The castle of Pierry, an 18^th-century country seat, has been the beautiful setting of SommelierS International’s latest tasting, dedicated to Winegrowers’ Champagnes. About 200 cuvées crafted by Champagne winegrowers were tasted in the Kings Gallery of the castle, in the presence of Serge Dubs and Philippe Faure-Brac, both best Sommelier of the World, and Michèle Chantôme, président of the sommeliers of Morocco.

Champagne Le Clos l’Abbé Blanc de Blancs Brut Harvest 2007

Visual aspect : Very pale yellow, silvery tinges. Fine bubbles.
Nose : fine, with herbs and spices, bergamot, slightly citric.
Palate : Pure, with more vegetable notes, citric (lemon, yellow grapefruit). Good presence of bubbles. The finish is superb.
Match with food : combava scallops Carpaccio.
Comments : A very beautiful Champagne.

I admit that I almost got trapped on this champagne. Someone served it out of my attention, while being entirely committed to the discussion with my neighbour at table. So I tasted it blind. After a few sips, the wine challenged me. Having well-recognized the style of PAUL LEBRUN, I was nevertheless unable to determine which of their wines was in my glass. First I took it for GRAND RESERVE, but the wine seemed thicker, softer, despite the many crispy bubbles exploding on my palate. But its perfume was more on red fruits and peppermint, while the GRAND RESERVE will rather go for yellow fruits and flowers, emphasizing its lightness and finesse.

To cut short my suspense, I went to get the bottle in the fridge and checked the label: it was the semi-dry wine of the house, dosed at not less than 37 g / L. If it were a still wine, it would rank among the sweet wines with this amount of residual sugar. In the wines from champagne, however (and in sparkling wines in general), sweetness is challenged by the naturally high acidity of the grapes and the crispy freshness of the bubbles. Therefore sparkling wines appear lighter and more fluid than still wines with the same amount of residual sugar. The semi-dry wine is positioned close to the CARTE D’OR, the “house wine” of Champagne PAUL LEBRUN. Both are made from the unique CHARDONNAY, grown on the Cote des Blancs and the Sézannais further south.

HERBIVORE SUPPORT : Try it as an aperitif, with some GREEN TOMATOE CHUTNEY on toasts. Throw in some FOIE GRAS and you will have a perfect CARNIVORE SUPPORT . You may as well go for a bit of old, dry PARMESAN cheese, he loves residual sugars as much as bubbles...

This Champagne offers a very charming view : golden coloured and bright, with fine bubbles climbing up to the surface in a regular and disciplined way. It’s the characteristic look of a Champagne that has ripened well. Its very intense and charming bouquet shows dry apricots and raisins, as well as some hazelnuts and caramel, underlining the creamy character of the wine. The bubbles perfectly play their role, giving zest, continuity and length. A generous Champagne for gourmets, to be savoured for an aperitif or a fruity desert.

PS. Give it a try on old Parmesan cheese. Absolutely mind-blowing!

Clos l'Abbé from H.Soreau, #Champagne made by nature. Happy #ChampagneDay everybody! @winewankers @WineUva @champagne pic.twitter.com/EHYaff5dwx

— VinParleur (@VinParleur) October 24, 2014

This cuvee partly fermented in oak barrels (20%). Slight lemon aromas and a lot of zest in the nose, perfectly balanced and fresh on the palate, this wine is still young it will light up over the next years. Savour from 2015 to 2020.

The estate was created in 1902 in the heart of the Côte des Blancs. Paul Lebrun started to make his own Champagne in 1931. Nowadays, his grandchildren, Nathalie and Jean Vignier, cultivate 16,5 hectares of Chardonnay around Cramant and Sézanne.

those will be bubbles soon... Happy #winewednesday @winewankers @JMiquelWine @perrierjouet @Champagne pic.twitter.com/cvQsKsAoHT

— Champagne Lebrun (@ChampagneLebrun) October 8, 2014

Picking has started a couple of days ago in Champagne. According to the village and the geographically defined zones, the authorities had fixed the begin of harvesting on Thursday, September 11^th. AfterFirst tastings and grape analysis w e decided to wait some more days before starting harvest for our Champagne Paul Lebrun and Hubert Soreau. Meanwhile, we offer you a first retrospective of what has happened in the vineyards earlier this year…

Like in many French wine regions, the vines seemed to be in a hurry this year: early bud burst and fast plant growing lead to early but regular flowering. Homogeneous and “grouped” flowering is a good point indeed, usually leading to regular grape size and maturity.

During summer, it has not always been easy to anticipate weather conditions. Freshness and some rainy periods were favouring the development of mildew, which compelled alertness and an increased presence in the vineyards. Above and beyond the protection of the fruits, keeping leafs in good shape is primordial to guarantee their ripening. No hail for us this year! and due to our healthy grapes we are facing harvest with quite a bit of serenity, while waiting for optimal maturity. Berry tastings last weekend showed a serious gain of taste and flavours in our Chardonnays, due to the gorgeous weather conditions those last days.

We finally started picking on Monday September 15^th (5 days after the official opening) in our most precocious vineyards of the Côtes des Blancs and the more southern vineyards of Sézanne.