Buying guide: Champagne
However good the general quality of Méthode Cap Classique, most local wine lovers still aspire to drink Champagne on the really important occasions of celebration. “It’s a taste that hasn’t been equalled anywhere else in the world,” as Cape Wine Master Allan Mullins puts it. “Everybody tries their best, but they never quite get there.”
With this issue of WINE magazine set to go on sale a good few weeks before New Year’s Eve, we undertook to review a line-up of locally available Champagnes selling for no more than R350 a bottle, a price point that we felt would be within reach of most of our readers. No Krug or anything like that, but we were able to include most of the bigger volume labels from the major houses as well as some intriguing bottlings from lesser known growers.
For all Champagne’s glamorous connotations, the more sceptical among us are occasionally caused to wonder if the category doesn’t represent the triumph of marketing over intrinsic worth, especially at the bottom end of the market. Consider that the big brand cuvées often spend the bare minimum of time on the lees in order to keep up with demand and it’s no surprise that these wines sometimes appear thin and excessively acidic. What would a tasting of 35 wines reveal?
For one thing, Champagne’s reputation is more than just hype. There were five wines rated 4½ Stars and a further 12 picking up 4 Stars.
Among the top-performing wines, Piper Heidsieck Brut non-vintage deserves special mention. It again picked up 4½ Stars, the same as it did when we last held a Champagne tasting in the January 2003 issue and not far off the 5 Star rating it got in the November 2001 issue. Remarkable consistency from this label.
Duval-Leroy, one of the few remaining 100% family-owned houses, also performed exceptionally well with two of its cuvées among the five wines to rate 4½ Stars.
And the Grand Marque wines did not embarrass themselves. Moët & Chandon might be the biggest Champagne house of them all (estimated total production being 30 million bottles) but its Brut Impérial gained a respectable 3½ Stars, with Mumm Cordon Rouge and Veuve Clicquot getting 4 Stars and Laurent-Perrier 3 Stars. It has to be said that while these wines generally found favour with the rest of the panel, I tended to score them down on account of them being somewhat bland and unexciting.
As for any areas of criticism, Roland Peens of Wine Cellar, a wine brokerage and cellaring firm, and Master of Wine in training, felt that there were too many wines that were over-aged. “Whether these wines have been sitting in warehouses in Champagne or South Africa is a moot point,” he said and contended that the consumer was better advised to buy the labels from the “big houses” rather than from the smaller producers as turnover would be better and stock would hence be fresher.
Melanie van der Merwe, previously winemaker at JC le Roux and now making bubbly under her own Tanzanite label, did not entirely agree, saying that she appreciated the character that came with time in bottle, which she described as nutty, creamy aromas and flavours. “Bottle maturation can help the wine integrate and lend complexity,” she argued.
Essentially, there were two basic styles on display, the first being wines that were fresh and lean and the second being those that were rich and full, and ultimately it fell to consumers to decide which they preferred most.
“It’s really exciting there’s so much good to very good Champagne at R350 or under,” observed Cape Wine Master Ginette de Fleuriot. “Such an opportunity to discover the wines of this region.”
RETAILERS – Champagnes featured in this report were supplied by the following retailers:
Colmant Cap Classique & Champagne – 072 368 4942, www.colmant.co.za. Suppliers of Follet-Ramillon, Mailly, Tribaut Schloesser
Cuvées Classiques – 021 465 2286, www.cuveesclassiques.co.za. Suppliers of Benoît Lehaye, Colin, Drappier, Duval-Leroy, Georges Lacombe, Jacquesson, Lallier, Marguet
Inke Gouws Champagne Imports – 079 268 3779, inkegouws@hotmail.com. Supplier of Vazaer-Coquart
Makro liquor stores – Suppliers of Billecart-Salmon, Laurent-Perrier, Moët & Chandon, Mumm, Piper Heidsieck, Pol Roger, Pommery, Ruinart, Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin. To avoid disappointment, please contact your closest Makro store to ensure availability. Prices valid until 15 January 2008.
Wine Cellar – 021 448 4105, www.winecellar.co.za. Supplier of Taittinger.
Wine Concepts – 021 671 9030, newlandshop@wineconcepts.co.za. Supplier of Launois.
Woolworths – 0860 100 987, www.woolworths.co.za. Supplier of Comtesse Alexia.
Follet-Ramillon Millesime Brut 2002
RETAIL PRICE: R182.20
Fragrant on nose. Elegant and poised on
palate. Green apple, citrus and some burnt
nut character. Fine mousse. Great line of
acid. Drink now or over 2 years.
AM 17.5 MvM 17 RP 16.5 GdF 17 CE 18
Piper Heidsieck NV
RETAIL PRICE: R279
Some yeasty notes on nose and palate. Rich
and complex in the mouth. Lively but fine
mousse. Crisp acidity. Well balanced.
Drink now.
AM 16 MvM 16 RP 17 GdF 17 CE 18
Duval-Leroy Fleur de Champagne
Brut NV
RETAIL PRICE: R305
Green apple and hint of brioche on nose.
Citrus fruit, lively mousse, fresh acid.
Balanced and complex. Long, dry finish.
Drink now.
AM 17.5 MvM 17 RP 15.5 GdF 17 CE 17
Duval-Leroy Fleur de Champagne
Premier Cru Brut NV
RETAIL PRICE: R340
Lemon and caramel aromas. Fine mousse.
Complex palate showing flavours of citrus
fruit and some brioche. Fresh acid. Well
balanced.
Drink now or over 2 years.
AM 16.5 MvM 17 RP 16 GdF 17 CE 17
Drappier Millesime Exception
2000 Brut
RETAIL PRICE: R340
Brioche whiffs. Rich, complex palate.
Fine mousse and crisp acid. Shows some
development. Long dry finish.
Drink now or over 2 years.
AM 19 MvM 17 RP 17 GdF 18 CE 17
Follet-Ramillon Tradition Brut NV R154.80
Tribaut Schloesser Millésime R154.80
Brut 2000
Tribaut Schloesser R168.60
Chardonnay Brut NV
Tribaut Schloesser R199.90
Cuvée René Brut NV
Vazart-Coquart & Fils R260
Blanc de Blancs Brut Reserve NV
Colin Blanche de Castille Brut NV R265
Drappier Signature R280
Blanc de Blancs Brut NV
GM Mumm Cordon Rouge NV R295
Gosset Excellence Brut NV R315
Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Brut NV R319
Pommery Brut Royale NV R329
Pol Roger Extra de Reserve Brut NV R339
Colin Alliance Brut NV R235
Marguet Père & Fils R245
Blanc de Noirs Brut NV
Taittinger Brut Reserve NV R295
Moët & Chandon Brut Impérial NV R295
Billecart-Salmon Brut Réserve NVR339
Tribaut Schloesser Tradition NV R145.40
Comtesse Alexia Brut NV R195
Georges Lacombe Brut Selection NV R205
Benoît Lahaye Grand Cru Brut NV R245
Drappier Carte-D’Or Brut NV R250
Lallier Grande Reserve R275
Grand Cru Brut NV
Lallier Blanc de Blancs R340
Grand Cru Brut NV
Laurent-Perrier Brut NVR349
Georges Lacombe Grand Cru Brut NV R225
Lallier Brut Selection NV R235
Mailly Grand Cru Extra Brut NV R258
Jacquesson Cuvée 732 Brut NV R350
Also tasted
Launois Père & Fils R330
Grand Cru Reserve NV
PRICES : wines in each star category are
listed in order of ascending price – all retail
prices unless otherwise stipulated
NV Non vintage
WINE TASTERS: Cape Wine Master
Allan Mullins of Woolworths (chair) (AM),
winemaker Melanie van der Merwe (MvM)
and retailer Roland Peens of Wine Cellar
(RP), Cape Wine Master Ginette de Fleuriot
of Winesense (GdF) with WINE magazine
deputy editor Christian Eedes (CE)
