We were very pleasantly surprised that our January champagne experience article was well received. So we thought to ride on what you told us you liked, and here are the best champagne experiences we had in February.
Horological Lifestyle: some of the best champagne experiences for February
February is also the month for the Chinese New Year, and brings with it celebrations. And though we had proposed that champagne is not only a celebratory beverage, we did drink more in February. Here are our best experiences. We are presenting 10 different bottles, 9 champagnes and one Cava, which we found to be quite exceptional.
How to open a bottle of champagne
We begin today’s article with a short video to demonstrate how to properly open a bottle of champagne. We often see F1 drivers celebrating by shaking the bottle and popping the cork, spraying champagne all over. This looks fabulous for the vibe of celebration, but we think this is too wasteful. Of course, you can open it any way you wish, but be aware the pressure inside the bottle can exceed 6 bar, so don’t point it at anything fragile…like someone’s eye or a chandelier.
Click here or on the picture for the demo video.
The proper way is to slowly ease the cork out of the bottle, with just a sigh as it opens. Also the recommended way in a restaurant, so it does not disturb the dining room.
Krug Grand Cuvée 173eme Edition
We begin with a grand old house. The House of Krug is one of the largest champagne houses, and now a part of the LVMH empire. The 173rd Edition is a blend which is based on the 2017 harvest, a year which is notorious for being one of the most difficult, and thus smallest in recent memory. The year had a chaotic growing season with severe spring frosts, summer botrytis infection, and a very short window for a rushed harvest.
The cuvée is a blend of 44% Pinot Noir, 34% Chardonnay, and 22% Meunier, with 31% drawn from the House’s reserve wine library. Disgorgement was in January 2024, after 7 years in the cellar on the lees. Dosage is 4.5g per liter.
The colour was a vibrant lemon yellow with good mousse. On the nose, it was expressive with typical champagne notes of brioche, toast, stone fruit. And on the palate, it was quite good. Vibrant, and forward, but still creamy, well structured with flavours of citrus, pear and green apple. Finish is long. Good to drink now, but can cellar for a more maturity and complexity. Compared to the 172eme, the 173eme is more approachable, but both have the classic Krug style.
André Clouet The V6 Experience
This is another NV cuvée from Andre Clouet. The champagne is a Bouzy Grand Cru is a Blanc de Noirs Champagne made from 100% Pinot Noir. The name “V6” refers to its six-year aging period (72 months) on the lees, which the producer compares to a powerful 6-cylinder engine “taking off like a rocket”, hence the rocket symbol on the neck band.
The champagne presents as a very pale, almost yellow hue. Not unlike the slightly less expensive (a whole SGD 10 a bottle) Grand Réserve Brut we featured last month. On the nose, it shows light candied fruits, yellow apples. And the palate is rich, powerful with a concentrated structure of sweet citrus and toasty brioche. Acidity is quite high but coated with a creamy, persistent mousse. The finish is long and luxurious.
Emmanuel Brochet Selected Premier Cru “Pierry” NV
With this champagne, we enter the world of the grower once again. Emmanuel Brochet is a highly regarded first-generation grower producer in the village of Villers-aux-Noeuds, within the Montagne de Reims region of Champagne. The wine is from a single 2.5-hectare Premier Cru vineyard known as “Le Mont Benoit”. Because his own plot of land is so small, Emmanuel sources wines from other growers. Which makes this a negociant project (cuvée de négoce). For this range, he calls them “selected”, and for this particular champagne, the grapes are from the Premier Cru village of Pierry. Although the grapes are bought, the wine is still crafted with Brochet’s meticulous artisanal approach, including primary fermentation in barrels and tanks and disgorgement by Brochet himself.
Comprising of 70% Meunier and 30% Chardonnay, the base wine is from 2020 with a disgorgement on October 2023. Dosage is 3g, and the champagne shows the old vine Meunier with lush red apple and baked brioche, while the Chardonnay presents chalk and minerality to support a beautiful tension for a very well balanced experience. On the nose, it is vibrant, with the ripe pear and citrus.
Adrien Renoir Assemblage Le Cepage Grand Cru
From the highly respected grower Adrien Renoir, this Assemblage Le Cepage is a Blanc de Noirs made from pinot noir sourced from the Grand Cru village of Verzy. The Renoir family tends to approximately 7 hectares of vines—6 located in the picturesque Verzy, with the remaining hectare spread across Tours-sur-Marne and Berru. The entire estate had been fully biodynamic in its agriculture. This particular champagne was made with the 2020 harvest as the base, and disgorged in January 2023. Extra brut.
The champagne is a bit more orange than the usual pale lemon, though still lemon as a base. The mousse is persistent. Presents with aromas of pear, baked bread and toasted almond. On the palate, we found it to be rather full bodied, but with a smooth velvety mouthfeel, with a core of fruit, bright acids and a lingering saline finish.
Rémy Leroy Extra Brut
Simply labeled Extra Brut, this RM champagne by Rémy Leroy is a very precise, mineral-driven champagne from the Côte des Bar region. It is known for its purity and low intervention, reflecting the unique clay-limestone of the terrior. The composition is 70% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay, 10% Menieur. The base vintage is 2021 with 30% reserve wine. The disgorgement was May 2023, and the bottle actually recommends service at 11C and to rest the wine for 15 minutes after opening.
The usual pale lemon colour with strong citrus, peach on the nose. It presents a very rich, punchy tartness in nice tension with the brioche on the palate and we get notes of lemon confit, spice and dried flowers on the palate, but this builds into a creamy finish.
Vilmart & Cie Grand Cellier Premier Cru
A grand old house based in the village of Rilly-la-Montagne, at the foot of the Montagne de Reims. These estate has old vines, dating back its founding in 1890. Vilmart is one of the pioneers of ‘grower’ champagne.
Part of the ethos that has served Vilmart so well is its commitment to organic viticulture. Working in partnership with nature, rather than struggling against it, gives their wines an elegance that many ‘grand marques’ cannot match. Vilmart uses no chemicals, and the estate has been pesticide-free since 1989, creating wonderfully healthy subsoils.
This bottle comprise of 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Noir classified Premier Cru and from vines in Rilly-la-Montagne. The grapes are manually harvested in 2021 and blended with reserve wines of 2019 and 2020. The wine is then aged for 10 months in large oak barrels with no malolactic fermentation, which is a key vinification of Vilmart. Dosage is Brut with 8g/L. I forgot to note the digorgement date.
The champagne presents as a pale lemon with hints of gold and green. The mousse is fine, elegant and long lasting. On the nose, white flowers with citrus, and it develops some spice like ginger and lemongrass. Great acidity and body with a good structure. Finish is clean, mineral and long.
Gamet Rive Droite
Champagne Gamet is a grower producer, with eight hectares of vineyards located in three villages – Mardeuil on the left bank and Fleury-la-Rivière and Damery on the right bank. This bottle is the Rive Droit (right bank) and is another Blanc de Noirs, this one with 85% Meunier and 15% Pinot Noir. The grapes are from the house vineyard in the right bank of the River Marne, on the terroirs of Damery and Fleury-la-Rivière. The clay limestone soil which give the wine its powerful acidity. Vinification is in termoregulated stainless steel tanks with malolactic fermentation. The wine is then aged in a stainless steel tank for 5 months, and on slats for a further 20 months. And is a cuvée of the current vintage with 40% reserve wine. Dosage is 4g.
The colour on presentation is a beautiful gold hue with fine mousse. The nose shows up as delicate aromas of white fruit, and on the palate it is very fruity but the Meunier shows up as a roundness and voluptuous. Fresh, fruity. Finish is long and lingering.
J.L. Vergnon Hautes Mottes 2014
This is from one of my favoured houses – J.L. Vergnon, from the Grand Cru village of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. The house is now five generations old, it is well known from champagnes harvested in its own vineyards located in Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger and Avize, all classified Grand Cru and planted exclusively with Chardonnay grapes, thus only Blanc de Blancs.
This particular bottle is from the 2014 vintage and is presented as Brut Nature, with 0g of dosage. The 2014 millésimé is aged in oak.
On the nose, it reveals notes of lime, peach and lemon, with nuances of toast and brioche, a character of secondary malolactic fermentation. On the palate, it attacks with precision, yet retains its elegance. The acid edge remains through the mouthfeel with notes and green apple. Finish is very long and lingering.
Duval Leroy Brut Reserve
Next is the Duval Leroy Brut Reserve. This is a family owned house from 1859 based in Vertus. While they own 200 hectares of vineyards and use their own grapes, they also source grapes. It is not a Récoltant-Manipulant and thus is perhaps more mainstream than many of the aggressive, mineral driven growers I show here. The Duval Leroy is a reserve wine made from all three prominent Champagne grapes – Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier.
The pale gold hue presents with high purity, minerality, and complex autolytic notes. This Brut champagne then rests on lees for 30 to 36 months, allowing its structure and aromas to develop. Its dosage is 8 g/L, and it is produced with a minimum of 40% reserve wine. On the palate, it shows an excellence balance of finesse and power, with aromas of citrus and white fruits such as apple and pear.
Gramona III Lustros Font de Jui 2015
And a Cava! Cava is made with the same method as champagne, a method which is called mèthod traditional. As it is made in Barcelona, Spain, it cannot be classified as champagne, and many sparkling wine enthusiasts say it is equal to many champagnes. For me, I still prefer champagnes. The grapes used for this wine is made with 70% Xarel-lo and 30% Macabeo. Aged for 94 months on lees (sur lattes), this bottle is brut nature with 0g of dosage. This vintage is 2015, with a disgorgement in Dec 2023.
The cava shows in the glass as a bright golden yellow, medium mousse. The bubbles are more restrained than a similar champagne (whatever that may be). The nose is influenced by autolysis, where the 94 months shows up as rather strong notes of yeast and brioche. I detected some yellow fruit like peach and a bit of candied mango and apricot. On the palate, it is bright, with a strong attack, melting to the yeasty structure. I found this cava to be highly enjoyable, but the pricing is champagne prices, and for the money, I would rather one of the other nice growers in this list.
Concluding thoughts
There! February is the month of the Chinese New Year, and I certainly did consume more bubbly than normal. What did you drink in February?
