I picked up two bottles of this and intended to save at least the first for a special occasion. Unfortunately this is not one of those as I put my cat to sleep this morning and it has me some sort of fucked up. I happened to remember a reply that someone made from this forum, something along the lines of “drink good wine in bad times”. Not sure of the exact quote but I remember the sentiment and decided to open one of these bad boys. This really was the only “good” wine I had in my fridge that I felt merited the occasion, and also where I didn’t have to go to my wine storage because fuck leaving my house in this state. I must say, it has lifted my spirits and I’ve made many a toast to the old girl since I popped it.

The first glass showed the tiniest hint of sulfur but that quickly blew off. There is a hell of a lot going on in this glass! Glazed lemon cake and macarons. Canned pear and shortbread. Yellow peach and ripe yellow apples with just a kiss of green around the edges. A solid streak of nuttiness permeates thru it all. It’s a full on the mouth but elevated by the acidity and some minerality. Finish is quite long and accentuated by impressions of a mouthwatering salinity.

As the glass sits and I explore a little more I’ll be damned if I don’t get notes of maple and Cinnabon. There’s this sugary, spicy, brioche-like element when the glass winds down that really does remind me of walking past a Cinnabon shop in the mall. The yeast bread and butter elements come out later and were certainly not my first impression but add a complexity to an already complex wine.

This really is a fabulous champagne and I’m very happy (as I can be) to have another in storage for some years down the road!