Taste Champagne

 The Tyson Stelzer Champagne tasting extravaganza rolled into Sydney again this year. Not quite as big as in some previous years, but certainly plenty of Champagne to taste. And it proved to be popular again.

Soon after I arrived, almost disaster struck, as the Champagne pyramid in part came tumbling down, but it turned out the cartons were empty, haha.

On to the tasting; last year I called it 'The main houses are back'. So this year I did a comparison of some Major Houses with some reputable Grower Champagnes. The Major Houses I tasted were Bollinger, Billecart-Salmon and Pol Roger. On the Grower side, I had Ayala, Duval Leroy, Jacquesson, Veuve Fourny and Mailly.

The overall winner, as in the year before, was Bollinger. Bollinger has access to perhaps the best vineyards in Champagne (all premier cru), and it has a Pinot Noir grape bias, adding to the complexity of the Champagnes. I rated the Special Cuvée NV 94 points, with its fine mousse, great balance between freshness and toasty flavours and its long finish. La Grande Année 2015 had a darker colour, more concentration and outstanding length (96 points). I found the special PN AYC 18 NV lighter, quite savoury, and not as refreshing (93 points).

The Billecart-Salmon Champagnes rated 92-94 points, with the Rendez-Vous Number 3, being the best. I have always been quite fond of Pol Roger. I found the Vintage 2016 flavoursome, but a bit short (93 points). I preferred the 2015 Blanc de Blancs with its fine mousse, good depth, and longer finish (94 points).

The two outstanding Grower Champagne houses were Jacquesson and Veuve Fourny. The 746 Jacquesson is based on the 2018 vintage. It includes a significant amount of Pinot Meunier (24%). The flavours make quite a strong statement, based on the Pinot depths (94 points). Equally good, if not better were the Fourny Champagnes I tasted. The Grands Terroir Brut Vertus Premier Cru NV included only 20% Pinot Noir, but showed a lot of depth and good length (94 points). The R Extra Brut Vertus Premier Cru is 100% Chardonnay based on the 2015 and 2016 vintages. It is quite toasty, having spent three years on lees. It is a very layered Champagne (95 points).

I found the Mailly Champagnes agreeable, on the lighter side (92-93 points). The Ayala Champagnes are very refreshing, for a hot summer day (91 points). Duval-Leroy, which also sources fruit from the village of Vertus would not be my choice, compared with Fourny (92 points).

In summary, Bollinger is an outstanding Champagne producer. Overall, it is difficult to generalize, as it is with all wine, but with Grower Champagnes in particular, choose the producer wisely.