First taste: Champagne Lallier's Réflexion R.020
Decanter » Champagne
by Tom Hewson
1w ago
Lallier, purchased by the Campari group in 2020, sits in one of Champagne’s in-between spaces. On the one hand, this is a house like many others, buying in 90% of its grapes from all over Champagne. On the other hand, it has a sense of local identity too, alongside a handful of prominent neighbours in the grand cru-rated village of Aÿ in the Grande Vallée of the Marne river. ‘We have more than 10 hectares in Aÿ,’ says cellar master Dominique Demarville, pointing out an unusual feature for this Pinot Noir-heavy region: ‘one third of this is Chardonnay.’ Scroll down to see notes and scores for ..read more
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Ageing Grower Champagne: The peaks and pitfalls
Decanter » Champagne
by Tom Hewson
1w ago
Credit: Diana Miller / Getty Images Where in the world might you find a £100 wine that won’t benefit from a decade in the cellar? The list is certainly short, though Champagne is arguably on it. The ageworthiness of Champagne’s Grandes Marques is fairly well understood: entry level wines will usually benefit from a year or two, vintage wines should still be going strong a decade after release, and any prestige cuvée worth its salt ought to still be shining well beyond that. Price, in other words, should give us a clue. Scroll down to see notes and scores for five older Grower Champagnes {"cont ..read more
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First Taste: Krug 2011 vintage release
Decanter » Champagne
by Tom Hewson
1w ago
Credit: Krug Champagne’s great houses are often accused of playing it safe, yet Krug begs to differ: the house has gone where few others have ventured, having chosen to celebrate the unusual 2011 growing season with a vintage release. As cellar master Julie Cavil explains, though, the reputation of the year – or the season’s trials and tribulations on paper – counts for nothing when it comes to deciding on whether to release a vintage or to blend the wines with other years (as with the house’s flagship Grande Cuvée). Scroll down for tasting notes and scores for Krug 2011 and four other cuvées ..read more
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First taste: Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame Rosé 2015
Decanter » Champagne
by Tom Hewson
3w ago
‘It is a Grande Dame first and a rosé second,’ says Veuve Clicquot’s cellar master Didier Mariotti speaking of the newly released rosé cuvée of the 2015 La Grande Dame. It is one year on from the 2015 release of the white iteration of this homage to one of Champagne’s most important historical figures – Madame Clicquot, the widow – or ‘veuve’ – who perfected the riddling process in the late 18th century. Scroll down for the review of La Grande Dame Rosé 2015 {"content":"PHA+QnV0IHdoeSB0aGUgZGVsYXkgYmV0d2VlbiB0aGUgcmVsZWFzZSBvZiB0aGUgd2hpdGUgYW5kIHRoZSByb3PDqT8g4oCYV2UgdGVuZCB0byBmaW5kIGl0IG5l ..read more
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Collector's Guide: Champagne
Decanter » Champagne
by Chris Mercer
1M ago
The past decade has seen Champagne take a commanding place in the fine wine market. Exclusive and luxurious while simultaneously attainable and – relatively – affordable, Champagne has been blessed with multiple attributes. Exceptional winemaking, critical acclaim and stylistic diversity have delighted collectors and propelled secondary market price appreciation. The last 12 months have dampened the celebratory mood somewhat, however. Worldwide shipments dropped 8% in volume in 2023 according to the Comité Champagne, although exports still accounted for 172 million bottles. Prices too were ch ..read more
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Champagne Egly-Ouriet: Maestro of the Montagne de Reims
Decanter » Champagne
by Tom Hewson
1M ago
Credit: Tom Hewson On a bitter January morning, as a snowstorm catches Champagne’s gritting lorries unawares, 10 barrels sit unceremoniously under one of two Coquard presses, their bungs stained pale cherry. The new Champagne base wines from the 2023 vintage are downstairs in the cellar, but here, making use of what ought to be slightly warmer temperatures above ground, is Francis Egly’s still red, Coteaux Champenois. Scroll down to see notes and scores for Egly-Ouriet’s latest Champagne releases ..read more
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Oregon's 00 Wines: Producer profile and 18 wines to try
Decanter » Champagne
by Charles Curtis MW
1M ago
Chris and Kathryn Hermann of 00 Wines Before creation, the void. Naught as a concept is a somewhat recent creation, thought to date to fifth-century India. However, it was not introduced to Europe until the twelfth century when the Italian mathematician Fibonacci explained his ‘Modus Indorum’. To Chris and Kathryn Hermann, the founders of 00 Wines, the number symbolizes ‘potential’. The Hermanns are great believers in the potential of the Willamette Valley. Still, their vision extends far beyond local boundaries. The quest that truly motivates 00 Wines is to produce Chardonnay and Pinot Noir f ..read more
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First Taste: Billecart-Salmon 2016 & Le Clos St-Hilaire 2007
Decanter » Champagne
by Tom Hewson
1M ago
The new vintage of Billecart-Salmon's Le Clos St-Hilaire is released. The latest vintage from one of Champagne’s rare walled vineyards, Le Clos St-Hilaire, has been released after more than 15 years ageing in the cellars. Champagne Billecart-Salmon has been making 100% Pinot Noir wines from this one-hectare plot, formerly the family garden behind the house in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ until it was planted with vines in 1964, since 1995, during which time nine vintages have been released. Scroll down to see the new Billecart-Salmon vintages tasted and rated {"content":"PHA+TGUgQ2xvcyBTdC1IaWxhaXJlLCBhbHdh ..read more
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Champagne shipments fall in 2023 to 'steady' pre-Covid levels
Decanter » Champagne
by Chris Mercer
2M ago
Global Champagne shipments fell 8.2% in 2023, versus 2022, to 299 miliion bottles, according to new data released by the Comité Champagne.  It said orders have returned to a ‘steady pace’ and to pre-Covid levels, following a rollercoaster three years that saw shipments slide during lockdowns in 2020 before rebounding strongly in 2021 and 2022.   The total value of Champagne shipments remained above €6bn (£5.15bn) in 2023, largely thanks to consumer thirst for higher-end cuvées in export markets. David Chatillon, president of the Union des Maisons de Champagne and co-president of the ..read more
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Philipponnat: An 'astounding' Clos des Goisses 1978-2014 vertical
Decanter » Champagne
by Peter Liem
2M ago
Clos des Goisses. In the modern era, the idea of single-vineyard Champagne is commonplace, yet the concept of making a Champagne from a single site is comparatively new. The first that we know of, or that has stood the test of time, is Philipponnat’s Clos des Goisses, which the house has been producing for nearly 90 years. One of Champagne’s most renowned vineyard sites, the Clos des Goisses is also one of the most picturesque, its steep slopes descending dramatically towards the Marne river below. It was purchased by Philipponnat in 1935, and since that time the house has used it to make ..read more
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