2017  Blanc de Blancs

Blanc de Blancs ---- "From a rich but small harvest with great fruit maturity, the 2017 Minéral Extra Brut Grand Cru comes from three different parcels in Avize that each express a different dimension of the same village terroir. Half of the cuvée is vinified in stainless and the other half in oak barrel, aged on fine lees until disgorged 60 days before release with a three gram per liter dosage. It unfurls with incredibly rich, perfumed and expressive ripe yellow apple, lemon confit, wet stones, and honey all fused with a delicate oxidative note. Medium-bodied, the palate is structured around a pinpoint fruit core that is surrounded by chalky minerality and assertive acidity radiating freshness. It has a gorgeous long, lively and lithe finish. Drink: 2023-2038." - 95+ points, TWI 

NV  

2018  

"The 2018 Tradition Sparkling Rosé is a new cuvée from Cruse Wine Co. Made using the traditional method, it is composed of 68% Pinot Noir and 32% Chardonnay from several vineyards including Rorick Heritage in Sierra Foothills, Alder Springs in Mendocino, Keefer Ranch in Sonoma and Linda Vista in Napa. "Vins clairs don't often taste great," notes winemaker Michael Cruse. "But the 2018 rosé tasted incredible from barrel." Cruse Wine Co.'s sparklings are technically non-vintage—you won't find the vintage listed on the label—but this first iteration is composed entirely of fruit from the 2018 vintage. Grapes were fermented in barrel and disgorged with six grams per liter dosage after two years on the lees. About 7% red wine was added to the blend to produce its medium cherry-pink color, and it has 5.5 bars of pressure. The nose offers a layered, singular perfume of warm peaches and strawberries, biscuit, spring butter and toast, expertly balancing ripe California fruit and savory autolytic character. Medium-bodied and dry, the palate is intense and savory, with biscuit-laced flavors and bright bursts of pure raspberry character. It has a fine, creamy texture, a long finish and loads of personality! 565 cases were made." - 96pts WA

NV  

2015  

1990  

NV  Extra Brut

50-70 year old vine, 74% Pinot Meunier, 16% Pinot Noir, 10% Chardonnay, 3 g/l, Biodynamic. ---- "The Tolérance offers a clear and concentrated yet very delicate bouquet of red fruits. On the palate, this rosé reveals great purity, finesse and elegance, with a firm but fine structure and highly delicate but persistent fruit. This is a great rosé Champagne! Highly recommended." - 94pts WA

2014  Blanc de Blancs (Brigitte Fallon)

Michel Fallon Brigitte Fallon Avysia Grand Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne ---- Ultra-Rare Champagne: Only 2,300 Bottles Made Of A New Cult Collectable -- Made by Brigitte Fallon wife of Michel Fallon, ex-cellar master for Jacques Selosse -- The Avysia is a Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs from the famed cru of Avize. It is based around the 2019 vintage and includes reserve wines going back to 2014. The dosage is low, while the wine echoes the Selosse and Michel Fallon style, being powerful and complex with oxidative notes to balance the purity of the Chardonnay fruit.

2007  Gonet-Médeville Grand Cru Extra Brut

100% organically farmed Chardonnay from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Champs d'Alouettes. It is usually blended for Cuvée Théophile and is vinified separately only in the best vintages. Xavier and Krug are the only two houses to own vineyards in this site. Vinified in neutral barrels for six months prior to bottling. No chaptalization, malolactic fermentation or fining. Aged on the lees for 9 years before release. Dosage 2.5 g/L ----- "Complex, aging aromas of pastry and leather, hints of quince and smoke; Creamy in the mouth, ripe to enjoy now. Pale onion skin color. Spicy, floral citrus fruits and redcurrant on the incisive nose. Sharply delineated blood orange and bitter red berry skin flavors are complemented by notes of white pepper and mace, with a hint of smokiness in the background. Closes dry and tight, with echoing spiciness and very good persistence." - 18/20pts Jancis Robinson

NV  Extra Brut Grand Cru

Extra Brut Grand Cru ---- 70% Chardonnay from Le Mesnil sur Oger and 30% Pinot Noir from Ambonnay, including 3% still Pinot Noir which gives the wine its delicate salmon hue. ---- "A fine, lacy mousse enfolds the chalky underpinning and firm acidity of this harmonious rosé in a creamy swathe of texture, carrying a finely detailed range of ripe white cherry and strawberry fruit, toast point and chopped almond flavors. Hints of pink grapefruit zest and pickled ginger show on the crisp finish. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir." - 92 points, Wine Spectator

NV  

Brut Premier Cru ---- 70% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Noir, 5% Pinot Meunier ---- "A harmonious Champagne, well-knit and chalky in texture, with flavors of white cherry, salted almond, cassis and blood orange peel. Creamy finish. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier." - 91pts, Wine Spectator

NV  

"When Cyril Brun was briefed to recreate this iconic cuvée, he struggled to achieve the plenitude and drama he was looking for. Then, he dug in the Heidsieck archives and discovered, as he tells it, that the famous vintages of Charlie, while vintaged on paper, actually contained reserve wines. Brun therefore gave himself carte blanche to draw on the house's best lots to put together the inaugural NV Champagne Charlie, based on the 2016 vintage but incorporating fully 78% reserve wines dating back two decades. Bursting with aromas of golden orchard fruit, brioche, honeycomb, peaches, spices and buttery pastry, it's full-bodied, fleshy and enveloping, with a layered core of fruit, racy acids and a beautifully refined pinpoint mousse. Some 52% of the blend is Chardonnay, with Brun looking for ripe, exotic Chardonnay to complement more tensile lots of Pinot Noir. It's a compelling, flamboyant wine—the only thing that may make consumers smart is the price." - 96pts WA