2011 Deutz "Amour de Deutz" Blanc de Blancs Champagne

Professional Reviews

Staff Reviews

GW

Gary Westby

Gary Westby

K&L Buyer

Cinnamon and I enjoyed this Champagne with experimental arancini aux crabe; fried risotto balls that I made with crab meat. The pairing, and especially the Champagne, were a big success. This wine has a clear white gold color and a generous nose of tarte tatin pastry crust and crisp apple. The texture is exquisite, with a buoyant bead lifting the delicate wine and leaving one feeling lighter after every sip. The balance between toast and bright apple fruit is perfect and the finish adds a twist of chalk that really carries it. The rich arancini gave the wine something to cut and had real synergy with the wine. This dry but generous tête de cuvée is a huge treat.

Notes

The Amour de Deutz is 100% Chardonnay carefully selected from some of the top places for that grape in Champagne. It is mostly grand cru, 50% Avize, 15% Mesnil, and 12% Oger, with 11% Villeneuve, 6% Vertus, and 6% Villlers-Marmery. That last village, Villers-Marmery is on the east slope of the mountain of Reims, and I think adds a lot of aromatic complexity to this expertly crafted wine. This is current release at 11 years old as I type and shows an increasing commitment to long ageing for this tête de cuvée from Deutz. The first vintage of this wine was the 1993, and we were selling that back in 2000. Although I could not find any information on the vinification, this shows very much like a stainless-steel fermented wine, and I would guess that very little, if any, oak was used! -Gary Westby, K&L Wine Merchants