Collard-Picard "Cuvee Selection" Brut Champagne

This new husband-and-wife Champagne house is the product of two venerable Champagne families. Olivier Collard is the grandson of the great Rene Collard in the village of Reuil, one of the most respected and venerable recoltant-manipulant's in all of Champagne. His wife, Delphine Picard, is the cousin of Chantal Gonet of Champagne Phillipe Gonet in Mesnil. Their heritage gives them access to some of the best fruit in the entire Champagne region. Olivier's vineyards are in the western valley of the Marne, were the Meunier is king, and there is no family with more mastery of this native-to-Champagne plant than the Collards. Delphine's vineyards are in the hallowed, pure chalk soils of Mesnil-sur-Oger, the most famous of all the Grand Crus for Chardonnay. This blend leans to the husbands' side as it is composed of 80% Meunier and 20% Chardonnay. The base of this wine is 2004, which is fermented in stainless steel with no malolactic fermentation. The reserve wines are aged in giant foudres (1000 liter or larger barrels) to encourage some contact with oxygen but to avoid flavoring the wine with barrel spice. This is a fresh Champagne with a straw color and a subtly pear like nose from the Meunier. On the palate it is round and full, with plenty of richness. The finish is where the class of this bottle really comes out- it is long and full of unmistakable minerality from the top class Chardonnay that went into the blend. -Gary Westby, K&L