BYO RECAP - POPINA 6/14/21
Raj Vaidya
June 15, 2021
Champagne has been on my mind lately, to say the least…
Max, Peter Liem and I head to Champagne next week to begin building the content for some of our seminars which will be streamed during La Fête du Champagne this October, and needless to say I’m very excited. So we decided to whet my appetite and many others’ with a Champagne themed BYO event at Popina last night, and it was such a blast!
Many bottles were opened, all the bottles were showing great, and some special bottles stood out. A pristine bottle of 1988 Taittinger Comte de Champagne Blanc de Blancs was the wine of the night, almost sappy, with a white truffle note and tremendous salinity. It opened somewhat musty but quickly cleaned up on the nose, and was tremendously long on the palate. A 2008 Georges Laval Cuvée Les Chênes Blanc de Blancs was so special, a rare cuvée of which Vincent Laval makes only about 1500 bottles a year, and from such a precise and elegant vintage. I poured this alongside another 2008, a magnum bottling of Chartogne-Taillet’s Les Couarres, a single vineyard Pinot Noir from Merfy. Not normally bottled in magnum, this was a rare treat and super long on the palate.
A full list of the Champagnes (and a couple of odd stowaways) we tasted below, not exactly in order of serving but close I think. Hope to have you join the next BYO we are hosting at Wu’s Wonton King on Sunday the 27th!
Eric Rodez Ambonnay Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut NV (2008) Magnum
Eric Rodez Ambonnay Blanc de Blancs Brut 2004
Grognet Spécial Club 2014
Pierre Péters Les Mesnil Blanc de Blancs “Réserve de Oubliée” NV (2016)
Maison Béréche Blanc de Blancs “La Côte” NV
Vincent Couches Brut “Elegance” NV
Vincent Couches Brut “Cuvée ADN” NV
Suenen Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs “Cocluette” 2014
Suenen Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs “Les Robarts” 2014
Robert Moncuit Blanc de Blancs Les Mesnil “Chetillons” 2015
Salon Les Mesnil Blanc de Blancs 1996
André Beaufort “Polisy” 1996
Pierre Péters Les Mesnil Blanc de Blancs “Cuvée Spéciale” 1998
Corbon Brut Blanc de Blancs 1998
Emmanuel Brochet “Cuvée les Hautes Meuniers” 2013
Marie-Noëlle Ledru Ambonnay Brut NV
Ulysses Collin Blanc de Noirs “Maillons” NV (2016)
Marguet Extra Brut Verzenay 2016
Dom Perignon 2010
Louis Roederer “Cuvée Cristal” 2008
Taittinger Blanc de Blancs “Comtes de Champagne” 2002
Taittinger Blanc de Blancs “Comtes de Champagne” 1988
Jacquesson Extra Brut 1996
Bollinger “RD” Extra-Brut 2002
Krug 2004
Krug Rosé NV
La Closerie Extra Brut Rosé “Cuvée Fac-Simile” NV (2015)
Georges Laval Cumiéres “Cuvée Les Chênes” 2008
Chartogne-Taillet Extra Brut “Les Couarres” 2008 Magnum
Savart Blanc de Blancs “Cuvée Haute Couture” 2016
and, just because…
Ultramarine Sparkling 2014 (Sonoma)
Domaine Georges Roumier Bourgogne Rouge 2017 (Burgundy)
