Wines (48 View)

Expressive red berries, flowers, mint and crushed rocks burst from the glass as this energetic wine shows off its pure vibrancy and class. Coutier's NV Brut Rose is another clear winner. Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir are fermented in stainless steel.

2019 Base. The NV Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru is a striking wine, and frankly one of the best wines I have ever tasted from Courier. Pure Blanc de Blancs is unusual in Ambonnay, where Pinot plays the leading role. Courtier's NV presents an intriguing combination of the richness that is typical of Ambonnay married to deep, expressive varietal Chardonnay fruit. Smoke, ash, and crushed rocks are all layered into the energetic, vibrant finish. This is a flat-out delicious, utterly joyous Champagne from Courier. 100% Chardonnay

"Smoky and focused, with an intensity to the racy acidity and tightly knit flavors of white peach, chamomile, crystallized honey, pickled ginger and pink peppercorn. Exhibits lovely texture and offers a long, mineral-tinged finish." 92pts WS

"The wine shows a superb, golden yellow color with a beautiful luminosity and a fine and persistent mousse. The nose is clean and intense with warm, rich notes of brioche, French toast and roasted almonds. On the palate the wine is very supple and harmonious, with notes of honey and minerals on the long, sustained finish. Ruinart Blanc de Blancs is produced from a blend of 100% premiers crus Chardonnay grapes from the best of recent vintages. Grapes from the estate vineyards in Sillery and Brimont (ancestral home of the Ruinart family) are joined by carefully selected grapes from other premiers crus vineyards in the Côte de Blancs and the Montagne de Reims." Winemaker notes

For classic rose Champagne elegance, it is hard to top Ruinart. From the first glance at its rounded bottle, to its strawberry tinted bubbles that dance up the from the bottom of the flute, nothing says "tonight is the night" more than this delightful fizz. Typical baguette notes merge with pinot-noirish aromas and flavors of cranberries and honeysuckle. The top shelf of rose sparklers. - PJ

There's good cut to this, and the firm acidity finds a nice balance with the flavors of bread dough, spiced citrus peel and juicy Golden Delicious apple, with a modest finish. WS 89

90 pts Wine Advocate
The NV Brut Rose Prestige is gorgeous. It shows lovely length and focus in an understated style that is quite appealing. There is tons of depth to the fruit as the wine opens up in the glass. The Rose Prestige can be enjoyed as an aperitif, but it also has enough body to pair beautifully with a wide range of foods. This is a great version of the house?s Rose. This is Lot L1204SZ07700. Disgorged May 2011 (not indicated on label). Anticipated maturity: 2011-2014.

"This seems drier than its stablemate, the famous Yellow Label, and is the better for it. There is an urgent freshness here, driven by red currants and tight plum skin flavors. It is lively but full in the mouth, and shows just the right bottle age." 91pts WE

Made using 50 to 60 different crus, the cuvee is based on Brut Yellow Label's traditional blend: 50 to 55% Pinot Noir, 15 to 20% Pinot Meunier, and 28 to 33% Chardonnay.

"Light gold. Musky orchard fruits and dried fig on the mineral-accented nose. Fleshy and broad on the palate, offering smoky pear and nectarine flavors and a hint of honey. Finishes on a gently spicy note, with very good cling and a touch of bitter lemon pith. Things have definitely begun to turn around for this bottling, which had been lagging behind the winery's vintage offerings for some time." 90pts VS

The predominance of Pinot Noir provides the structure that is so typically Clicquot, while a touch of Pinot Meunier rounds out the blend. Chardonnay adds the elegance and finesse essential in a perfectly balanced wine.

Organic

90 points Vinous
The 2019 Brut Nature Blanc de Noirs L'Arbre, from a parcel in Pouillon, is seriously impressive. Bright, focused and super-polished, with tons of aromatic presence, L'Arbre shows a refined, elegant side of Meunier that stands apart from the typically bigger style found in most mono-varietal bottlings. There's tons of energy and vibrancy. The 2019 feels a bit severe, but some of that may be attributable to its recent disgorgement. Naturally the vintages are different, but the 2018 version is quite a bit more open.

100% Pinot Meunier from the single parcel of Voyet in the Marne village of Pouillon, this is the Cuillier family's most historic vineyard. Sandy soils over limestone. The winery embraces regenerative principles of cover cropping and low-/no-till farming to increase soil organic matter and to preserve and enhance biodiversity. Applies homemade composts to enrich soil and incorporates Vitiforestry, which is the intentional integration of trees into the vineyards (a.k.a Agroforestry when integrated into other agricultural crops). Indigenous yeast fermentation in small stainless steel tank. Aged in tank for 12 months followed by 36 months sur lattes. No fining or filtration, disgorged by hand, zero dosage.