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Bérêche & Fils Champagne Brut Réserve NV

Bérêche & Fils Champagne Brut Réserve NV

Served at as the warm up wine (an excellent choice, I might add) at a recent tasting held at Portland’s beloved Le Pigeon, Berêche has long been one of my favorite bubblies. This particular bottle, a powerful and slightly yeast-driven Brut Réserve offered up a riotous nose of French baguette, granulated honey, white peach, and […]

Louis Roederer Champagne Brut Millésimé 1980

Louis Roederer Champagne Brut Millésimé 1980

This glittery memory of the Louis Roederer Champagne Brut Millésimé 1980 served as a preamble to lunch at the stately home of Jean-Claude Rouzaud, grandson of Louis Roederer. The experience itself, surreal. An unusually warm fall day—with the doors overlooking a small but manicured backyard flung open—even the most palatial homes in Champagne lack air […]

J Vineyards Brut Rosé NV

J Vineyards Brut Rosé NV

I had the chance to visit J Vineyards in 2015, and was impressed (no pun intended) by the large Coquard press flanking the processing bay of the winery. The Coquard press is traditionally used by Champagne houses, and is extremely gentle. J’s Brut Rosé NV is as I remember it, fresh and vivacious, brimming with […]

François Baur Crémant d’Alsace Brut Réserve NV

François Baur Crémant d'Alsace Brut Réserve NV

A winsome blend of Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris that sees 12 months aging sur lie the François Baur Crémant d’Alsace Brut Réserve is pale straw with aromas of baked apple and rustic peach pie, with a top note of dried mint. The attack boasts high acidity carving a wide swath through orchard […]

Veuve A. Devaux Cuvée D NV

Veuve A. Devaux Cuvée D NV

Happy New Year, dear friends! We celebrated with this bottle of Deveaux Cuvée D, one that I stowed in my suitcase. In the glass it’s expansive punctuated by baked apple, bitter walnut shells, and anise pastille. Big, powerful, and vibrant in the mouth with high toned acidity that rolls into a pleasantly bitter and vinous […]

Veuve A. Devaux Cuvée Rosée Brut NV

Veuve A. Devaux Cuvée Rosée Brut NV

Tasted while visiting Devaux, in the Côte de Bar—the house itself, an historic building just off the bank of the river Seine. Thier non-vintage Cuvée Rosée is tutu pink, with a fine bead it offers a pretty sensor arc of rose petals, anise, red berries and pastille mints. Fresh and convivial on the palate, it’s […]

Veuve Clicquot Champagne Réserve Brut Rosé NV

Veuve Clicquot Champagne Réserve Brut Rosé NV

The base wine for this salmon-hued sparkler is 2008 and the blend feels Pinot Noir heavy, though I’m unclear of actual percentages in this particular lot. Fresh and vivacious, Veuve Clicquot’s basic Brut Rosé offers up a bouquet of strawberries and ripe raspberries, along with a suggestion of white flowers. Red fruit is anchored at […]

Larmandier-Bernier Champagne Rosé de Saignée Premier Cru Extra Brut 2013

Larmandier-Bernier Champagne Rosé de Saignée Premier Cru Extra Brut 2013

The Larmandier-Bernier Champagne Rosé de Saignée Premier Cru Extra Brut NV is self-possessed, elegant, and resplendent in tart pie cherries, rose petals, earth, and spice. Pinot Noir is the dominant profile in the blend. A vigorous mousse subsides to reveal lovely balance, finely tuned acidity that amplifies red berries, chalk, anise, white tea. Pierre Larmandier […]

Lanson Champagne Extra Age Brut Rosé NV

Lanson Champagne Extra Age Brut Rosé NV

Lanson Champagne Extra Age Brut Rosé sports a coppery visage, an undefined color at the midpoint between pale apricot and salmon. A blend of the 2002, 2004, and 2005 vintages, with ten years en tirage, this stunning brut rosé has considerable power amplified by a bolt of enamel-etching acidity. Vivid layers of stone fruit, orange […]

Mailly Champagne Grand Cru Brut Millesimé 2008

Mailly Champagne Grand Cru Brut Millesimé 2008

According to the producer, 2008 was their best vintage in 15 years, the explanation given is that the acidity and level of dosage are perfectly matched. Indeed, the Mailly Grand Cru Brut Millesimé is both vivid and creamy at the core. With pear and stone fruit; apricot and white peach overlaying a linear spine of […]

CHRISTINE HAVENS
McMinnville, OR

christine@christine-havens.com