Tag: pinot meunier

  1. 2018 Vins Clairs: A Vintage Summary

    June 14, 2019

    Earlier this year, we tasted a range of 2018 vins clairs with winemakers at fifteen different houses in Champagne. Thanks to exceptional weather throughout the year, some have been calling it ‘the vintage of the century’ and expectations are already sky-high. But just how much potential does 2018 have?

  2. Lanson: 2018 Vins Clairs Tasting and Clos Lanson Vertical 2014-2006

    June 13, 2019

    Lanson Chef de Cave Hervé Dantan is a huge fan of vintage 2018, telling us: “It was a dream, this harvest.” We visited the house in Reims earlier this year to sample the vins clairs and conduct a vertical tasting of all the Clos Lanson vintages from 2006-2014.

  3. Champagne Boizel: 2018 Vins Clairs and Champagne Range Tasting

    June 12, 2019

    Based in Épernay, Champagne Boizel have a long and illustrious history with a tradition of trendsetting. We met with Florent Boizel, who has taken over the reins from his recently retired father, to sample some 2018 vins clairs and taste the range of finished champagnes.

  4. Moët & Chandon: 2018 Vins Clairs Tasting

    May 10, 2019

    Moët & Chandon winemaker Amine Ghanem talked us through the trials and tribulations of the 2018 vintage during our last visit to Champagne. He acknowledged it was a “challenging” vintage, but overall still “one of the best years region wide” – the resulting base wines he showed us were outstanding.

  5. Philipponnat: 2018 Vins Clairs Tasting

    May 6, 2019

    “The biggest challenge was not making too much!” With an abundance of ripe and healthy grapes, Philipponnat had a successful harvest in 2018, a vintage which sixteenth generation family member Charles Philipponnat likens to 1995, 2009 and 2012.

  6. Billecart-Salmon: 2018 Vins Clairs Tasting

    April 22, 2019

    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.

  7. Laurent-Perrier: 2018 Vins Clairs Tasting

    April 15, 2019

    “Everything is good, my work now is to find which ones are very good.” Laurent-Perrier had a successful harvest in 2018, a year which Chef de Cave Michel Fauconnet believes will most certainly produce a stunning vintage champagne and hopefully a strong Alexandra Rosé as well.

  8. Veuve Clicquot: 2018 Vins Clairs Tasting

    April 9, 2019

    An insightful vins clairs tasting with Dominique Demarville, Veuve Clicquot’s eminent Chef de Cave, painted a clear picture of the 2018 vintage. Fresh, ripe and mature, with plenty of ageing potential, the base wines at Clicquot were either exceptional or good… none of them were bad.

  9. Piper-Heidsieck and Rare Champagne: 2018 Vins Clairs Tasting

    April 4, 2019

    Émilien Boutillat chose a good vintage to start his new role as Piper-Heidsieck cellar master. “The quality of the grapes was perfect all over the region,” he told us. We tasted the base wines and shared a magnificent lunch paired with Rare Champagne.

  10. Charles Heidsieck: 2018 Vins Clairs Tasting

    April 2, 2019

    “The wines in 2018 were good overall. Some were exceptional… some over-mature.” Charles Heidsieck Chef de Cave, Cyril Brun, was slightly more cautious than other winemakers regarding the potential of 2018. We tasted a range of vins clairs and reserve wines with the always engaging winemaker at the cellars in Reims.

  11. Louis Roederer: 2018 Vins Clairs Tasting

    March 29, 2019

    Not many are as excited as Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon about 2018s potential, a year he describes as having “the density of 2002 and the precision of 2008.” During our visit, we also tasted the latest Cristal Vinothèque’s and a mind-blowing pair of Cristal magnums.

  12. Update: Champagne Harvest 2018

    September 4, 2018

    The 2018 Champagne harvest has now officially been underway for 2 weeks. With warm conditions continuing to prevail, most houses have been picking as fast as possible and the first juices are already fermenting. We bring you all the latest updates from Champagne.

  13. Champagne Harvest 2018 Begins

    August 21, 2018

    The 2018 Champagne harvest officially began on August 20th – the earliest harvest since records began in 1822 – with the southern villages of the Côte des Bars being picked first. What does the picking schedule tell us about the maturity of the different grape varieties?

  14. Champagne: Glossary of Terms

    August 14, 2018

    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.

  15. Veuve Clicquot: 2017 Vins Clairs

    May 23, 2018

    We tasted the 2017 vins clairs at Veuve Clicquot with Chief Winemaker Gaëlle Goossens, who described it as “a difficult year, but good for Chardonnay”. We also discussed her thoughts on innovating winemaking by bridging the gap between oenology and viticulture.

  16. Lanson: 2017 Vins Clairs and old Vintage Collection Magnums

    May 14, 2018

    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.

  17. Philipponnat: 2017 Vins Clairs and new Clos des Goisses 2009

    May 9, 2018

    Charles Philipponnat describes 2017 as a “funny vintage”. We visited the house of Philipponnat to taste the vins clairs and find out just what he means. Whilst there, we also sampled an incredible range of champagnes, including new Clos des Goisses 2009.