and subject to a range of technique – fermentation in tank, barrique, and foudre (large wood barrels); malolactic on some wines and not on others – all depending on what each wine requires as it evolves. The dosage is very low (dosage = “The final addition to a sparkling wine… which determines the sweetness, or residual sugar, of the finished wine. In French this is called the liqueur d’expedition and usually comprises a mixture of wine and sugar syrup” – Jancis Robinson, the Oxford Companion to Wine) – the wines are very fresh and vivid, but also quite rich and ripe – evidently very good quality fruit is used.

All of the range of wines are excepetionally good: excellent NV Brut and Rose, and the fantastic Les Clos – a unique blend of all seven types of grapes that are permitted for use in Champagne – one our best wine discoveries, sparkling or still, that we’ve made this year. JW"

Also, Columbus Circle wines recommended both of the wines above

Drive up to the home/winery of winemaker Francis Boulard -- who makes some of the finest Champagne I have ever tasted -- and you will see a modest farmhouse, colorful children’s toys in the large driveway, and … a trampoline.

The farmhouse had been purchased by Francis, his wife, and daughter/winemaker Delphine after a "break up" with his father's Raymond Boulard Champagne House , with the family's involvment in wine traceable to the French Revolution in 1792.

Francis Boulard's first contact with wines when he stood behind his grandfather's horse-driven plough at the age of 14 -- his grandfather was the last to resist the mechanization which followed the end of WW II

During his time in the family business Raymond Boulard & Fils (founded in 1980) Francis became increasingly interested in viticulture. Wanting to move towards vines that were grown as naturally as possible, he pushed the estate towards organic methods, resulting in the conversion in the 2000s of a proportion of the vineyards towards organic agriculture.

After Raymond’s death, Francis – feeling his family still did not understand organic wine and wanting to do something healthy for consumers and his own self, as well as the planet. - Francis decided to make as many of his vineyards biodynamic as possible so he "divorced" his family and went on his own with his wife and daughter.

One of the problems with being biodynamic in Champagne is the cold, wet, rainy weather ... it is harder to control mildew in these situations with natural remedies. And working with land that had previously had chemicals was a problem, as the chemicals destroyed the indigenous yeast and made it more difficult to start fermentation. To combat these problems, he revitalized key vineyards with organic dirt buried in a cow horn he bought from a professor of biodynamics in France.

To combat disease and make for healthier vines, he dissolves the organic dirt above, containing healthy earthworms, in water and sprays it over the land. He also uses another organic compound to fight mildew. Yet no spray can avoid the hailstorms that often strike the area, destroying as much as sixty percent of the crop.

Another key thing to know is that he stopped using a certain fining agent because it contained salmon bladder (gelatin), and the salmon had been farm raised, instead of wild, which meant it had been fed chemicals.

Francis conducts battonage along with the lunar calendar, as he feels it gives more complexity yet he has only been tracking this for two years and the results are not yet clear.

During our visit to the maturation room, we see he uses a mix of Bordeaux and Burgundy barrels because the shapes and staves are different, and thus, the oxygen exchange due to the ratio of wine to barrel is different and important for the final blend.

Finally, the tasting ... the wines are all fabulous, and there is a discussion of dossage, malolactic, and other factors as we taste through the line.

Les Murgiers Cuvee Reserve has fine beads, a shy nose, and palate with intense minerality and flavors of lemon chiffon and East Indian spices, along with ginger and quince. We try the Les Murgiers "nature" (no dossage) which has a more intense nose, a more tart profile, and sea salt on the palate.

Les Rachans is based on chardonnay grown on limestone silliceux - we taste the '06 and picked on "fruit day " and bottled on "fruit day.

Francis explains that his biodynamic teacher said that sometimes when you bottle on fruit day ihe wine is closed, so it is better to bottle on "flower day."

This wine is light gold color, with an Intense aroma of saffron and golden flowers. Palate is concentrated quince ... it needs another five years.

We try the Grand cru Mailly champagne (90% pinot noir,  10% chardonnay) 2008 extra brut - it has an aroma  of vanilla with a touch of honey and vanilla, as well as its no dossage counterpart.

This was a wonderful visit and fabulous introduction to biodynamic champagne.

See all champagne houses visited here

"How theatrical!" Was the response as we entered the red velvet walls of Le Theatre in Epernay, a charming town with its petite pretty parks and Belle Epoque buildings.

18th century Paris and some modern romantic arty types of pieces (silouttes anyone?) decorated the restaurant's red walls.

"Welcome!" said the movie star handsome Philippe Wilbrotte with his dark "Mad Men" Dan Draper styled hair and gleaming white teeth. Wilbrotte is charming and quite fluent in English ("oui, hello!") He says as he answers the occassional cell phone call.

Over our lunch of Souris d'agneau braisee a l'ail and Ecrase de patates douces paired with Jacquesson Cuvee 734 and Nougat glace compotee de fruits du moment paired with Brochet Hervieux Cuvee rose our group introduced ourselves. Three of the ten of us are Master of Wine students with one real Master of Wine amongst us which have us (me?) worrying about minding my p's and q's.

nougat

Inside the CIVC, Philippe gave a Powerpoint presentation of the four key initiatives. For the sake of brevity one of the concerns under the 'economics' platform was to build more luxury hotels and incite Parisian visitors to spend the weekend (and of course their cash) in the businesses in the community. During this time there was also discussion of the 'no new planting rule" as there is concern that without it Champagne can end up like Bordeaux with so many hectares under vine the wine sells for a Euro a bottle.

Technical information revolved around the increasing organic activity of producers and research into lighter bottle weight to reduce the carbon footprint.

Communications goals revolve around bringing more sommeliers and educators to Champagne and intensifying social media as well as mainstream press. The AWE trip falls under this umbrella.

Protection, the fourth initiative, is a key component. Still today too many people use the Champagne name in a generic way and a lot of CIVC activity is devoted to stopping imposters.

This introduction really set the tone for our visit, for we had a very good foundation of the economics of the community and the concerns of the growers, the large houses, and the community in general. As we visited the various producers, we knew to ask them questions about planting, which really to me was the key issue. The basic rule in Champagne is that one has to own a house or be a grower to purchase more land. True, some millionaires (billionaires?) can buy a house, and through this method be in a position to buy up more land to plant new land.

On the “technical” side we also knew to ask questions about what each house or producer was doing to become more organic or in the example of one producer, Francis Bouland, biodynamic. Bouland was an amazing visit, as he was constantly bringing us physical examples of the methods he was using to get to most from his soil (earthworms in freshly bought earth taken from a cow’s horn, anyone?).

The presentation ended with a tasting with Mme Violaine de Caffarelli, OEnologue Chargée de Communication and discussion of malolactic fermentation in champagne.

To read all Champagne visits, please click here

Our van

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"Now all we need are sun umbrellas!" said a friend recently at Brasserie Beaumarchais, a very fun restaurant with a lively club-style brunch.

The restaurant scene in St. Tropez is fairly wild and decadent with wealthy patrons spraying expensive champagne at one another and bikini-clad patrons dancing to loud disco music. The scene was more subdued at Beaumarchais, and decidedly more elegant with the gorgeous chandeliers, elegant red velvet curtains, and cool, clean style of the place. One visitor described it this way: imagine the most elegant restaurant your parents would take you to for a graduation lunch, only to see it turn into a club at the strike of three pm." 

If you are in the right mood  (and who wouldn't be?) it's impossible to imagine a more fun experience on a Sunday afternoon in New York. The champagne list is quite extensive, rose wine is served by the magnum, and you will find some excellent choice Bordeaux on the list.

What's most surprising about Beaumarchais, beyond the fine wine and champagne list, is how good the cuisine really is. With throbbing music and people dancing on chairs, excellent cuisine is a surprise. Executive Chef Nicolas Cantrel worked under the famed Alain Ducasse in Paris as well as one of my all-time favorite chefs, Daniel Boulud, here in New York. The space was most recently Bagatelle (reviewed here) which had the same Sunday party theme.

Beyond the great food and wine, you will find your usual club scene, including bikini-clad house dancers, a male dancer dressed as some sort of lizard-like creature, and lots of sparklers and commotion when patrons celebrating birthdays ordered expensive bottles of champagne.Fans of Club 55, one of the longest-lived and most popular of St. Tropez's beach cafes, will enjoy the shared platters, especially the fresh vegetable plate. Fun!

409 West 13th Street, (212) 675-2400.

Rather risky, don’t you think, to put a California sparkling wine up for comparison among some of the best houses in Champagne? Yet that’s what Hugh Davies did in NYC recently when presenting his sparkling wines to a very select group of journalists.

“Of course, I can detect a California sparkler!” you might think to yourself, walking into a room and sitting down in front of six rose colored wines, all to be tasted blind. The five Champagnes are among the priciest and most famed in the world, selling for hundreds of dollars per bottle. Yet the sixth is an “imposter” – not a Champagne from the named region in Northern France, but a Napa Valley sparkler.

Students of fine wine are quick to learn that one of the visual “markers” of a true fine Champagne (or any quality sparkler, really) is the “mouse” or bubbles. The best sparkling wines have a very fine, very persistent stream of bubbles, the tinier the better the wine. Wines with larger, coarser bubbles are often tank produced (instead of the traditional method, like champagne) or produced with less care.

Wines 1 – 4 were very pale and elegant, the robe (or color as they say in France) was like that of a pale onion skin. The two on the extreme right were a deeper, brighter shade of orange-rose and looked suspiciously “New World-ish.”

Not to name names, but within the confines of the small room were a dozen of the best known writers in New York and, for all practical purposes, the world. And as we sniffed and swirled the wines blind, I was already imagining how horrible it would be for Hugh when the scores were collected and the Champagne “imposter” was easily detected. Yet amazingly, in a sea of well known top Champagne brands, the more affordable sparkelr Schramsberg came in first.

Here is the breakdown:

1. J. Schram 2001, 52 points total, $130
2. Roederer Cristal 2002, Rose, 57 points total, $549
3. Perrier Jouet Fleur 2002, 71 points total, $300
4. Krug NV, 74 points total, $300
5. Dom Perignon 2000, 77 points total, $319
6. Veuve Cliquout Le Grande Dame 1998, 84 points total, $300

Family owned since 1965 (the year of Hugh’s birth), the original Schramsberg winery was built in 1862 by German immigrant Jacob Schram. Schramsberg uses the “Traditional Method” to make its nine distributed sparkling wines, the sitgnature vintage dated Reserve, J. Schram and J. Schram Rose, the classic vintage dated Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Noirs, Brut Rose, and Cremant, and the multi-vintage Mirabelle and Mirabelle Rose, with production at just 60,000 cases annually. The grapes are hand-crafted in that they are hand-harvested, and the bottles are stacked and riddled in underground caves. Unique among California sparkling wine houses, Schramsberg ferments 25 percent of its juice in oak barrels.

All in all, this was a fascination and very focused presentation by Hugh and his entire team. After the blind tasting of sparkling wines, we had a second flight – the J. Schram Progressive – in which we could compare the “natural” base blend with wines with different dosage. The final flight compared different sparklers , including the 2001 Reserve and a Cremant Demi-Sec, with food. For example, the Blanc de Blanc 2006 went very well with a smoked salmon crepe, while the more substantial J. Davies had the weight to pair with lamb.

I’ve been to the winery for many years, as they are active with the Napa Valley Wine Auction, and always put on a fabulous show. Next time you are in Napa you should visit!

schramsberg

When I was head of Deg.Com Communications in Boston, working with small companies to build buzz for their business, I often spoke at a variety of conventions ranging from the Institute of Management Consultants to Book Expo America to the National Speaker’s Association. No matter what the business I always suggested that media-hungry entrepreneurs begin their day by reading the news.

Are you a PR rep for a wine company? Take this hint from the PR arm of a champagne entity who read an article in the Boston Globe that a 200 year old ship was found with a cache of perfectly delicious champagne. The champagne entity took advantage of this “new news” to talk about how to store and serve champagne, promoting their own brand in the process.

Much of this information is available in my book, Building Buzz (you can click on the image in the sidebar for more info).

Tomorrow when you are reading the paper, be sure to have an eye out for news that can help you promote your wine … or whatever it is you happen to sell!