We're very nearly there, if you can believe it; December is almost upon us, and exactly one month now from the main day. We also have a tremendous name to see out what has been a very bubbly November - Taittinger!
Similar to last week's Pol Roger offer and their Brut Réserve, Taittinger's main Brut NV is our Champagne Monday special, and will continue to sit at that great price all the way through until New Year's Day! Always such an expressive and lively cuvée, the slight Chardonnay dominance lends the blend some fleshy, lifted stone fruits and speckles of pastry, cream and vanilla, before the Pinot Noir and Meunier brings it along further with some lingering spice, raspberries and melon. It never disappoints when suiting a stand-up drinks and aperitif event, or over a more drawn out lunch or dinner; one of the best NVs around!
Then come Saturday (30th November), we pour this alongside their Prestige Rosé NV, Folies de la Marquetterie, Vintage Brut 2015, and the iconic Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs (2013 vintage) between 12 and 2pm. All of these additional bubblies will be on special over the next week - we hope fans of the beautiful Taittinger style can either join us on the weekend, or dive in with confidence with topping up the Christmas collection!
Champagne Monday Special
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Brut Réserve NV - $89 on special until the end of December ($99 RRP)
(Featured on this weekend's tasting - look below for the rest of the lineup)
// 40% Chardonnay, 35% Pinot Noir and 25% Pinot Meunier
Dosage: 10gr/l
Lees aging for minimum of 3 years
"Using perfectly matured grapes harvested from over 35 different vineyards, this subtle blend results in a light, elegant and balanced champagne. The high proportion of Chardonnay allows the Brut Réserve to reach its full aromatic potential after maturing for 3 to 4 years in the cellars. The brilliant body is golden yellow in colour. The bubbles are fine, while the foam is discreet yet lingering. The nose, very open and expressive, delivers aromas of fruit and brioche. it also gives off the fragrance of peach, white flowers (hawthorn, acacia) and vanilla pod. The entry onto the palate is lively, fresh and in total harmony. This is a delicate wine with flavours of fresh fruit and honey." - House Notes
"This is soft, succulent & delightfully structured champagne with a nose of Asiatic lilies, yellow iris & white Hawthorn hedge flowers. The palate opens up to raspberries, new season strawberries, lemon, tangelo, honeydew melon, pink grapefruit and pears. There is layer of apple jam on fresh sour dough bread sprinkled with cinnamon & hints of apple strudel with the flaked pastry – followed by honeyed nuts, glazed peaches, new season apricot and mandarin & little flicks of pineapple. A fresh & lively champagne with a lovely layer of chardonnay which sings of lightness & style." - Bernadette O'Shea, Champagne Consultant
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Weekend Tasting - Lineup & Specials
(Saturday 30th November, from 12 to 2pm)
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Prestige Rosé NV - $105 on special ($120 RRP)
// 75% Pinot Noir & Meunier and 30% Chardonnay
Dosage: 9gr/l
"Famous house Taittinger is known as a chardonnay-dominant Champagne producer, but to me, this delicious wine makes more of a pinot noir statement. It starts with the colour, a rather deeper salmon-pink than the very pale hue that’s currently fashionable. It smells of strawberry shortcake, crême pat and finely-integrated yeasty and smoky complexities, a great mix of pinot freshness and Champagne maturity. With fine texture, good depth and substance, this is flavoursome yet elegant, finishing with just enough phenolic firmness for balance. A Champagne for food" - 95 Points, Ralph Kyte-Powell, The Real Review
Les Folies de la Marquetterie NV - $139 on special ($155 RRP)
// 45% Chardonnay & 55% Pinot Noir
"The latest release of Taittinger's NV Brut Folies de la Marquetterie is showing superbly, bursting from the glass with aromas of fresh bread, crisp stone fruit, buttered toast, citrus oil and mirabelle plums. Full-bodied, vinous and fleshy, with an enveloping core of fruit, racy acids and a pillowy pinpoint mousse, it's a gourmand, concentrated wine with the substance to evolve with grace in the cellar." - 94 Points, William Kelley, Wine Advocate
Vintage Brut 2015 - $140 on special ($159 RRP)
// 50% Pinot Noir & 50% Chardonnay
"The 2015 Champagne Millésime Brut is equal parts Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The nose is fragrant with ripe peach and rose petal, and it has a rich texture, with a more viscous feel, and note of yellow flowers and Anjou pear. It speaks to the ripeness of the vintage, but it is long on the palate and has a light phenolic finish. I think this is ready to drink now." - 93 Points, Jeb Dunnuck
Comtes de Champagne 2013 - $425 on special ($470 RRP)
// 100% Chardonnay
"Tasted six months on from release, the restrained quality of this vintage is shining a little brighter with its lime leaf, floral honey and green mango scents, touches of oyster shell and an emerging floral honey depth, with few signs of outgoing creaminess or nuttiness just yet. Citric juiciness drives the narrow, long palate, perfectly built for ageing; this continues to be a vintage to watch. A blend of all the grand cru villages of the Côte des Blancs." - 96 Points, Tom Hewson, Decanter
"The 2013 Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne's bouquet is compellingly fresh and minty, revealing aromas of white fruit—notably pear and apple—marzipan and sweet spices, as well as a light touch of citrus mingled with classy autolytic notes. On the palate, this is a structured, tensile and ethereal Champagne with high acidity—a sign of a classic vintage—animated by a mousse of striking finesse and delicacy. Although already enjoyable, it should develop well for several decades." - 96 Points, Yohan Castaing, Wine Advocate
Comtes de Champagne Rosé 2011 - $580 on special ($650 RRP)
// 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay
"Beautiful orange-cherry color, exuding aromas of dried flowers, cherry stones, wild strawberries, cloves and cinnamon pastries. It’s medium-bodied with excellent weight and balance. Soft bubbles. Layers of soft, supple berry fruit. Pastries and walnuts come through on a seamless finish." - 96 Points, James Suckling
"Disgorged in October 2022, the 2011 Brut Comtes de Champagne Rosé is a blend of 40% Chardonnay and 60% Pinot Noir, including fully 14% of red wine that lends it notable depth of color this year. Evoking aromas of cherries, buttery pastry, raspberries and tangerine, with an attractive minty top note, the bouquet is complex and incipiently spicy. Medium to full-bodied, layered and vinous, with chalky structuring extract, it concludes with a long, sapid finish. The limitations of the vintage mean that this is a giving, rather open-knit Comtes Rosé, but it is nevertheless a great effort in a challenging year and exhibits none of the herbaceous qualities that mar some of the wines produced in this year. Drink it now and over the next decade." - 94 Points, Yohan Castaing, Wine Advocate
If you wish to purchase any of these champagnes, please use the links above ? Otherwise, if you have any questions, please contact us on (07)32521117 or email sales@thewineemporium.com.au
// Prices valid until Monday the 2nd of December