Greetings Champagne Lovers,
After last months Dom Perignon celebration, this edition will showcase some of the smaller grower Champagnes. A new shipment has just arrived with some brilliant new releases which have taken our breathe away. Great vineyards are not under the sole control of the larger houses, as there are growers situated in some of the best sites who with craft, skill and care can match their more exalted neighbours.
New releases from Laherte, Henriet-Bazin , Veuve Fourny as well as some very rare and exciting releases from two of our favourite Cote des Blancs producers -Le Brun Servenay and Launois.
For lovers of powerful and expressive pinot-driven Champagnes - the wines from Ambonnay's rising 'cult-producer' Henri Billiot are now available
All offering terrific value but beware, they won't last for long!
“Burgundy makes you think of silly things; Bordeaux makes you talk about them,and Champagne makes you do them.” - Brillat-Savarin
This Édition
017
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Did you know?
Club Tresors de Champagne - the 'Special Club'
If ever you should come across the distinctive squat bottle that is used for the 'Special Club' series -whether you are familiar with the producer or not - grab it, as it's a gaurantee of of quality- and will be the finest example from that particular producer
Wine of the Week
Launois 'Special Club' Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs 2000
The unique, squat 'Special Club' bottle symbolises the finest a grower can produce, and is proudly their 'Prestige Cuvee'. A guarantee of excellence. The Grand Cru village of Le Mesnil is legendary for 'Salon' and Krug's Clos de Mesnil - but the quality of such grower producers as Claude Cazals , Guy Charlemagne and Launois showcase how important an influence 'terroir' plays in the finished wine. A stunning wine that is tightly coiled and youthful, with a long future ahead. This is an absolute cracker of a wine!
Launois became legendary when at the famous Millenium tasting to judge the greatest Champagnes of the Twentieth Century - Launois 'Special Club' 1990- was voted 'Best 1990', beating the likes of Selosse, Cristal, Salon etc.
Very limited stocks- Don't miss out!
Producer Focus - Launois
Established in 1872 with 36 ha of vineyards situated in Le Mesnil, Avize, Oger and Cramant. Viticulture is all certified organic – average vine age is high and picking here is always a week later than other growers as they search for full ripeness and maturity. The vinification style is classic in flat bottomed stainless steel tanks, leaving the wines to enrich on their lees for much longer than usual. Bernard is one of the best producers in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger – most Champagne journalists say he is the best after Salon! The style here is for purity, intensity, weight and finesse.
Demand for Launois Champagne is very high. Having been discovered many years ago by the Swedish Champagne guru Richard Juhlin means that the Swedes get a huge allocation. Launois really made its mark at a huge ‘2000 Millenium Tasting’ of all the great cuvées going as far back as 1928. The Launois 1990 Special Club was rated as the ‘best 1990’ beating the likes of Selosse, Salon, Crystal etc. There has been a bottle and label change across the range – necessitated by the fact that an unscrupulous pretender by the name of ‘Leon Launois’ in the same village has been masquerading his wines as ‘Launois Pere et Fils’. Rather than fight them in the courts – Benoit has revamped the range with a copy of the ‘original’ family designed ancient Champagne bottle and a new elegant label.
Champagne Talk
Bordeaux royalty enter the world of Champagne
The legendary First Growths ; Margaux, Lafite, Latour, Haut-Brion, and Mouton-Rothschild. Would I grab your interest if I said that the owners of one of these great estates has established a new champagne house? What if I said it was a joint effort between two different First Growths?
Watch this space, arriving very soon!
News
Vintage of the Century Dinner at Otto's
Never has a year been more discussed, speculated over, or hedonistically enjoyed than the great 96's!
Join Champagne Gallery's curator, David Donald for an exclusive dinner in the private room at Otto Ristorante
Otto Ristorante's Executive Chef, Richard Ptacnik, has crafted an exciting menu to match some of the most celebrated stars of the vintage. This fascinating evening will showcase some of the finest from both the grand marques and the smaller artisan producers. Join us for an evening of celebration, fine food and fabulous Champagnes
Wednesday October 28 - Otto's Ristorante, Cowper Wharf Road, Wooloomooloo
Limited numbers
R.S.V.P. to Louise Furlong 0417 685 854 or register your interest now