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Staff Favorites - William Beare
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Reviews
A.D. Coutelas "Cuvée Louis Victor" Brut Champagne
Review Date: 02-08-2019
This is such an interesting champagne. I don't know of a single other like it. The entire production comes out of one giant barrel. Each year, the best selections are added to it to replace what comes out-- so production is limited to 2,000 liters per year. How it manages to be one of our most affordable options in the store boggles my mind. It has a deep, sourdough bread richness, with notes of fresh green olive and white roses. The "Louis Victor" provides a refined, aged champagne-drinking experience (there is wine in the barrel as old as 2007), and it will only continue to evolve in the coming releases. This is a good NV to hold on to, carefully marking which year the bottles were released to taste them against the new.
Laurent-Perrier "Cuvée Rosé" Brut Rosé Champagne
Review Date: 02-08-2019
I try to resist the big houses of champagne. I don't succeed very often. Products like this have me inevitably circling back. This is a phenomenal blend of sourced grapes from many different villages (though all grapes used are grand cru). 100% Pinot Noir, this champagne is like a fruit salad on a summers day. Refreshing and crisp, with heaps of strawberries, bing cherries and raspberries mid-palate and a drying finish.
Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé Champagne
Review Date: 02-08-2019
A wine shop's best friend-- the Billecart Salmon Rose consistently defends its title as one of the best-selling products (not just within champagne) in any wine store. It is composed of all premier cru grapes-- 40% Pinot Noir, 40 Chardonnay and 20 Pinot Meunier, but the pretty light red hue comes not from controlled skin contact with the red grapes, but rather by blending Pinot Noir fully vinified red with the rest of the blend that sees zero skin contact. This Pinot Noir comes exclusively from one very old plot, meaning that the overall production of this wine is strictly capped. The result is a wonderfully complex nose with some earth as well as very elegant red fruit.
Egrot Brut Champagne
Review Date: 02-08-2019
The "brut" from Egrot could not be more different than the "extra brut," but for the fact that they are both very well-made champagnes. while the later sees long lees contact, the former is aged "sur lie" for even longer (over five years), expanding the toastiness and adding dark fruit character-- sweet cherry and black raspberry. A perfect party champagne-- this has clean and refreshing elements as well as a wonderful brioche richness that will suit any tastes.
Price:
$34.99
Egrot Extra Brut Champagne
Review Date: 02-08-2019
This is another producer whose pedigree for grape growing goes far beyond their own label. Egrot sells most of what they grow to larger producers, keeping a small amount for their own production. As is often the case in situations such as these (think Alexander Le Brun), the resulting wines are smashing values with true wine-making mastery behind them. The extra-brut is an excellent food-champagne. Dosed at two grams of sugar per liter, it is an honest-to-god extra brut-- no sweetness whatsoever, but a toasty richness from patient contact with the lees that rounds out the racey qualities. Loads of minerality. Begging for shellfish!
Price:
$39.99
Bollinger "Special Cuvée" Brut Champagne
Review Date: 02-08-2019
Oh, how I love Bollinger. It's like an old friend that I don't see often enough, and every time we reconnect all these wonderful memories come rushing back. A champagne for the lovers of the toasty, rich bubbles-- packed with honeyed brioche, warm nuttiness (hazelnut and almond), and a long, refreshing finish. All of Bollinger's champagnes (regardless of format) are aged in magnum-- a pricey undertaking-- all in service of providing a truly luxurious drinking experience. As our champagne buyer is fond of saying-- this is "crazy craft!" 60% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay & 15% Pinot Meunier.
Billecart-Salmon "Brut Réserve" Champagne
Review Date: 02-08-2019
A powerful champagne from a powerhouse producer! The Brut Reserve is incredibly consistent-- which makes a lot of sense given that they commit to using as much reserve wine as necessary (at times up to 50%) to create a steadily delicious product. It has incredible structure, a gorgeous nose of rich honey and fragrant white flowers, and a soft, elegant finish.
Michel Arnould "Réserve" Grand Cru Verzenay Brut Champagne
Review Date: 02-05-2019
Pinot Noir grown on slopes that don't face south? How could it be? Maybe because an ancient meteor crashed into the hillside years ago, forever changing the soil composition to create ideal growing conditions. Probably because of a strange warm air current that winds around Arnould's slope and breathes life back in to fragile vines of Pinot Noir. The result is a very delicate blanc de noirs that doesn't feel as muscular as others, but still has all the elements that I love from red grape champagne. It retains brightness, while having wonderfully concentrated fruit and a rich nuttiness, and a core of strong acid that make it a great contender for a NV to put away for a bit of time.
Price:
$34.99
Pierre Mineral Brut Champagne
Review Date: 12-16-2018
This wine should be a go to for crowd-pleasing, over-performing party bubbles. It far surpasses it's friendly price-point, and is incredibly well-balanced between refreshment and richness. The bottle I took home went down disappointingly quickly-- so maybe keep an extra bottle on hand! Acid is well controlled, there is bright lemon meringue and white peach on the palate, while the nose is filled with deliciously flowery aromatics.
Price:
$37.99
McKenzie Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon Whiskey (750ml)
Review Date: 11-18-2018
"Why don't I drink more wheated Bourbon?" I ask myself, as I sit gleefully tasting this delicious spirit. The answer is complicated by brands like Pappy lending an unreasonable premium on anything in the category, but it does mean that talented distillers are doing fascinating things in the wheated style. The absence of rye in the mash leaves the corn a lot more room to shine through. Aromas of ground and roasted maize come tumbling forth, softened by creamy, almost butter-scotch like tones-- like moist cornbread and honey butter. The higher proof is perfect here-- it keeps the sweetness from overwhelming the panoply of complex cereal flavors.
Price:
$54.99
Laurent-Perrier "La Cuvée" Brut Champagne
Review Date: 11-06-2018
Founded in 1812, the Laurent Perrier house has been a pioneer of the use of stainless steel in champagne production. For those who remember an era before the "La Cuvee" brand-- the differences in their entry-level release are subtle, but important. Six months was added to the lees time (for a glorious total of 42 months), in addition to moving the cepage towards Chardonnay (50 Chard, 30 Pinot Noir, and 20 Pinot Meunier). The final product has 9 grams per liter of residual sugar, and is phenomenally well-balanced, delightfully racy champagne. Traces of white peach, citrus blossoms, and sweet grapefruit peel.