Fallet-Dart "Grande Sélection" Brut Champagne

This delightful grower Champagne from Charly-sur-Marne rested on its lees for six years, slowly developing richness and complexity. What’s amazing is it’s priced well under $40. It almost seems too good to be true. If you’re a bubble fanatic, this should be pinging your radar right about now. Thanks to our extremely knowledgeable and well-connected Champagne buyer Gary Westby, we can all enjoy amazing deals like this NV Fallet-Dart Grande Sélection Brut. Maison Fallet-Dart, founded in 1610, remains family-run to this day. All their releases represent fantastic QPRs that can go toe-to-toe with Grandes Marques costing twice as much. This release in particular earned a gold medal in 2022 from the notoriously rigorous International Wine Challenge. The Grand Sélection is elegantly composed of estate-grown fruit—70% Pinot Noir, 15% Chardonnay, 15% Meunier. In the glass it displays a fine and steady bead. The nose is alluringly leesy, a signature of long sur-lie aging. Then come aromas of toasted almond, caramel, flaky pastry, and lemon curd—a dreamy pâtisserie shop in a glass. The palate is dry yet generous—tarte tatin immediately comes to mind with apple, buttery pastry, and caramel, followed by refreshing highlights of Eureka lemon and an elegant chalky finish that stimulates the tip of the tongue — a welcomed sensation that beckons another sip. This is the perfect choice for an aperitif wine to kick your night off. I shared it with my best friend on a cold, late winter evening, paired with a freshly baked pain au levain, Cougar Gold white cheddar, classical music, and lively conversation punctuated by several belly laughs. Highly recommended.

Where the Cuvée de Réserve is a fun and delightful entry to the portfolio, things get a little more serious with the Grande Sélection. With upwards of 8 years on the lees, the complexity here is unparalleled for the humble price tag. A powerful, yet elegant bottle of bubbles, full of toasty brioche, ripe citrus and a melange of stone fruits. Another stunning value from the fan-favorite Fallet-Dart!

Fallet-Dart has crafted champagne since 1610 so they must be doing something right! The "Grand Selection" is stupendous and downright ridiculous when you consider the price. It's like pulling off a heist at the winery. Like a snowflake, every champagne's perlage is unique, and the "Grand Selection's" bubbles rise through the center of the flute like a glistening funnel cloud and explode into a fizzy foamy umbrella when they hit the wine's surface. Think of fireworks on July 4th except you can drink them. On the nose, citrus, red berries, sourdough, and buttered popcorn. On the palate, strawberry, and lemon custard, with notes of vanilla. Rich and creamy mid-palate, with a pleasing finish of lemon-lime and toasted baguette. If you don't pair champagne with food, you may consider giving it a swirl. I enjoyed this with a mushroom omelet topped with fresh dill and it was more than I deserve.

Silky and creamy with rich citrus fruits on the palate and toasted hazelnut notes, it's deep in flavor with long finish and supple textured flavor. Real steal for the price!

This is a value I often like to compare to one of the bigger brands in Champagne (with an iconic orange label) that has a similar grape profile. This has bright distinctively ripe citrus and apricot fruitiness, cream, flowers and toast from the seven years on the lees, and amazing texture from the chalky soils. Throw in that you actually save money for all that quality, and it becomes a no-brainer!

The Fallet-Dart Champagnes all represent fantastic values, and there are a number to choose from depending on your preference and budget. Each on shows a lovely toasty note from their preference for long lees contact.The Grande Selection adds 15% Chardonnay to the cuvee but still has the Pinot Noir/Pinot Meunier dominant. It shows a bit more of a creamy refined character with lovely plump white fruits and a tangerine hint on the edges. It shows a nice bold mouthfeel and a long finish.

How can a Champagne be so toasty and yet so bright and vibrant at the same time? It's picking up huge depth of flavor from spending seven years on the lees leading to a nose that's simultaneously doughy and toasty. I pick up aromas of a medley of soft orchard fruits here with pear, peach, and apricot at the helm. The palate shows off surprisingly bright acid and fresh green apples. Take this rich yet zippy Champagne to your next gathering because the range of flavors has something to please everyone in attendance.

Fallet Dart produces extremely high quality wines. The "Grande Selection" stands out from their line up for the super fine bubbles and fresh aromas balancing out it's rich texture. Despite the long lees aging, and toasty aromas, the wine still carries lovely red fruit notes. This is truly top quality wine at a phenomenal value.

Our favorite champagne DI Fallet Dart never fails with each bottling I've tasted. This Grande Selection ages 7 years on the lees, which in turn produces the small bubbles. The beautiful aromatic notes with lees-y and toasty aromatics paired with a balanced acid backbone, notes of granny apples mid-palate and a lemon citrus zest on the finish, this champagne is a great value at this price!

This is another gem in our collection of champagnes. Don't let the low price fool you. There is a lot of work that goes into each bottle. It's made of all estate fruit and 7 years aging on the lees gives it a luscious mouthfeel and toasty aromas and flavors throughout the pallete. Makes a great gift in a classic looking bottle for only $34.99

If you’d like a study on what “toastiness” in Champagne tastes and smells like, look no further! As most of my colleagues have already pointed out, 7 years aged on the lies adds a lot of complex yeast characteristics that pair lovingly with the simple and pure fruits. This is mostly ripe and clean apple driven, but the yeast…it’s almost as if you toasted a slab of Brioche and let the edges burn a little bit.

You just can't get much better with over seven years on the lees with estate grown fruit and a 17th generation grower. With notes of toast with pear jam on the nose and a nicely balanced palate with orchard fruit and pineapple upside-down cake this is a great wine to share with friends. The finish is soft but lingers and keeps reminding you to tip that glass back. A truly great value for under $35.

Of all of the sub-50 dollar champagnes we have in stock right this moment, this is the one I'm taking home! Incredible vibrancy, amazing texture from it's seriously lengthy time on the lees, and some of the most elegant (fine) bubbles I've had in a long time. Although it's easy to consume, it's still a nicely complex Champagne that is filled with spice, and freshness in a lengthy finish. You can't go wrong with this as your party Champ!

The Faillet family have been known wine growers since the early 17th century, but it wasn't until the marriage of Gaston Faillet and Genevieve Dart in 1970 that the house of Faillet-Dart was formed. the Grande Selection is a blend of 70% Pinot Noir, and the and even split of Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier to round it out. The nose is toasty with notes of white florals, browned butter, and apples. The palate is rich with notes of under ripe stone fruit, apples, and a round marzipan finish.

In Champagne, the law of the land processes and a systematic 7 years aging period lets the maddeningly beautiful Pinot Noir heavy Cuvee showcase wonderful toastiness. The palette of poppyseed and plum skin is carried thru a wonderfully soft mouthfeel, only matched but a lightly sweet nose. A great bottle of bubbles at any price really but one that is ridiculous at the cost.

As far as our portfolio of direct imports go, I'm personally a huge fan of everything Fallet Dart has released, and the Grande Selection is definitely one of my all time favorites. If you need a good house champagne, look no further. Grande Selection delivers on so many levels. It's well balanced, the acidity is damn near perfect, and it has a nice toastiness to it like no other. Try it with pizza. Trust me.

As my colleagues have said- this wine is all about the lees. 7 years give this wine an elegance of weight down the mid palate while the Pinot Noir dominance gives a tart fruit character. That small addition of high quality chardonnay brings bright meyer lemon flavor and enough acidity to keep the wine long lived on the palate. I can see this wine being extremely food friendly- a grilled swordfish or a baked chicken would be perfect pairings!

A more subtly rounded Champagne than the Grand Reserve, the Grand Selection from Fallet Dart is blended with mostly red fruit, like the Grand Reserve, but the small about of high quality Chardonnay in the blend makes an impression, and an important distinction. There is also an extra two years on the lees, with a total of six years aging, which creates a slightly funky nose with a clean, bright palate with a hint of toast, and an earthy, chalky quality.

The mere fact that this cuvee from Fallet Dart has a whopping seven years on the lees should immediately grab your attention. That said, it's not all about the lees, you need to start with great base wine. This is absolutely the case for this delicious bottle of Pinot Noir based bubbles made an hour west of Epernay. A bright nose loaded with citric fruits leads to a focused, lively, fresh and engaging palate. Compared to their also tasty Grande Reserve, this wine comes across as drier and slightly lower dosage. Fantastic value for money, and a likely selection for house Champagne at our place. If you are inclined to do the same, it will be super affordable at under $35!

This Champagne hits all of the elements for me that I expect in a great sparkling and is one of the most well balanced I have ever come across, which is incredibly rare at this price. Fallet-Dart is situated in the far western, slightly lesser-known village of Drachy and this wine benefits from being made from only fruit grown on the estate. With up to seven years aging on the lees, this Champagne exhibits fantastic body and depth and the Pinot Noir heavy blend really showcases that varietal. The Chardonnay brings brightness and acidity and rounds of the palate fantastically. Definitely my favorite Fallet-Dart and at this price can be one approachable for any Champagne lover.

For those of you excited about varietal character in your Champagne, this is a great wine! Showing plenty of red fruit from the Pinot Noir dominance, this wine is richer, with nutty texture and excellent follow-through on the palate. I generally lean towards Chardonnay-based Champagnes, but this wine might be changing my mind. The elegant Pinot Noir character shows through with such purity and finesse, it easily rivals the elegance of a blanc de blancs. I will definitely be stocking up on these!