Launois "Veuve Clemence" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne

This is my favorite Launois Champagne for blending value and artistry. The Veuve Clemence takes everything that's gorgeous about the Cuvée Reserve and elevates it: delicate bead, a steely core, estate-grown Grand Cru Chardonnay from the legendary village of Mesnil, chalky minerality. It gets four, nearly five years of aging on the lees (versus the Reserve's three) and is sourced from older vines. This is a powerful, almost vinous Champagne, with an added toastiness from the lees that you don’t get from younger Blanc de blancs. But fear not if you’re a fan of brighter wines: Veuve Clemence dazzles with laser acidity and vivid lemon fruit, tempered by textured mouthfeel and a clean finish. It is absolutely worth the extra ten dollars to taste this beauty.

"I serve Champagne to my real friends and real pain to my sham friends." Attributed to Irish-born artist Francis Bacon who, when he wasn't nocturnally torturing the canvas with his brush, held court at the Colony Room Club, a louche drinking establishment fashionable for writers like William Burroughs, royalty (Princess Margaret), and later rock stars (David Bowie). But my own preference of course is 'Champagne for all, friend or foe!', for what better way to generate goodwill than the sound of popping corks? And what better choice than this coveted Grand Cru from Launois, a stylishly dry rendition that rested a full four years on the lees before its release, promising notes of lemon curd, apples, chalk, wildflowers and brioche, brilliant and pure and seductive enough to charm your own coterie of sophisticates, aesthetes and artists.

This old-vine, estate-grown Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs is one of the marvels of our Champagne portfolio. It has dried lemon, granny smith apples and honey-dew fruit flavors, with aromas of flowers and subtle toast and an intense mid-palate richness that’s lifted by chalky mineral texture and bright acidity for a long, sumptuous finish.

I love the freshness of the Veuve Clemence. From pickings on the upper and lower parts of the slopes in all Grand Cru vineyards. The Champagne is wonderfully complex, but the crisp apple fruit component of the palate shows through brilliantly and subtle hints of spices are woven throughout. Another incredible deal in Grand Cru Champagne.

This is the "insiders" Launois, and most of what we can get sells very quickly to people who have visited the property in Mesnil. This comes from the tops and bottoms of the slopes in the grand crus of Mesnil, Cramant and Oger, and is aged for an extra year compared to the reserve. This has classic chalky drive and length, with more than a little complexity. Don't get hooked- we never get much and it always goes fast!

Champagne is always a welcome choice and not just for special occasions, but when you open a bottle of single village Grand Cru Champagne that is an occasion all unto itself. Mesnil sur Oger is a quant hamlet in southern half of the Cote du Blanc with many famous parcels, and the Launois family captures that specific essence perfectly. The toasty, brioche nose opens up quickly to reveal yellow fig, Golden Delicious apple, fields of jasmine, a walnut nuttiness and then you find the hints of chalk you were looking for. On the palate the apple gets firmer and a little more Granny Smith, pear and white pepper can be found, and the chalk is easily detected. The wine has firm acidity but leaves plenty of room to experience the softer elements.

Hello, my pretty! That's because this is just what this champagne is, very, very pretty. Loads of cream, with muted citrus fruits and white stone fruits. Hints of orange and blood orange. We do not get very much of this from Launois, so don't wait to buy it. In fact, NEVER wait to buy any Launois because it comes and goes so quickly. Sell a kidney and buy some!

The Veuve Clemence is the older, richer brother to the Cuvee Reserve from Launois. With four years on the lees, it is my go to bottle when in the mood for a fuller bodied Champagne. Full of toasty brioche and biscuit dough right out of the glass, hinting at the opulent nature to come. On the palate it evolves into a supple and appealing wine, chalk full of Grand Cru Chardonnay minerality and stone fruit.

This is gorgeously lush wine made from hillside grapes and the top and bottom of the slopes. The nose is yeasty and voluptuous with a richness on the palate that maintains its elegance under the weight. Truly a fine wine.

Another Launois that simply drinks far too easily. This cuvee showcases the crispness and cleanliness that I love in Launois' Champagne while also offering length and drive. Light notes of apple and melon layer the minerality of this wine and help it to disappear far too quickly.