Thanks to Kevin, Second and Xiao P for sharing the interesting bubbles.

And thanks to Xiao P for the photos. Tasted in end Oct.

Andre Clouet Millesime 2005 Brut Grand Cru Champagne -- shared by Second

Seductive aroma of ripe, juicy red apple underneath the oily surface. With aeration, it reveals intriguing scents of tobacco, mingled with toasted bread.

Sleek entry. The full & round body boasts ripeness & richness of 05 vintage, coupled with the warm terroir of Bouzy. Luckily, it’s not overblown. The delicious red-apply & creamy taste is lifted by a refreshing tone of menthol. The accelerating aftertaste of tobacco is the most enjoyable part for me.

Don’t age. Enjoy it soon, with richness, ripeness & complexity already in the prime, and freshness still present.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Pommery ' Cuvee Louise ' 1998 Brut Champagne -- shared by Kevin

Burnt toast & caramel dominated bouquet, boasting evolved Chardonnay in driver’s seat.

Stylish, medium-bodied. Lemony-toasty taste, dusted with white chocolate crust – less evolved on the palate than what the nose would suggest.

As it sits in the glass & loses the initial chill, it reveals quite pronounced nuttiness, with lovely, crisp finale of green plum.

The flavor intensity is quite remarkable for its relatively light balance. This beauty is surely evolving into an exciting phase!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

A.R.Lenoble ' Les Aventures ' Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut Multi-Vintage

 (96-00-02) Champagne -- shared by Xiao P 

* single-vineyard named ' Les Aventures ' in Grand Cru Chouilly;

* always a blend of 3 different vintages (the inaugural release was from 90, 95 & 96 vintages; the  one we taste here is from 96, 00 & 02 vintages (exciting!); each version is limited to around 2,000 bottles)

* 1st fermentation & ageing in 225 litre used oak barrels;

* sealed with cork for the second fermentation;

* presented with a traditional twine ficelle for securing the cork.

Well, the stuff inside the bottle is every bit as impressive as the presentation!

A big gun of Blanc de Blancs Champagne. Rich & fleshy, ample & velvety, yet vibrant.

To be frank, Chouilly is not a Grand Cru that impresses me much. The wines from Chouilly are, too often than not, too round & easy-going, anything but excitingly austere. But this chalky single-vineyard Champagne is the best Chouilly I have ever tasted, with richness & rounded ampleness in the best sense of the word, and more importantly, enough energy & mineral expression.

As it sits in the glass, the saline minerality becomes more & more assertive on the mid palate. And it finishes with lovely crispness of green plum.

A fine wine of substance & character. Definitely for the table.

A combination of super-star vintages like 96 & 02 does not let us down.

Surely worth the seek. A few more years in the cellar would make it even more stunning! 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Guy Charlemagne ' La Cuvee Mesnillesime ' 2002 Brut Grand Cru Champagne

-- my contribution for the evening 

* ' Mesnillesime ', Charlemagne's Prestige Cuvee, is named by grafting the two words  ' Mesnil ' (the Grand Cru village)  and  ' Millesime ' (Vintage);

* made exclusively from old Chardonnay vines in the heart of Le Mesnil vineyard areas, some of which were planted back in 1947;

* for the 02 vintage, roughly half of the base wines were fermented in used 225L oak barrels (from Meursault) without malo, another half fermented in stainless steel vats with malo.

Lemon yellow robe. Still some greenish hints.

Exuberant bouquet of vanilla, brioche & exotic citrus. Yet the palate is not feeling overtly rich at all. Instead, it’s racy & lifted, winning your heart by its intensity of flavor (exotic citrus, brioche, vanilla, chalk) & tightrope finesse! The richness of fruit is well contained by incisive, crystalline chalk. Admirably athletic. This one has a great future ahead.

With aeration, the vanilla tone from the small oak barrels does seem a bit too pervasive, masking the purity of fruit & terroir. No wonder the winemaker has decided to reduce the use of oak in subsequent vintages. We look forward to future releases with more transparency & purity of Le Mesnil terroir!