Thanks to Donny for sharing this thought-provoking bubbly!

Eric Rodez 'Cuvee des Grands Vintages' Brut Grand Cru Champagne (750ml)

Mono-cru Ambonnay; around 60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay.

A blend of base wines from upto 8 different harvests; 

1st fermentation entirely in oak, without MLF  

Disgorged in May, 2012

Tasted in Feb., 2013

Limpid, pale golden robe with reflections of copper. Many minuscular bubbles glitter.

Waxy, exquisite bouquet of honey, toffee, dried longan, date, hazelnut, brioche & liquorice, further enhanced by penetrating scents of chalk. Seductive, yet retaining poised elegance.

Just a sip. And you are delighted by its intellectually engaging sophistication & racy dynamism. As a multi-vintage involving base wines in different stages of evolution, you taste a broad fruit spectrum from green apple all the way to candied and preserved fruit (dried longan, date, fig…), thanks to Eric’s painstaking effort in storing all the different vintaged base wines separately until assemblage. The craft of 1^st fermentation in oak and the wise move to block MLF have worked together in creating a lovely paradox of silky, oily texture and race horse dynamism. Aristocratic yet effortless. The clarity of taut acidity and incisive chalkiness is simply breathtaking. Precise and essential.

Here the aristocratic sophistication of multi-vintage blend seems to have further enhanced the singular character of mono-cru. Intellectually rewarding work!