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  • Country ranking ?

    775
  • Producer ranking ?

    4
  • Decanting time

    20min
  • When to drink

    Now to 2035
  • Food Pairing

    Aperitif, Toast Skagen & white fish salads

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.

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The Story

Cuvee R. Lalou is named for Rene Lalou, a former president of G.H. Mumm, a house that prides itself on using grapes from the oldest and most distinguished vineyards in France's Champagne region. While G.H. Mumm made its first fine champagne in 1827, Cuvee R. Lalou is only released in the very best years; there have been just nine vintages since Lalou first produced it in 1966. The 1985 Cuvee R. Lalou is ranked as one of the top 20 vintages of all time, but to the chagrin of today's champagne connoisseurs no bottles remain available.

The Cuvee Rene Lalou is the offspring of the Cuvee Rene Lalou, originally launched in 1966 and last released in 1985.  A mere nine vintages punctuate the Champagne’s 25-year history, yet it is still ranked among the greatest Champagne cuvees ever conceived. To the delight of chefs and Champagne connoisseurs worldwide, the celebrated Champagne has been released in an evolved blend, which represents the dream of master winemaker Rene Lalou to bottle the true essence of G.H. Mumm. 

As chairman of G.H. Mumm for more than half a century, Rene Lalou was a true visionary with unending passion and instinctive understanding of terroir.  He took upon himself the grand task of selecting the optimum Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes from the twelve finest grand cru villages and combining them into a single, complex blend.  The result was the original Cuvee Rene Lalou, which successfully captured the smell, touch and taste of G.H. Mumm.

Lalou’s ultimate goal was to protect the integrity of the grapes by identifying and isolating the individual parcels, the very building blocks that define the character of terroir, from grape picking through vinification. Successive Chef de Caves of G.H. Mumm strived to recreate the essence of the Cuvee Rene Lalou while fulfilling the goal of the original creator.  Rene Lalou’s copious notes were carefully passed down through the generations and samples of consecutive blends were guarded so that they could one day serve as the base for a new blend.  

Mariotti tirelessly sampled hand-selected grapes from each of the twelve vineyards, carefully choosing the best of the individual parcels for inclusion in the final blend.  The grapes from each vineyard were crushed separately in traditional presses and then vinified one at a time.  These painstaking and time-intensive methods are integral to the final result, as Didier explains, “When one reaches a certain level of perfection, as the grand crus allow us to do, one then seeks to go further and perfect that perfection.”

 

Cuvée R. Lalou is produced in very small quantities, and only in the best years. It is a vintage blend of grapes sourced from up to twelve of the very best parcels, ‘Lieux Dits’, within the G.H. Mumm vineyards. These are situated within the Grand Cru villages of Verzy (Les Houles), Verzenay (Les Rochelles and Les Perthois), Aÿ (Valnon), Mailly (Les Villiers), Bouzy (Les Hannepés), Ambonnay (Les Crupots), Cramant (Les Bionnes, La Croix de Valmont and Les Perthes) and Avize (Les Briquettes and Les Maladries du Midi). 

For each vintage the cellar master Didier Mariotti will only select those ‘Lieux Dits’ that he considers to have produced the most outstanding grapes. For the 1998, only seven ‘Lieux Dits’ were used. The blend is 50% Chardonnay and 50% Pinot Noir which is aged on the lees for eight years before disgorging.

 

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Vintage 2006

A cold winter and springtime frosts laid the foundations for this vintage of abundant yields (12,997 kg/ha). Uneventful flowering was followed by exceptionally hot and sunny weather, which lasted until August. A dank August left producers fearful but fortunately warm, bright conditions in September redressed the balance. Harvest commenced on September 9th, producing grapes high in sugar level but notably low on acidity. The general health of the grapes was sufficient, producing wines which excel over the preceding 2005 vintage, another warm and ample year. The year's greatest wines are supple and expressive and despite the richness they escape being overly heavy. Overt and welcoming upon launch, the best come with excellent capacity for ageing. Winey, and richly fruity characters, most Champagnes regrettably miss some tension and finesse. Wines of the vintage include Taittinger Comtes de Champagne, Krug Vintage and Dom Pérignon Rosé.

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Tasting note

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Written Notes

Pale lemon yellow. Apples, fruit driven, plums and floral notes nose. Fresh acidity, apples, rounded, elegant texture, fruit driven, good length. 89

  • 89p

A dense and rich prestige cuvée with intense, bread-dough, cooked-apple and pear character on the nose and palate. Compact and very rich with so much going on. Full body. Solid, creamy center palate. Drink or hold.

  • 95p

Bright, yellow colour. Absolutely charming fresh peppermint nose with touch of honey and brioche. Dry, round, and complex palate with creamy texture, vivid spiciness, white flowers, and elegant toastiness. A stunningly refined yet opulent champagne with great harmony. JL 96p (Oct 2021)

  • 96p

Tasted in August 2019 in Helsinki, Finland. One of the 20 champagnes tasted. Classic and stylish, fine acidity, sophisticated with great length. Among the best ones in the tasting.

  • 96p
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Information

Origin

Reims, Champagne

Drinking temperature

6-8C

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