Thanks to Xiao P for securing this limited collection from Taiwan & the photos! 

Roses de Jeanne ‘La Haute-Lemblé’ Blanc de Blancs 2005 Extra Brut Champagne

* Single vineyard: La Haute-Lemblé, an 11.8-are, south-facing parcel of Chardonnay in Celles-sur-Ource, Aube. Clay & chalk mixed soil.

* Natural viticulture. Exceptionally low yield.

* Minimalist winemaking: no chaptalization, no oak, no fining, no filtering, no cold-stabilization and no dosage. The wine goes through a natural malolactic.

* Lower pressure of 4.5 atmospheres rather than standard 6, in order to achieve very fine & gentle mousse without aggression.

Thanks to Cedric Bouchard’s minimalist winemaking approach, he is one of the relatively few universally acclaimed (least controversial) among Champagne’s new-wave growers…

Tasted in Feb., 2013

Ultra fine bubbles for such a young vintage Champagne. (Now we know why...) 

Wildly expressive bouquet of yellow stone fruit, curry & exotic spice, dusted with flint & iodine.

When well chilled & just poured, the palate is solid, taut & precise – like cut diamonds. Crystallized yellow stone fruit plus a distillation of rock! Concentrated sweet fruit, brisk acidity & saline, flinty minerality all expressive yet totally harmonious.

With aeration and as it gradually warms up, it melts down and becomes sensually silky, caressing & expansive, with complexity of hazelnut, coconut & curry. Admirable mid palate presence & resonant length.

Wildly expressive, but not rustic. Taut, but not austere. Generous, but not voluptuous.