Bruno Michel Premier Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne

I recently enjoyed my first Dungeness crab of the season and this was the champagne I chose to drink with it. 100% Chardonnay from Bruno Michel's oldest vines. Crisp, clean and very dry with a very light toast. Bright citrus and tart green apple notes. Focused, precise, with tremendous concentration and length, this is serious wine.

It is always a pleasure when Gary Westby the Champagne Buyer comes down to lead the staff tasting since there is always something I didn't know about our grower producer Champagnes. The Bruno Michel Blanc de Blanc is from grapes produced in Epernay which is the coldest place in Champagne so the Chardonnay is planted on the steepest slopes to prevent frost. This was also one of my favorites from the tasting. This goes through full malolatic fermentation and sits on the lees for 4 years giving a creamy mouth-feel. Apple and spice on the nose and palate with a long mineral finish. This is a gorgeous Champagne.

Upon first sip, this bubbly reminds me what I love about our Direct Import Champagne program. Gorgeous aromas of nutmeg, allspice, buttered toast and caramelized apples. The flavors match up beautifully and bright acidity carries the wine across the palate to a long lingering finish. There is so much to love about this.

This is the bottle that brought me back to Champagne recently. I'm not sure where I had gone, but now I'm back and I'm loving it. This 100% Chardonnay-based wine is rich and shows a bit of barrel aging, while maintaining a crisp and lively palate of bubbles. I could drink it all day long.

I love all Bruno Michel Champagnes, but the Blanc de Blancs really distinguished itself from the pack when I last tasted it. Bright clementine aromas and a real sense of freshness and brightness characterize the nose. This follows through to the palate - full of pure, intense and amazingly persistent fruit. Delicious.

This was the top wine from my April 2008 trip, and it resuscitated me from my flu while I was working sick at my visit to Bruno's property in Pierry. Top class Blanc de Blancs should shimmer, and this does one better, it almost vibrates with refreshing vigor. Like a great Burgundy, this Champagne tells the story of its site, the very cool "Les Brousses" parcel in the Premier Cru village of Pierry. The deep roots of the 45-year-old Chardonnay vines extract a lot of complex minerality from the ancient chalk, and Bruno's all-old-barrel regimen for fermentation and aging, round out the wine. We have drunk quite a bit of this cuvee at home, and it is a favorite with take-out sushi, and I dare say that a good order from the raw bar and this bottle will transform a dull Tuesday into a celebration. It does well with the variety, going from spicy tuna rolls to unagi with aplomb. It is quintessential Champagne from a very special plot.

At my first Champagne staff tasting at K&L, Bruno Michel’s wines really stood out for me. I loved this blanc de blancs; crisp and vibrantly citrus-y up front, with sweet brioche and golden apple tones coming through and a dry finish. This would be a great seafood accompaniment... like a drizzle of lemon butter with poached lobster or Dungeness crab!