SPARKLING WINE - 2015

An extreme version of a sparkling glera, with no sulphites and no disgorging. BELLENDA

Sourced from their best parcels of fruit this is, in many ways, the flagship of the estate but sadly also one of the smallest amounts made. For the initial fermentation about half of the fruit is left on skins and a portion (roughly 60%) is aged in barrel with the remaining portion resting in stainless steel. Secondary fermentation occurs in bottle and the wine is aged on lees for 24 months before being released sur lie (on its sediment) with zero additions an no sulphur used. It is a wild and heady bottling full of nuance and detail with gorgeous texture and plenty of intensity. Radicale brings together the Cosmo family's traditional methods and modern techniques, the result is a wine that is completely unique to Bellenda and the region. It is well worth hunting down. ROSCOE

The 2015 Brut Vintage Rosé is generous and demonstrative, bursting with aromas of peach, orange and pear mingled with hints of red berries, fresh bread and ginger. Full-bodied, layered and vinous, it's rich and enveloping, its textural attack segueing into an ample, fleshy core that's girdled by bright acids and enlivened by a pillowy mousse. Long and expansive, it's more generous and gourmand than its racier 2014 predecessor, but just as good. WILLIAM KELLEY, Robert Parker 2021

The 2015 Brut Vintage is a very pretty Champagne to drink now and over the next decade or so. Gentle hints of apricot, spice, dried flowers and baked apple tart lend quite a bit of nuance. There’s gorgeous vinous intensity to the 2015 accompanied by a whole range of citrus, floral and chalk overtones that emerge over time, adding brightness as well as cut. All the elements are so nicely balanced. Disgorged: November 2021. Dosage is 7 grams per liter. Antonio Galloni VINOUS

(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.

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More 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!

The 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

More 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!

50% Chardonnay, 50% Pinot, 5-6g/l Dosage.

 

Powerful, direct and intense. Terrific fabric like the 2012 one, but just as durable. Vital acidity and high concentration from low yields, with fine tannins in the intensive, long finish, which shows a lot of pressure and arrives youthfully agile, of exceptional class.

 

Possesses an explosive potential with a creamy intense body. The small amount of Chardonnay also gives it some delicacy. He can certainly remain at the extremely high level for over 20 years of permanent change towards maturity. LOBENBERGS

80% 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

Roederer's newly released 2015 Brut Vintage is a strong effort, offering up aromas of freshly baked bread, citrus oil, pastry cream, dried white flowers and verbena, followed by a medium to full-bodied, fleshy and pillowy palate framed by bright acids and concluding with chalky grip. This can't quite match the tension or plenitude of fruit of the last few releases, but it is a lovely Champagne. It's a blend of Pinot Noir from Verzy and Chardonnay from Chouilly. William Kelley, Robert Parker

This 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 Spectator

The 2015 Brut Blanc de Blancs marries textural intensity with a good deal of freshness. White pepper, dried herbs, chalk, mint and citrus make a strong opening impression. I especially like the energy and tension here, but there’s plenty of depth, too. I would give the 2015 a year or two in bottle, maybe more, as it is quite reticent in the early going. It, too, is seriously impressive for the year. Disgorged: July 2021. Dosage is 7 grams per liter. Antonio Galloni VINOUS

Based on 60% Pinot Noir and the rest Chardonnay, the 2016 Champagne Vintage Brut is released only after 6-7 years on the lees (sur latte). It pours a straw hue and displays a more expressive profile on opening, with notes of tangerine and fresh flowers, its red fruit coming through with fresh red raspberry and peppery spice. It's medium-bodied and rounded through the palate, with excellent structure, powerful concentration, and a long finish. This has a refined yet powerful feel and will be a wine with significant longevity and slow maturation over the next 15-20 years. True to the house style, it has a sturdy backbone and is emblematic of a fantastic vintage champagne from Pol Roger. The mousse is pinpoint and rounded on the finish (95) JEB DUNNUCK

The 2016 Brut Vintage reveals a complex, gourmand bouquet with aromas of ripe orchard fruits, nectarine, pastry, nuts, sweet spices and ripe white fruits, signs of a warm vintage. Full-bodied, broad and vinous with a fleshy core of fruit, it's rich and elegant with a penetrating, saline finish. It will drink at its peak in five to 10 years WINE ADVOCATE

A very elegant and silky vintage Champagne with a seamless harmony of candied citrus fruit, sushi ginger and dried cherry character with racy acidity and delicate minerality at the long, straight and refined finish. (95) JAMES SUCKLING

More 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!

More 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!

More 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!