Champagne Tasting!

 

Name: Philipponnat 

Variety: Champagne

Region: Mareuil-Sur-Ay in the Vallee de la Marne area of Champagne Country

Country: France 

Year: 2017

Price: $70.00

Winery Review: According to vivino.com, "wine experts" described this wine as "first in-store tasting wine yesterday was a pricy but elegant reserve Brut. Blend of 65% PN, 30% Chard, and 5% Pinot Meuniere. The NV Champ has a delicate touch with notes of pear, raspberry, chalk and cream. Light and linear with a mousse like feel. Price at $63 but a nice way to start a tasting on a lazy Friday afternoon." Most of the reviews are very well written with a great admiration for this particular wine. With very few 1 star ratings, this champagne is well favored all across the globe! This is characterized as the top 2% of wines in the world and top 4% of wines from Champagne!

Personal Review: My mom is obsessed with champagne, she generally buys the Martini & Rossi but this was a new bottle she was excited to try, and I was excited to try with her! Champagne is certainly not on the top of my list, the carbonation is a little too much for me and it is either too sweet or too dry. However, this class has encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and try as much wine as I can! First impression of this wine was dry, extremely dry. It has a buttery taste and is sour/tart with a hint of wood or wilderness. It was surprisingly not too bubbly, which I prefer. I was so intrigued with the flavors of this champagne because it was like nothing I have ever tried before, it reminded me of a chardonnay with the moderate acidic flavors and a medium body but with a touch of fizziness and super thick for a champagne. I can't say I would drink this again, but I am glad that I tried it! According to Wine Folly, specifically page 221, "brut" is defined as " a term for sweetness level in sparkling wine. Brut indicates a dry style." This sparking wine was certainly dry to say the least. Also, Wine Folly provides an excellent chart of each type of grape sorted by their body. The sparkling wine category consists of: prosecco, cava, cremant, champagne and franciacorta. Champagne is second to last having the bolder body in terms of sparkling wines.