
The Friday Bubble – Tasting Les Clos Pompadour with Pommery Chef de Cave Clément Pierlot
September 15, 2023
Today on The Friday Bubble, Pommery Clos de Pompadour 2004 and its predecessor 2003 with Chef de Cave Clement Pierlot.
Today on The Friday Bubble, Pommery Clos de Pompadour 2004 and its predecessor 2003 with Chef de Cave Clement Pierlot.
Explore with us an in depth look at this latest release from Dom Pérignon 2004 P2 with Chef de Cave Vincent Chaperon
Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve NV has for the first time in more than 40 years used 6% barrel fermented wine in its blend!
Ulysse Collin are right at the forefront of the terroir movement that is currently revolutionising Champagne. Olivier Collin, a student of Anselme Selosse, embodies the hip, alternative, craftsman image that is proving so popular with younger consumers. We visited in June to find out more.
Champagne Krug have announced that Julie Cavil will take over as winemaking director in the new year. Incumbent winemaking director Eric Lebel will become deputy director of Krug and will lead projects involving all of the brands within the Moët Hennessy portfolio.
Not many champagnes are as eagerly anticipated as Salon 2008. Produced only in magnums (just 8,000 were made) and exclusively available as part of a specially designed wooden case, the ultimate rarity just got rarer. We met president Didier Depond in June to find out more.
We were truly spoilt during our recent tasting at Taittinger, which included not one, but two(!), of the notoriously rare Comtes magnums. Discussion centred around the newly released 2013 vintage, the future for Comtes, and the recently renovated vinification of Comtes Rosé.
Our last visit to Palmer & Co’s new winery in Reims included a comparison of the current range from bottle and magnum and a selection of older vintages from the late release Blanc de Blancs and Vintage Collections.
Veuve Clicquot have announced that Didier Mariotti, currently chief winemaker at G.H. Mumm, will be joining the house next month and will take over as chef de cave in January 2020.
Dominique Demarville will be leaving Veuve Clicquot to join Laurent-Perrier at the end of the year. Demarville has been Chef de Cave at Clicquot since 2006 and will be replacing the retiring incumbent Michel Fauconnet as Chef de Cave at Laurent-Perrier.
In early March, we met with President of Pol Roger Laurent d’Harcourt at the winery in Épernay to taste the 2018 base wines and conduct a vertical tasting of Pol Roger Blanc de Blancs vintages, dating from 1986-2012.
Billecart-Salmon were one of the first houses to pick grapes last year, kicking off their harvest on 22nd August. We tasted the vins clairs with new Chef de Cave Florent Nys, and also shared a comprehensive range of finished champagnes.
The unusual weather patterns in 2018 produced the “perfect conditions for the vineyard”, according to new Taittinger Chef de Cave Alexandre Ponnavoy. We met last month to taste the vins clairs, which displayed incredible specificity: each wine showcasing the distinctive characteristics of its individual origins.
As a winemaker, Ruinart Chef de Cave Frédéric Panaïotis is excited by vintage 2018, “a year of extremes.” However, as a human, he’s worried about what it signifies for our changing climate. We tasted the vins clairs from this exceptional year at the house in Reims.
Richard Geoffroy retired as Dom Pérignon Chef de Cave at the beginning of this year, handing the reins to his successor, Vincent Chaperon. In this article, Jancis pays tribute to Geoffroy, a bona fide champagne legend who leaves behind a considerable legacy.
Last week, we had lunch with Régis Camus, Rare Champagne Cellar Master, and Diane-Sophie Lanselle, Communications Director at Mellerio, to discuss the now unclassified Rare Le Secret project and find out what inspired this great partnership.
Last weekend, we met with new Piper-Heidsieck cellar master Émilien Boutillat, who shared his thoughts on the 2018 vintage, what makes Piper-Heidsieck unique and what the future holds for winemaking in Champagne.
Yesterday, Piper-Heidsieck announced the appointment of Émilien Boutillat as their new Cellar Master. Previous incumbent Séverine Frerson has joined Perrier-Jouët, where she will succeed current Cellar Master Hervé Deschamps in a few years.
Earlier this year, we travelled to Champagne to visit thirteen different Champagnes houses and taste the 2017 Vins Clairs with their winemakers. Challenging weather has rendered this vintage one to forget for many, but there are some promising surprises. Which ones have the most potential? Read our full summary.
Charles Heidsieck were one of the first houses to make an all-Chardonnay champagne, back in 1947. In a tribute to their rich history of Chardonnay, the house revealed a brand new cuvée last week: Charles Heidsieck Blanc de Blancs NV.
Our vins clairs visit to Champagne ended at Lanson, with Chef de Cave Hervé Dantan. Here we tasted a comprehensive range of base wines, current champagne releases and some stunning magnums of Vintage Collection, from 1979-1990.
Although Chef de Cave Gilles Descôtes described 2017 as “the worst since 1893”, Bollinger continued to innovate. We tasted the results of some exciting trials they are conducting with the rarer grape varieties Arbane, Petit Meslier and Pinot Gris.
The 2017 vintage favoured Chardonnay-dominant Laurent-Perrier. We tasted some rich and generous vins clairs with Chef de Cave Michel Fauconnet and sampled previews of upcoming Vintage 2008 and future Grand Siècle NV.
As with other houses, the 2017 season was a complicated one for Piper-Heidsieck. We met with current Chef de Cave Régis Camus and his deputy Séverine Frerson to taste a selection of vins clairs and hear their take on the vintage.
The latest iteration of Bollinger R.D. (Recently Disgorged) will hit the market in late-March 2018. Here we share our thoughts on the bottle of Bollinger R.D. 2004 that we tasted with cellar master Gilles Descôtes last year.
Piper Heidsieck recently released their first ever rosé vintage of the esteemed prestige cuvée Rare. We tasted it with head winemaker Régis Camus alongside Essentiel NV – also just launched in the UK – and some old vintages of Rare.
Dom Pérignon launched their new Brut Vintage 2009 last month before 2008 – the first time in history they have skipped a vintage. We tasted it alongside 2003 and 2006 with head winemaker Richard Geoffroy, who described it as “majestic and persistent”.
Last month, we attended a Charles Heidsieck Vintage Masterclass tasting with Cellar Master, Cyril Brun. A showcase of Heidsieck’s ageing potential beginning with a 2008 base vintage and finishing with a 1981 magnum.
We tasted the 2016 Vins Clairs with cellar master Odilon de Varine, talked winemaking secrets and heard about Gosset’s grand plans: including the opportunity for consumers to create their own blend?!
In the first of our Vins Clairs 2016 articles, we recount our visit to Louis Roederer to taste the 2016 base wines. Chef de Cave Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon had a lot to say about both the present and the future…
Popping a cork has become so synonymous with celebration that the particularly unique vinous qualities of Champagne can be easily overlooked. Here we shed light on the complexities of our favourite effervescent tipple, by defining some of the key terms involved in Champagne and its production.