Pinot Meunier

This is from the people who bring you Cayuse and other wines from Washington State.  It is Champagne from France made from the Pinot Meunier grape planted in 1969.  Only made in Magnum and sold thru the Cayuse mailing list.  Golden in color with a slight ruby tint to it.  A nice mousse with a lot of effervescence.  The nose has Vernor's soda notes (sort of ginger and caramel).   With air some cherries and lemons come out.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, the cherries and lemons are more pronounced but there is still that underlying ginger.  Nice minerality.  Very concentrated, it slo

Dosage is 8 grams per liter.  Silvery light gold in color.  A nice amount of smaller bubbles.  The nose has seltzer and gun powder.  On the palate, this is lively. Plenty of a (red) apples with a tart sourness that is very nice.  A reasonably long finish.  This is an affordable Champagne that is very user friendly.  It will work well on its own and with just about any foods but especially salty foods.  This should be consumed within the first few years of release.  There was no disgorgement date on this bottle so purchase from stores with good turnover.  

This ubiquitous Champagne seems to be everywhere and sometimes, that means it can be easy to look past it (for wine geeks anyway).  It is quite good.  This is actually a special bottling to celebrate their 150th anniversary of their founding in 1869.  It is a blend of equal parts Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier (30% to 40%) and the rest Chardonnay.  Golden in color with a bit of copper.  The nose is nice with toast, apple and slight ginger.  On the palate, this has nice full carbonation.  Good acidity.  Slight tannins.  Pears and apples.  Long finish.  This is drinking well now and should cont

This wine (or at least this bottle) seems to be a bit better than a prior bottle which is saying a lot.  It mostly the difficult 2011 vintage but includes almost two hundred different wines going back to the 1995 vintage.   Forty-two percent of the cuvée is made up of Reserve wines.  The final blend is 47 % Pinot Noir, 36% Chardonnay and 17% Pinot Meunier.

The Krug MV is always a stellar wine but this edition is based on 2011 which was a very difficult vintage.  It also includes almost two hundred different wines going back to the 1995 vintage.   Forty-two percent of the cuvée is made up of Reserve wines.  This wine is stellar.   It has 47 % Pinot Noir, 36% Chardonnay and 17% Pinot Meunier.  Light pale gold in color.  Lots of tiny bubbles.  The nose has lemons, brioche and slight smoke.  On the palate, those flavors come thru.  It takes a bit of time to open though.  Good acidity.  With air some green apples come out.  Lots of energy here but

Always a great wine, this luxury cuvee is one of the great wines of Champagne.  A real treat to drink.  Gold green in color with a lot of tiny bobbles.  The nose is big and excellent with chalk, slight brioche, a bit of lemon cream, and slightly nutty.  On the palate, this is a big wine but still very young.  Great acidity.  Lemons, slight vanilla, with lots of depth and complexity.  A very long finish.  This needs a few more years until peak but is delicious today.  The score has a couple more points of upside possible.  It easily has fifteen more years left at the top.  It will go with ju

This is 45% Pinot Noir, 10% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Meunier.  A nice Champagne for the money.  Light golden in color.  A nice mousse of smaller bubbles.  The nose has toast, yeast and a bit of lemons.  On the palate, those flavors come thru.  This needs some food as there is a bit of acidity here.  Refreshing.  Drink within the first few years of release.  

This was interesting and unique.  It has a deep golden/orange hue to it.  I wondered if it was oxidized, but got no hint of that.  Perhaps they left the juice in contact with the red grape skins.  It is made from six varietals; Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Blanc, Petit Meslier and Arbane which is how Champagne was traditionally made in the 1800's.  The nose is tight and never offered up a lot.  Some baked apples, a bit of yeast.  The palate, however, was explosive.  It is slightly sweet and I was surprised to see the label said Brut.  Mandarin oranges with a bit of ginger. 

This has base wines from 1998 to 2010.  It is comprised of 45% Pinot Noir, 39% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Meunie.  Light yellow/gold in color.  The nose is very nice with pears, toast and hay.  Perhaps just the slightest note of oxidation.  A beautiful creamy texture.  Good acidity but not intense.  On the palate, there is  a nice citrusy quality over a mineral base.  A long tart finish that leaves the impression of strawberries.  This took a bit of time/air to open.  Of course, Krug is magic and this wine lived up to its part.  

This is a nice value in 1er Cru Champagne.  It drinks very well right now.  Light golden in color with a nice head of small bubbles.  The nose is nice with a green apple note along with some faint toast qualities.  In general, this is more on the austere side of Champagne which is not a bad thing.  Plenty of acidity.  Long finish.  This was served to friends at the start of the evening along side some roasted chick peas and that proved a fine pairing a great start to the evening.  I don't think this will improve and these bottles, purchased in the last year, should be drunk in the next year