The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.
Wine Description
The Story
Blend: 80 % Chardonnay and 20 % Pinot Noir
Vineyards: Premier Cru sites
Age of vines: 50 years old
Ageing: 10 months in oak barriques (228 litres), 42 months months on lees. No malolactic fermentation.
Dosage: 7 g/l
Tasting notes: Intense, golden, lemon and yellow in colour with very fine persistent bubbles. These small pearls give birth on the surface to a beautiful white cord. Melted butter, custard, candled pineapple, cardamom and with pepper are the notes that reach us directly. Then after a few moment, another round of flavors arrives, nuts aromas at first (pralines, hazelnut) followed by mineral notes (chalk, roasted shellfish). The wine is mature, complex with a lot of personality. It still evolves in the glass with cinnamon and gingerbread aromas. The imperceptible dosage and the frank acidity give us a sharp acid / sugar balance extra brut type. The vinosity is expressed through bold and wood. The finish is very long around 10 to 12 seconds and clean, with a nice conclusion on grapefruit and pralines notes.
Vintage 1997
A cold winter was followed by significant spring frosts. The early summer was warm, but cool weather and rain persisted throughout the flowering period. Summer ended with warm temperatures, lending some hot-year characteristics to the year's wines even if acidity remained high at 8.5 g/l. Rot played a role in some vineyards. A small harvest (9,402 kg/ha) was picked from September 12th onwards. The 1997 vintage was rather overlooked, following the successful 1995 and 1996 vintages, and many did not produce a vintage even though the year was not particularly weak. Despite the warmth of the year the best wines have sufficient acidic backbone, but many lack intensity and harmony. Most Champagnes are quite developed already, showing no sign of further potential. Its highlights included Laurent-Perrier Alexandra Rosé, Philipponnat Clos des Goisses, Louis Roederer Cristal and Salon Le Mesnil.