November 11, 2021 - Grand tour from Champagne to Burgundy

The WAC Wine Club Cellar Team is excited to share with you a grand tour of excellent wines from Champagne to Burgundy.  We’ll begin the tasting with wines from northeast of Paris in the world of Champagne, drinking two of the finest the region has to offer. Then we’ll head south to Chablis where we’ll sample a Grand Cru single vineyard wine. From there, we’ll go to the classic region of Burgundy where we’ll experience two exceptional wines that come from some of the best Grand Cru vineyards Burgundy has to offer, one dating back to Roman times. Liz, Richard and Kraig know this part of France very well and look forward to hosting this event.

2002 Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Nicholas Francois Champagne

98 points, current price $200

This exceptional cuvée was created in 1964 as a tribute to the House’s founder. It results from the blending of grands crus from the classified Côte des Blancs vineyards (Chardonnay) and the Montagne de Reims (Pinot Noir).

Tasting notes by James Suckling, Robert Parker and Jancis Robinson include:

· Very impressive depth and detail. The freshness is staggering. Citrus and grilled hazelnut aromas lead to a palate that has a very concentrated, slightly creamy and taut feel.

· It's showing superbly, wafting from the glass with a complex bouquet that mingles confit citrus, peach and dried papaya with nuances of iodine, brioche and honeycomb.

· Quite evolved but still with that tension. Notably pungent. Very brioche and tight and gently sparkling. Very gently unwinding. Long and neat but definitely not austere.

2006 Drappier Grande Sendrée Brut Champagne

94 points, current price $100

Although the vines in Urville were originally planted by the Romans 2,000 years ago, it was Saint Bernard, founder of Clairvaux Abbey, who had cellars built in 1152. Seven centuries later, in 1808, the family domaine was created. Today, it is headed by Michel Drappier, and cultivated according to organic and natural principles. Rather than ultra-sophisticated, sometimes overdone wine, the Drappier prefers authenticity and a natural approach, limiting usage of sulphites.

Well-drained, limestone and chalky soil defines much of the region, which lend a mineral component to its wines. Champagne’s cold, continental climate promotes ample acidity in its grapes but weather differences from year to year can create significant variation between vintages. While vintage Champagnes are produced in exceptional years, non-vintage cuvées are produced annually from a blend of several years in order to produce Champagnes that maintain a consistent house style.

Winemaker notes include the Grande Sendrée is golden in color with amber nuances. The wine reveals subtle aromas of dried fruit, some touches of toast and wax, the whole unfolding into fruity notes of citrus fruit, fruit with white flesh, stoned fruit. The palate accentuates the vinosity, the depth and the structure. 

2011 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Vaudesir

94 Points, current price $85

Domaine William Fèvre is one of the most prestigious of all Chablis houses and, despite its relative youth, produces some of the finest expressions of Chardonnay from the north of Burgundy. The domaine holdings cover a wide range of vineyards, including numerous grand and premier cru Chablis sites. The Fèvre family has been in Chablis for 250 years, but the domaine itself wasn't established by William Fèvre until 1959.

Tasting notes by Wine & Spirits and Robert Parker include:

· The wine has the beautiful fresh scent of chamomile, a bright, pure expression of chardonnay that carries its chalky floral richness all the way through to a generous end.

· A surprisingly sweetly-suggestive, high-toned nose of pineapple, orange rind and nutmeg wafted by ocean breeze. It offers a lusciously juicy, sweetly-citric palate impression mouthwateringly mingled with clam stock and transparent to nuances of spices, toasted nuts, salt and stone.

2012 Charmes-Chambertin Arlaud Grand Cru

94 to 96 points, current price $169

Cyprien Arlaud took the reins of the Domaine from his father Herve in 1997, a Domaine that encompassed vineyards in Morey St. Denis Chambolle-Musigny Gevrey-Chambertin and Vosne-Romanée. The result is a portfolio of site-transparent wines that speak of purity of the earth from which they came and the essence of what makes Burgundy great. Domaine Arlaud has become one of the region's top producers in the Côte d’Or region.

The 2012 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru comes from vines located on the Mazoyères side toward Latricières by the 'Route de Grand Cru.' It has a rounded nose that envelops the senses: strawberry and mulberry at first, flint and smoke following after. The palate is very fine on the entry, exuding weightless intensity with immense precision. This is probably one of the finest examples of a Grand Cru Burgundy.

2012 Echezeaux Mongeard-Mugneret Grand Cru

92 - 95 points, current price $175 to $199

This is the top of the Côte de Nuits. Home to the famous Grand Crus of Romanée, Romanée-Conti, Romanée St. Vivant, Richebourg, La Tâche, Echézeaux, Grands Echézeaux, and La Grand Rue, this village exemplifies how much extraordinary wine can come from a tiny place. This is the home of quintessential Burgundy-deep, rich, refined and powerful.

Tucked behind the Clos de Vougeot, and on the same little road as Vosne’s Les Suchots, the Grands-Echézeaux vineyard could hardly be better situated. Their 2.5 acre plot hosts vines from 40 to 70 years old. Accordingly, the wine they make has good color, a full body, and a rich, sturdy backbone, perfect for its dose of 100% new oak. On the nose, this wine shows leathery, spiced, and animal notes over black fruit and mushrooms. Its tannins soften into velvet over time, but this Grand Cru definitely needs ageing. The 2012 vintage is showing beautifully: profound fruit, sophisticated tannins, and good acidity.