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Besserat de Bellefon Champagne Cuvée des Moines Brut NV

Besserat de Bellefon Champagne Cuvée des Moines Brut NV

The color of onion skin, Besserat de Bellefon’s Cuvée des Moines Brut is offers decadent creaminess on the interior. The aromatic profile is decidedly autolytic—freshly churned butter, almonds, baked apple, pear skin, chalk and a trace of white wild flowers. In the mouth—focus and energy, as pent-up acid courses through a rich orchard-fruit-laden core. Ultra-fine […]

Besserat de Bellefon Champagne Cuvée des Moines Brut Rosé NV

Besserat de Bellefon Champagne Cuvée des Moines Brut Rosé

Rose-gold in hue and yeast-driven in style, Besserat’s Champagne Cuvée des Moines Brut Rosé offers smoky overtones of brioche, bing cherry, red currant, and linden flowers. On the palate, pronounced autolytic tones of wet dough and a sensation of creaminess at the core sink beneath a garland of fine bubbles, cresting and dissolving into chalk […]

Domaine Bousquet Brut Rosé NV

Domaine Jean Bousquet Brut Rosé

Ninety points because I was caught quite off guard by this elegant sparkler from Domaine Bousquet. A blend of 75% Pinot Noir and 25% Chardonnay—all organic fruit grown at high elevation in Argentina’s sparce and arid Tupungato district, it’s fine-boned and as one might expect, graced with high acidity. Aromas of white peach, white flowers, […]

Larmandier-Bernier Champagne Vieille Vigne du Levant Grand Cru 2007

Larmandier-Bernier Champagne Vieille Vigne de Cramant Grand Cru 2007

With a mousse like seed pearls embroidered on golden-threaded brocade, Larmandier-Bernier’s 2007 Champagne Vieille Vigne du Levant is precise and delicate. And while there is vinosity and weight suggestive of old vines, its luminous and filligred layers are etched with the character of ancient limestone soils found in Cramant. Crushed oyster shell, wet chalk are […]

Josep Masachs Mas Fi Cava Brut Rosé NV

Josep Masachs Cava Mas Fi Brut Rosé NV

From the Josep Masachs family, the Mas Fi Brut Rosé is a celebratory shade of salmon. Crafted with 100% estate-grown Trepat, delicate aromas of pie cherry, strawberry, apple blossom, and graham cracker are held aloft on a nose tickling net of fine buttles. It’s fresh on the palate, with just a hint of autolysis—no doubt […]

Laurent-Perrier Champagne Brut NV

Laurent-Perrier Champagne Brut

Pale lemon yellow, Laurent-Perrier’s classically-styled non-vintage brut opens with a cheerful torrent of cascading, brisk bubbles. It’s a clean champagne, full of luscious pear, baked apple, whipped butter, and dusted in granulated honey. Palate cleansing without too much sapidity from the dosage, it closes with a slight mineral edge, and a touch of chamomile flower. […]

Juvé & Camps Reserva Essential Xarello Brut 2014

Juvé & Camps Reserva Essential Xarello Brut 2014

The winemaker at Juvé & Camps attributes this Cava’s round, rich mouthfeel to the presence of polysaccharides released during fermentation, as well as during the process of maturation on the lees. Indeed, all of the wines in this lineup display autolytic features to a greater or lesser degree. The 2014 Reserva Essential Xarello Brut also […]

Juvé & Camps Cava Gran Reserva Brut 2012

Juvé & Camps Cava Gran Reserva Brut 2012

The color of onion skin, Juvé & Camps Cava Gran Reserva Brut 2012 unfurls at a leisurely pace. Smoky, autolytic notes rise above decadently layered aromas of dried fruit, molasses, baked apple, forest honey, and almond skins. As fine, cascading bubbles dart to and fro, springing forth from a core that is softly textured and […]

Juvé & Camps Cava Gran Reserva Brut Nature Reserva de la Familia 2013

Juvé & Camps Cava Gran Reserva Brut Nature Reserva de la Familia 2012

Another Cava from my visit to the region last year—according to the winemaker, 2013 was a cooler, wetter vintage in the region—in the lineup we tasted, this bottle, the Reserva Brut Nature Reserva de la Familia 2013 was appreciably leaner, but also fresher in its comportment. Fennel, white peach, lime, and grapefruit pith dominate the […]

Juvé & Camps Cava Gran Reserva La Capella 2006

Juvé & Camps Cava Gran Reserva La Capella 2006

My visit to Catalonia last spring proved to be an eye-opening experience. There, I would learn that some Cavas, with this monovarietal Xarel·lo, have the potential to age. The Cava Gran Reserva The Capella Brut Nature 2006 matured on its lees for 108 months, gracing it with enormous complexity and depth, as only the passage […]

CHRISTINE HAVENS
McMinnville, OR

christine@christine-havens.com