Vintage - 2015, Champagne, Cah...
Champagne
The chalky soils of Champagne combined with its frigid growing environment create wines that are electric and salivating. But it’s the creation of bubbles that makes these wines stand out.
The bubbles are formed during a secondary fermentation in bottle, known as Méthode Traditionelle. The longer they age, the more nougat and brioche flavours develop and the finer the bead (bubble) becomes.
In terms of who invented Champagne, the English make a strong case as they worked out the formula for purposely making the fizz happen and their stronger coal-fired glass bottles - resulting from the Industrial Revolution - could hold the pressure. Whereas the French were still bottling in wood-fired glass which wasn’t strong enough and they hadn’t cracked the technique of creating bubbles on purpose.
Grapes
White: Chardonnay
Red: Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier
Styles
Nowhere in the world can emulate the fineness and electric detail of these wines. Non-vintage Champagnes should be enjoyed earlier in their lives, while vintage wines have more structure and can age beautifully. House styles differ too. Blanc des Blancs (100% Chardonnay) offer a more elegant and fragile expression while Blanc des Noirs (100% Pinot and or Meunier) are darker fruited with more obvious structure and power.
Favourite Producers
Pierre Peters, Louis Roederer, Vilmart, Andre Clouet, Taittinger, Larmandier, Egly-Ouriet, Jacques Selosse
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Pierre Gimonnet Special Club Grand Terroirs de Chardonnay 2015The 2015 Extra-Brut Spécial Club Grand Terroirs de Chardonnay is a dense, powerful Champagne. I would give the 2015 another year or two in bottle, as the 2015 is painfully tight and unyielding. Lemon confit, white flowers, mint, graphite, tangerine oil and chamomile open with time in the glass, but only reluctantly so. The 2015 remains painfully unyielding. Perhaps time will help, but I have my doubts given how expressive the other 2015s are here. The 2015 is a blend of mostly Cramant and Chouilly, both Grand Crus, with some Premier Cru sites as well. Dosage is 4 grams per liter. Disgorged: May, 2022. ANTONIO GALLONI, Vinous.com
2015chardonnayFrance376$170.00 As low as $153.00 -
Billecart-Salmon Vintage 2016Intense and Seductive. This wine, with an extra brut dosage, is dominated by pinot noir (66%) from Montage de Reims and 34% chardonnay from the Cote des Blancs. 1.9g dosage, stainless steel vinification, 64 months age on lees. 2016 saw low yields due to frost and hail but above average in quality.2015ChampagneFrance376$180.00 As low as $162.00 -
Pierre Gimonnet Special Club Cramant Grand Cru 2015The 2015 Brut Spécial Club Oger Grand Cru is an attractive, powerful wine. Citrus peel, white flowers, chalk and the savory notes typical of so many 2015 are nicely laced together. I would give the 2015 a year or two in the cellar to come together, as it is a bit disjointed at present, but I would not wait too long, as flavors that are savory today may very well develop into more overpowering vegetal notes over time. The Oger is a blend taken from the Terres de Noël, Brulis, Champ Nérons and Fondy lieux-dits. Dosage is 4 grams per liter. Disgorged: October 14, 2019. Antonio Galloni, VINOUS
2015chardonnayFrance376$214.00 As low as $192.60 -
Vincent Couche Millesime Extra Brut 2015Lots of concentration upfront, apples and stone fruit, all so fresh with limey acidity. it’s silky smooth in flow with a sea of fine bubbles. Chalky, succulent aftertaste with cinnamon dust and liquorice hint. Not much else to add, it’s a pure delight. 95 KASIA SOBIESIAK, the wine front2015ChampagneFrance376$215.00 As low as $193.50 -
Vouette et Sorbee Blanc dArgile Brut Nature R18(R18, disgorged Nov 2020. Magnums R19, disgorged Dec 2021). Within the cold, west-facing, Kimmeridgian limestone-rich lieu-dit of Biaunes, there is a small plot of Chardonnay that Gautherot planted wild: without preparing the soils and amongst the native vegetation (a totally crazy idea). The Côte des Bar is overwhelmingly planted to Pinot Noir, but in 2000 Gautherot chose Chardonnay. He used massale cuttings from Anselme Selosse’s vines (in Avize) and Vincent Dauvissat’s Valmur Grand Cru vineyard. This plot has become the base of what Antonio Galloni calls “one of the most beautiful and distinctive wines in Champagne.”
The vines here yield only 15 to 20 hl/ha each year—one of the keys to the intensity on offer. The 2018 and 2019 wines also took in some Chardonnay from Fonnet (from 2020, upcoming vintages will also take in Chardonnay from the Vouette vineyard, which was previously planted to Pinot Noir but was replanted to Chardonnay a number of years ago).
Fermentation for this wine was wild and took place in used 500- and 600-litre barrels, with a small portion of fruit fermented and raised in Georgian amphora (see Textures). As with the Fidèle, this wine spent roughly 15 to 18 months in bottle on lees, before being disgorged by hand with zero dosage.
2015Pinot noirFrance376$245.00 As low as $220.50 -
Vilmart Coeur de Cuvee 201580% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Noir from vines averaging 60 years old, the wine spends nearly 6 years on lees. Most importantly only the heart of the pressing is taken - 1400 litres instead of the usual 2100 litres, hence the name 'coeur de cuvee.'
The 2015 Brut Coeur de Cuvée is a pretty dense wine that belies its deceptively mid-weight structure. What surprises me most about the 2015 is how closed it is. In most years, especially warm years, Coeur de Cuvée is quite a bit more open and voluptuous, but the 2015 does not come across like that at all. Rather, it is super-classic in bearing, with tons of gravitas from the 60-year-old vines just waiting to emerge. There are none of the awkward herbal notes that penalize so many wines. Bright saline notes extend the finish effortlessly. The 2015 is a brilliant Coeur de Cuvée. ANTONIO GALLONI
2015chardonnay, Pinot noirFrance376$325.00 As low as $292.50 -
Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 2015This graceful Champagne offers hints of smoke and toasted brioche that transition to patisserie apple and blackberry fruit, candied ginger and mandarin orange peel notes. Seamlessly knit and mouthwatering, with a minerally underpinning and a finely detailed, dotted bead. Lush and creamy on the vibrant, lasting finish. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Drink now through 2035. 95 Alison Napjus, Wine Spectator2015ChampagneFrance376$345.00 As low as $310.50 -
Larmandier Bernier Blanc de Noirs 1er Cru 2015Since the Larmandiers felt they had picked a touch too early to produce their emblematic rosé in the 2015 vintage, they elected instead to produce the 2015 Extra-Brut Blanc de Noirs, an attractively pillowy, racy, medium to full-bodied Champagne redolent of freshly baked bread, orchard fruit and buttery pastry. Concluding with a long, chalky finish, it represents a fine success. WILLIAM KELLEY
The 2015 Brut Nature Blanc de Noirs 1er Cru is a new wine in this range that emerges from the deeper clay soils found in the southern part of Vertus. A brawny, potent Champagne, the Blanc de Noirs is endowed with tons of depth and some angularity that needs time to soften. It will be interesting to see where this goes in more favorable years. Zero dosage. ANTONIO GALLONI2015ChampagneFrance376$345.00 As low as $310.50 -
Bollinger Grande Annee Rose 2015More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2015ChampagneFrance376$420.00 As low as $378.00 -
Larmandier Bernier Les Chemins d'Avize Grand Cru Extra Brut 2015The 2015 Extra Brut Les Chemins d'Avize Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru is a broad, ample Champagne that reflects both vinification in wood and time on the lees. Lemon confit, marzipan, dried flowers, chamomile, sage and spice build in the glass. Powerful and resonant, with no hard edges, the 2015 is terrific. It's also a throwback to the style of the time, and one I must say I like a lot. This is a fine effort for the year. Dosage is 2 grams per liter. ANTONIO GALLONI
The 2015 Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Les Chemins d'Avize opens in the glass with aromas of citrus oil, verbena, fresh pasty, vanilla pod and fresh herbs. Medium to full-bodied, pillowy and chalky, with a vinous, rather concentrated profile and bright acids, it's a little compact out of the gates but appears to be built to age with grace. WILLIAM KELLEY
2015ChampagneFrance376$450.00 As low as $405.00 -
Louis Roederer Cristal 2015If the 2014 vintage was especially open and demonstrative, the 2015 Cristal is going to require more patience. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of citrus oil, crisp stone fruits, white flowers, crushed mint and subtle hints of buttery pastry, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with a deep, concentrated and rather introverted core of fruit framed by chalky extract and animated by a pretty pinpoint mousse. This is a serious, vinous Champagne that has considerable substance to age and may well evolve along the lines of the lovely 1985. 95+ WILLIAM KELLEY, the wine advocate2015ChampagneFrance376$545.00 As low as $490.50 -
Pol Roger Winston Churchill 2015The 2015 Brut Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill shows off the savory side of the vintage to great effect. Hints of dried pear, sage, mint, dried flowers, lemon oil and chamomile open gradually in this mid-weight, lithe edition of Pol Roger's tête de cuvée. The 2015 unfolds nicely with time in the glass, but I wouldn't think of opening a bottle anytime soon. Readers will find a nervy Winston Churchill marked by notable freshness and vigor more than size. This is a fine effort in a vintage that has proven to be far trickier than most observers originally envisioned. Dosage is 7 grams per liter. Disgorged September 2022. (95) ANTONIO GALLONI, Vinous
A strong effort in a less-acclaimed vintage, Pol Roger's newly released 2015 Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill opens in the glass with aromas of confit citrus, ripe orchard fruits and dried white flowers mingled with hints of honeycomb, freshly baked bread and anise. Medium to full-bodied, vinous and concentrated, with bright acids, chalky structuring extract and a pinpoint mousse, this inherently rather rich, gastronomic Champagne is quite tightly wound out of the gates and will reward a bit of bottle age. Stylistically, it is somewhat reminiscent of a modern-day version of the 1985. (94+) WILLIAM KELLEY, The Wine Advocate
Subtle and restrained pastry nuances with a hint of mushroom. Lots of seriousness and generosity of fruit but in a more restrained, quiet style. Gentle autolysis with mellow apple flesh and some earthiness, bright and classic. Elegant, with reserve wine complexity. Brisk on the finish with a nougat edge. Great stuff. DECANTER2015ChampagneFrance376$550.00 As low as $495.00