Champagne in Chicago - Magnifique!

Antonie Songy, Champagne Pascal Doquet (Photo ©Tom Hyland)

On Tuesday, October 29, the Comité Champagne (Champagne Bureau) held a tasting in Chicago with 36 Champagne producers pouring three of their finest cuvées for the trade. Well-organized and attended, this was an outstanding tasting that offered great evidence not only of the amazing quality of Champagne but also the marvelous diversity of these products.

As the USA Champagne Bureau noted, this was their first official tasting in Chicago and only the fourth one held in the United States. As I commented to Sam Heitner, director of the Bureau, they need to come back more often! To be able to taste so many superb wines from a mix of famous and lesser-known producers was not only a treat, but also a great educational experience. I can't imagine that the members of the trade that attended this event are not going to come away with a greater appreciation of Champagne; I also have to believe that many of them are also going to purchase several of these wines for their restaurants or retail outlets.

I could write volumes about this event, but for now, I will comment on some of the finest wines I tasted (of course, I didn't taste everything, so I imagine that I missed quite a few other first-rate wines).

Best Blanc de Blancs: Gosset Grand Blanc de Blancs - Hands down, the finest Blanc de Blancs I tasted at this event. One thinks of Blanc de Blancs as a wine of finesse, not power. Yet here was a 100% Chardonnay that was a wine of deep concentration, perfect ripeness and marvelous structure that was among the most full-bodied of the tasting. Lovely now, this will peak in 7-10 years.

Most Distinctive Cuvée: Drappier "Quattuor": This had to be the most distinctive wine at the tasting, if only for the blend of grapes in this wine, 25% each of four white varieties (yes, you read that correctly, four white varieties): Chardonnay, Petit Meslier, Blanc Vrai (Pinot Blanc) and Arbane. (Please read my recent post about varieties in Champagne; while most people believe there are only three approved varieties for Champagne, there are actually seven). 

This "Quattor" is a Blanc de Blancs - interestingly enough, a Blanc de Blancs that is not 100% Chardonnay; believe me, there are not many others! Offering powerful yeasty aromas as well as notes of apple, pear and honey, this is a rich, very complex wine with excellent persistence and beautiful acidity. This will be at its best in 5-7 years; I imagine this would be especially wonderful with lighter game or many veal preparations.

Best Non-Vintage: Pol Roger "White Label", Bollinger "Special Cuvée" and Lamiable Brut Grand Cru:  Like a treasured friend, the Pol Roger "White Label" is something you can count on again and again; the richness and impeccable balance of this wine are striking. Offering tons of flavor, perfect harmony and beautiful finesse, the "Special Cuvée" from Bollinger is underrated, as everyone looks to their more expensive wines, but this is first-rate, with outstanding depth of fruit. The Lamiable offers dried pear and tropical fruit along with a nice plummy character (this is 80% Pinot Noir). It also has a lovely mineral character in the finish. 

Let's Hear it for the Côte des Bars! - While many of the most famous Champagne producers are from the celebrated zones of the Montagne de Reims or the Côte des Blancs, let's not forget that there are some marvelous Champagnes being produced in the Côte des Bars - aka, the Aube - the most southern of the growing zones in Champagnes. The soils are quite different here, often resulting in expressive wines with a distinct earthiness. At this tasting, the wines of Devaux from this zone were quite notable and definitely among the most harmonious that I experienced. In particular the firm's Millésime "D" 2005 was one of the most memorable of the afternoon. A 50/50 Chardonnay/Pinot Noir blend that spent seven years on its own yeasts, this has a long, long finish that displays great persistence and distinct minerality. This producer should be better known; given the quality here, perhaps the Côte des Bars should be given more consideration by Champagne lovers.

Best Rosés: Duval-Leroy "Prestige" Premier Cru; Pascal Doquet, Premier Cru; Pierre Paillard "Les Maillerettes"and Lamiable Grand Cru: I love Rosé Champagne so much (what's not to like?), so I'm like a kid in a candy store when there are so many excellent versions of Rosé offered at an event such as this one. Each of these wines has power, ideal ripeness and excellent persistence. While the styles differ - expressive minerality in the Paillard, great depth of fruit in the Duval- Leroy, distinctive flavors in the Doquet and a strong plummy character in the Lamiable, these are all first-rate examples of Rosé Champagne (note: the rosés from Thénoit, Taittinger (Prestige Rosé) and Louis Roderer (2008) were also quite lovely).

Best "Great" Producer that is relatively unknown: I do my best to stay current on the finest houses and growers of Champagne but of course, as there are so many producers, there are always going to be some I don't hear of or have the opportunity to taste their wines. Yet even with all that, I'm amazed that I'd never had the wines of Pierre Paillard from the town of Bouzy, home to some of the finest Pinot Noir vineyards in all of Champagne. Each of the three wines of Paillard poured at this tasting - the Bouzy Grand Cru, the Bouzy Grand Cru 2004 and the Rosé "Les Maillerettes" (mentioned above) are all from Grand Cru vineyards. These wines certainly have the power and complexity you would expect given their notable origins, but these cuvées exceed their distinguished breeding, as they display distinct minerality and are exceptional evidence that terroir can exist in Champagne, a notion often dispelled by many observers. This is an outstanding producer!

Arthur Silvente, Duval-Leroy (Photo ©Tom Hyland)

Best Wines: Duval-Leroy "Femme de Champagne" 2000; Phillipponat "Grand Blanc" 2004; Nicolas Feuillatte "Palmes d'Or" 2002 - Again, there were dozens of first-rate wines at this event; however, there were three that stood a level above the rest.

The "Palmes d'Or" from Feuillatte is all about power; while this wine needs a lot of time to display its best, it is already a remarkable offering from the finest vintage of the decade in Champagne. The "Grand Blanc" from Phillipponat is a stellar wine, truly one of the finest Champagnes I have ever tasted. Powerful with outstanding complexity and persistence, this is what a great Champagne is all about and it is certainly one that you recall even days after you taste it.

Finally there is the sheer perfection of the Duval-Leroy "Femme", the firm's tête-de-cuvée. The 2000, a blend of 95% Chardonnay and 5% Pinot Noir, was vinified in oak, which gives the wine an added richness on the mid-palate; combined with the tremendous depth of fruit, this results in a flawless wine, one of exceptional power and elegance at the same time; this is a Champagne that is simply unforgettable. Duval-Leroy has become one of my go-to houses for great Champagne; this is certainly one of the finest wine producers in the world.

A big thank you to the Comité Champagne for their skill and hard work in organizing this tasting. Also thanks to the producers that participated and shared their wines and knowledge and finally, thank you also to my friends who attended this event and shared their preferences - many of you alerted me to some great wines I would have otherwise not have tasted. I can't wait until the next Champagne tasting in Chicago - unless I make it to Champagne first!

Simply Italian Returns!

One of the best days for an Italian wine lover is coming! The Simply Italian Great Wines tour is returning with stops in Chicago on October 28 and Los Angeles on October 30.

This is a day for every Italian wine fan in the trade and media. There are several seminars as well as a grand tasting of wines from numerous regions in Italy, including Friuli, Piemonte, Tuscany, Umbria, Veneto and several others.

I've been involved in this event for the past several years and again, I'll be teaching seminars in Chicago, specifically on Umbria and then Piemonte. There will also be seminars on the wines of the Veneto as well as Chianti Classico and also one about "Regulating Italian Wines in Today's Market."

These seminars will be presented both in Chicago and Los Angeles. As they fill up quickly, it's recommended that you sign up right away.

Details are as follows:

Chicago, October 28

Hotel SAX
333 North Dearborn Street
Chicago, IL 60654


Los Angeles, October 30

Mr. C – Beverly Hills
1224 Beverwil Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90035

Again, these events are for the trade and media only. To sign up, email Jessica Celona at info@ieemusa.com (phone 305-937-2488) or click here.

Hope to see you on the 28th (or 30th) for a great day of Italian wines!

Champagne - Seven grapes are better than three

Conventional wisdom about anything - automobiles, movies, sports - can be a tricky thing. Usually that information is true, or at least accepted as true. I won't get into the misinformation that clogs up the internet these days - I could write all day on that topic.

Take Champagne for example, when it comes to universal truths. We all know that an authentic Champagne - produced from grapes grown in the Champagne district of France - can be made from three grape types, namely, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. That's a fact that everyone knows - right?

Well it turns out that there are actually seven varieties permitted in the production of Champagne. It's just that you don't hear about the other four as only a handful of producers use these other varieties. Then consider that these four varieties account for approximately 1% of the total planting in Champagne and you can understand why these varieties are rarely discussed.

Still, they exist and here they are listed: Pinot Gris (also known as Fromenteau or Enfumé), Arbane, found only in the Aube district, Pinot Blanc (also known as Blanc Vrai) and Petit Meslier. They're all white varieties by the way, so that means there are a total of five white varieties that can be used in Champagne (Chardonnay, of course, being the other) with two red varieties: Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.

There actually are a few producers that craft a Champagne using all seven varieties and I recently tasted one, the Le Nombre d'Or "Campaniae Veters Vites" Brut from the great house of L. Aubry Fils of Jouy-les-Reims. This was the 2005 vintage and the primary grapes are Pinot Gris and Petit Meslier, while the other five varieties represent anywhere from 5% to 15% or 20% of the blend. The name incidentally means "the golden number," referring to all seven varieties in this wine. The specific cuvée name "Campaniae Veters Vites," means "old vines of the countryside." (Incidentally, there is also a Blanc de Blancs version of this wine - named Sable Blanc de Blancs - which is comprised of Chardonnay, Arbane and Petit Meslier.)

As you might imagine, this is a very distinctive Champagne; instead of the toasty, yeasty notes you find in the aromas of so many Champagnes, this has perfumes of green mint, dried pear, chamomile and even a hint of fig and dried yellow flowers. Medium-full, this is quite elegant and vibrant on the palate and there is a long, satisfying finish with very good acidity and a light earthiness. It's not an austere style of Champagne; it is delicious and extremely well balanced, and of course, displays marvelous complexity. It's beautiful now and should drink well for another 3-5 years - perhaps longer.


I may not have been in seventh heaven, but what a stylish Champagne!

A Family's Difficult Harvest in Bordeaux

This post is a little different than others I've written for this blog, as this is a movie review. The movie is a French film called You Will Be My Son (Tu seras mon fils, in French with English subtitles) and it is an excellent drama about pride, tradition and jealousy within an estate in Bordeaux.

I saw the film recently in Chicago at the French film festival; I had read a brief writeup in a local paper and noticed the photo above with the vineyards in the background, which peaked my interest. Given the nice review, I knew I had to see it, especially given that the last two feature films I had seen about wine - namely the dreadful Bottle Shock and the boring A Good Year - were tremendous wastes of time. I thought that someone had to make a good movie about wine and You Will Be My Son is just that.


The story centers on Paul de Marseul (portrayed by Niels Arestrup, who gave a very touching performance in War Horse), the owner of a prestigious wine estate in Saint Emilion. He is dedicated to his profession and his winery's image and is set in his ways. That means that he will not let his son Martin (Loran Deutsch) handle any of the winemaking chores. He does let him handle administrative duties, such as ordering barrels or hiring workers for the harvest, but that is all. Martin asks his father to let him work in the cellar, especially as he has a degree in winemaking. But his father is not going to give him that opportunity, telling Martin, "You don't make wine in college. You need a nose, a palate. All you have is an ear."

As the grapes are ripening, Paul learns that his estate manager François Amelot (Patrick Chesnais, in a marvelously emotional performance) has been diagnosed with inoperable cancer and has been given only six months to live. Much is made of the cycle of life and death - the ripening of the grapes, the maturation of human life - that is a nice touch in the screenplay written by Gilles Legrand (who also directed the film) along with Delphine de Vegan and Laure Gasparotto.

Paul has trusted François for decades and has counted on his expertise at harvest time; indeed he tries to get him to oversee what will be François' last harvest. But he is just too ill to do much work, so Paul contacts François's son Philippe (Nicolas Bridet), who is the winemaker for Coppola in Napa Valley to come over and work the harvest and take charge in the cellar during this critical time. Philippe agrees, which is a big help to Paul, but creates a charged situation with Martin, who believes he should have been given this opportunity.

I won't give any more plot details away, except to say that Paul makes more gestures as time goes on to reward Philippe in spite of his own son Martin. Clearly, Legrand must have read East of Eden by John Steinbeck (or seen the Elia Kazan film version), as there is a similar theme here of deprived love and what can happen when a father does not confide in his son. Jealousy rules the day and even Philippe is unsure after a while that he should be the winemaker in place of Martin.

The story is nicely organized with multiple layers and these are characters we truly care about - we want to know all throughout the film how their lives will play out. The final act, which comes as an ironic, very somber sequence, is nicely done.

Wine drinkers of course, will love the shots of the vineyards with closeups of the grape clusters on the vine. There are also some lovely scenes in the cellar, where we see Paul pull out a few older treasured bottles as well as open his heart, as he tells of some past secrets. In vino veritas, indeed!

This is a wonderful film that I highly recommend. It opens on August 16 in Los Angeles and New York City. Here is a link to the trailer.

Alsatian Riesling - Textbook wines

There are some who will tell you that Riesling is the world's greatest wine grape. I may opt for Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Noir or Nebbiolo (or even Gewurztraminer when I'm in the mood), but clearly I too feel very strongly about Riesling as the source of so many great wines.

Germany has always been recognized as the spiritual home of Riesling and it's unlikely any country produces as many great examples. Elsewhere, the dry Rieslings from Clare Valley in Australia, with their petrol aromas and racy acidity, are remarkably striking and there are also some beautifully made examples in northern Italy, not only in the northeastern regions of Alto Adige and Friuli, but also in Piemonte (yes, Piemonte).

Let's not forget Alsace, home of some of the most magnificent white wines in the world. Several grapes, such as Pinot Blanc, Muscat and the aforementioned Gewurztraminer vie for top honors in any given year, but it is Riesling that more often than not is regarded as the signature grape of Alsace. This cool area, located in far northeastern France, is ideal for white wines that combine striking aromatics with excellent structure and Riesling performs magnificently here with even the most basic examples drinking well for 2-3 years with many types of foods, while the finest versions offer pleasure for a decade or more.

I recently tasted four Alsatian Rieslings - three from 2011 and one from 2010 - that gave me a better understanding of the status quo of this wine in this zone. 2011 was a very warm year, delivering wines of excellent richness and quality. The acidity levels are slightly lower than in an ideal year such as 2010, so the wines may not age as long as is typical, but as with any wine from any area, one needs to look to the best producers.

2010 was a first-rate year in terms of overall balance. The Rieslings are a bit lighter on the palate than those from 2011, but the aromatics tend to offer greater complexity, while there are better levels of acidity. The 2010s as a rule will tend to age longer than the 2011s, but there are excellent wines from both vintages.

Here are notes on the wines I tasted:

2011 Meyer-Fonné Reserve - Straw-light yellow color; expressive aromas of Bosc pear and chamomile. Medium-full, this has a rich mid-palate, very good acidity and impressive persistence. There are notes of yellow spice in the finish along with a touch of minerality. This is quite dry and has impeccable balance; it is rich with a nice sense of lightness at the same time. Enjoy over the next 2-3 years. This is not a well-known producer, but based on this wine, it should be!

2011 Domaine Weinbach "Cuvée Theo" - While Meyer-Fonné is not a household name among Alsatian producers, Domaine Weinbach, managed by Colette Faller and her daughters, is world famous. Much of this is based on their amazing quality, while some of it derives from the fact that the wines are very rich, in some cases, quite lush on the palate. This "Cuvée Theo" from 2011 is prime evidence of the house style; offering aromas of apricot, Anjou pear and hibiscus, this is very ripe and rich and comes across quite differently on the palate and in the finish than the Meyer-Fonné from the same vintage. That's not to say that one wine is better than another; rather, these two wines are meant for different food preparations, with the Meyer-Fonné arguably a better match for terrines and lighter fish, while the Weinbach seems as if it would be better paired with crab, lobster or even a lighter veal preparation. I don't see much point to aging this wine, so enjoy it now and over the next year or two with food.

2011 Ostertag "Vignoble d'E"- The "E" in this wine's name stands for Epfig, the town around which the various vineyards that are the source of this wine are located. Offering pleasant aromas of lime, chamomile and melon, this is a distinctive wine that combines lovely varietal purity with finesse and charm. This has good natural acidity, excellent persistence and is elegantly styled. I'd love to try this wine with delicious, but uncomplicated dishes such as vegetable terrine or sautéed scallops. André Ostertag is a biodynamic producer who is at the top of his game.

2010 Trimbach Riesling - Trimbach may be the most famous and successful wine estate in Alsace and why not? After all, they've been in business since 1626! This 2010 Riesling is a lovely wine, one that displays beautiful varietal purity and balance with a vibrant finish with lively acidity. Offering aromas and flavors of pear, melon and yellow flowers, this is medium-full with a rich mid-palate and a long finish with excellent persistence. This firm's "Cuvée Frederic Emile" Riesling is an amazing wine that has been recognized as one of Alsace's best examples of this variety, but this classic Riesling is also something very special. Enjoy this over the next 2-5 years with dishes such as pork medallions, roast veal or even Oriental cuisine.