Happy Wicked: For Good opening weekend to all who celebrate! Befittingly, our newsletter this week featured some truly wonderful offerings from Grower-Champagne royalty, Tarlant, and we're obsessulated. Seeing how thirsty you all were for high quality, well priced, premium Champagne, I wanted to take a moment to highlight some of our other wonderific bottles that have found a home on our shelves
When we use the phrase Grower-Champagne, we are speaking to the Champagnes made by producers who grow and manage their own vineyards. Many of the most beloved houses like Veuve Cliquot, Moet and Chandon, and Dom Perignon are celebrated the world over and for good reason– they craft iconic cuvees which are raised in celebratory toasts all over the globe, but to us wine nerds it’s the farmer fizz that really gets us going. The relationship between a vigneron and their craft is sacred and that begins with the land their vines are planted into. Be it a dynastic legacy that a winemaker might be pursuing, or simply the love of the game, these Champagnes are excellent options whether you’re looking for a holiday gift or something to drink around the fire, because there’s truly no place like home.
Marguet Shaman Rose Zero Dosage
59% Chardonnay, 41% Pinot Noir
$112.65 +tax/deposit
When Benoit Marguet took over his family’s estate in 2009, he made quick work of converting their operations to biodynamic practices. Their small 10Ha plot in Ambonay is the pride and joy of the Marguet family and with 20% of their grapes sold to Krug annually, their wines are in limited supply. We were lucky enough to snag some of their Rose Champagne and for those who enjoy the funkier side of wine will certainly rejoice over the slight oxidative note that this red fruited beauty has to offer.
Frerejan Freres Grand Reserve Brut
50% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir, 20% Pinot Meunier
$91.05 +tax/deposit
From the famed Taittinger family comes the tale of two brothers determined to make a name of their own. Rodolphe and Guillaume currently own 6 hectares, though they do purchase fruit from some other vineyards when making their wines. In the cellar, fifth-generation chef de cave Didier Pierson favors old enamel tanks rather than stainless steel. All the wines undergo malolactic fermentation, a chemical reaction wherein tart malic acid is converted into creamy lactic acid, and are aged on the lees for four to ten years. Their introductory wine, the Grand Reserve, is aged for four years on its lees. This extended time in the cellar enhances its depth, unveiling remarkable complexity and a creamy texture.
Godme Extra Brut
34% Chardonnay, 33% Pinot Meunier, 33% Pinot Noir
$75.17 +tax/deposit
The Godme family owns seven and a half hectares of vineyards spanning through four villages in Champagne and while the family has been making wine since the nineteenth century, in the last twenty-five years that have fully converted their vineyards to biodynamic farming practices, hoping that this family trade will continue on for generations to come. In the cellar, they rely on spontaneous fermentation and gravity to do much of the work, hoping that the fresh aromas will allow the terroir to shine in their wines. The Godme Extra Brut is full of notes of crisp green apple, meyer lemon zest, white flowers, with a slight salinity on the finish.
Champagne Jacquesson Cuvee N748
55% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir, 15% Pinot Meunier
$151.75 +tax/deposit
With over two hundred years of experience, the team at Jacquesson are no slouches in the world of premium Champagne. They were pioneers of the style, cementing public opinions on what Champagne can and should taste like. It was at Jacquesson that Johann Joseph Krug served as cellar master before founding the ever famed eponymous Champagne house of his own. The spirit of innovation that is fostered at Jacquesson is what has helped it persevere well into the twenty-first century, helping to shape the lives of countless winemakers along the way. This particular cuvee is made up of a base wine from their 2020 vintage, said to be an exemplary year in Champagne. This is the kind of Champagne that will get better with cellar aging, though it is still quite enjoyable in its youth.
Etienne Calsac Les Rocheforts Champagne
100% Chardonnay
$120.02 +tax/deposit
A Vine Arts exclusive! Our team fell in love with the wines of Etienne Calsac when on a research and development expedition in Champagne in 2022 and upon their arrival in the market later that year, Calgarians fell just as hard. This Extra Brut Champagne is made using spontaneous fermentation with its initial wine being aged evenly split between oak barrels and stainless steel tanks. Les Rocheforts translates to 'the strong rocks.' In 2012, Etienne started a separate perpetual reserve just for Les Rocheforts. This 1er cru single-vineyard in Bisseuil sits on pure chalk soils and creates a precise and beautifully expressive Blanc de Blancs.
