Canard-Duchêne Brut Champagne

This wine has an incredibly expressive nose, with flavors flying out of the glass and hitting the intrigue button hard. With quite a toasty palate I was surprised by the amount of fruit it showed. Peaches and citrus dominate and the time spent on lees gives a creamy, toasted character, which I originally though may have been barrel aging. The all stainless steel aging serves it well with a crisp acidity lingering on the finish. I love the hefty dose of Meunier as it gives depth and richness to produce a lingering finish.

Canard-Duchene's Authentic Brut is truly an impressive Champagne in the sub-$30 range. The blend here is 43% Pinot Noir, 25% Meunier and 20% Chardonnay​ and has amazing balance and elegance. Flavors of orchard fruits and citrus are paired with lovely richness, nuttiness and bright acidity. This Champagne is a steal!

This wine starts off with a fruity nose and hints of stones. The acid balance on the finish makes it the perfect aperitif and hors d'oeuvres champagne and lingers in the mouth with flavors of orchard fruits. Definitely a crowd-pleaser of a wine due to its easy drinking personality yet with enough complexity and interest to mull over whilst enjoying it. Real champagne for $30! What a deal!

This is a delicious Canard Duchene champagne that Gary has generously opened for us to taste. Immediately the nose hits me with minerality and pear aromas with some lingering hints of citrus. The taste is a perfect blend of crispness, savory notes and elegant breadth that's well balanced and able to hold its own. At times it does remind me of fresh bread or toasted crackers. For the price this is an excellent and tasty champagne and definitely a crowd pleaser. Cheers!

Canard Duchêne has experienced a renaissance of sorts since being purchased from Veuve Clicquot by Champagne Thienot in 2003, more than doubling sales since the purchase. The clear reason is the higher quality of the product. Made predominantly from Pinot Noir -- they are nestled on the Montagne de Reims, after all-- the bouquet immediately offers rich apple and cherry aromas. Take a deeper whiff, and the fruit is filled in with rich, creamy, toasty undertones. On the palate, the fruit is crisp, fresh and vibrant, but beautifully balanced with rich, fully integrated autolysis. It is not easy to come across this kind of quality for the price!

For a while Canard Duchene Champagne fell of my radar and it's been a long time since I've tasted it, until last night Gary opened it for us to revisit. I was pleased and surprised to find out how well the wine was showing! It has lovely notes of citrus and a touch of brioche. The texture is round and deep with fresh acidity, rich in flavor mid-palate but not heavy! It's actually a pretty clean and vibrant Champagne with a long and mineral finish. I'm so glad I tried it again — it's a great value Champagne for sure for everyday enjoyment.

A toasty, fuller-bodied Champagne with a zingy acidity and well-rounded palate. The Canard-Duchene Brut is super concentrated in lemon zest and brioche flavors, and impresses with a salty minerality and generous stone fruit finish. This is a stunning bubbler that will impress those with a penchant for quality Champagne. This would be an incredible dinner pairing and would just sing if enjoyed alongside a spread of cheeses.

What a value! Another great find by Gary Westby. Lovely bread/cracker notes, fairly rich but with a good highlighting tartness. Clean finish and a lovely texturaly fine mousse

Rich, complex, with great central focus, a hint of biscuity aromatic, broad and supple on the palate this wine really gives you a sense of weight and concentration while still being light on its feet! At this price an outrageous steal!

If you are looking for a richer, toastier style of Champagne for the aperitif, this Authentic from Canard-Duchene is a great choice. I love the combination of sourdough crust and ripe stone fruit in this excellent value Champagne. It is delicious, round brut at its easy going best and it will thrill your guests with its charm.

One of my favorite things about working at K&L is hanging out after close and drinking great champagne. The other night I had the pleasure of sharing a bottle of the Authentic Brut with my coworkers. It is fresh and textured with flavors of sweet meyer lemon and brioche. An undertone of dry stone and earth makes this a great (stinky) cheese or mushroom dish pairing (in my world, the stinkier the cheese the better!); and a long, refreshing finish keeps you going back for more!

Lovely Chamapagne! Super clean and elegant with a very nice dry finish; a real crowd pleaser and fine value.

This is fabulous bubbly for a great price. The richness and nuttiness of this wine make it easily accessible to the newcomer, but the bready, mineral notes offer the expert some nuance and depth. I'm a big fan - especially for the price!