KAB-1
Champagne Brut, Aubry
Cépage 55% Pinot Meunier, 25% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Noir and 5% Arbanne, Petit Meslier and Fromenteau
Assemblage 50% 2014 and 50% perpetual reserve going back to 1998
Vineyard Jouy-lès-Reims 1er Cru and Villedommange 1er Cru
Malo Yes
Elevage Stainless Steel
Sur latte 24+ months
Producer:
Country:
France
Region:
Champagne
Appellation:
Montagne de Reims
Variety:
Blend- Champagne
Color:
White
Case Pack:
12
Bottle Size:
750
Import Partner:
Terry Theise
Tasting Notes
Meunier expresses here as barley, rusks, crackers, and so the wine is rusky, coppery-saline, iodé, mineral and appetizing. It’s beautifully expressive of a corner of Champagne, and tastes as though it were fined with sel gris. This year it’s 50% 2013 and 50% a perpetual reserve started in 1998. Deg 1/2016, it’s 55% Meunier (higher than usual), 25% CH, 20% PN and 5% “other” (which means basically everything that wouldn’t fit in the vats); it’s in form, brassy and oyster; after a dip a couple years ago (for which we have our old friend 2011 to thank) this is better than ever. – Terry TheisePOS Resources
Request a shelf talker/case cardPress & Reviews
Parker
Score:
92
Date:
2013-12-24
Review:
This contains just one-quarter each Chardonnay and Pinot; 45% Meunier; and a mixture of Arbanne, Petit Meslier and Fromenteau (a.k.a. Pinot Gris). Nearly half of it is reserve wine, and more than half of that from a solera going back to 1998. If that sounds like a recipe for delivering complexity, you’re right and won’t be disappointed! Bittersweet perfume suggestive of gentian and iris mingles with intimations of fresh lime and sea breeze that in turn manifest themselves on a seductively silken palate in both juicy, vivacious exuberance and mouthwatering saliva-inducement. A scallop-like sweetly saline and mineral amalgam takes hold in a vibrant finish that leaves me caught between the urge to linger and the urge to take the next sip. This exceptional value by appellation standards is almost sure to prove worth following for several years, even if, sadly, few wine enthusiasts are likely to put that prediction to the test.
Spectator
Score:
90
Date:
2013-08-28
Review:
A firm Champagne, with notes of green apple, white cherry, smoky mineral and candied lemon zest. Vivacious, showing hints of toast and wax on the finish. Disgorged April 2011. Drink now through 2015. –AN
Tanzer
Score:
91
Date:
2013-12-20
Review:
(45% pinot meunier, 25% pinot noir and 25% chardonnay, with the rest arbanne, petit meslier and fromenteau; disgorged in April, 2013): Bright straw. Pungent aromas of Meyer lemon, pear and fig, with a gingery accent adding lift. Sappy, penetrating citrus fruit and floral flavors are given a refreshingly bitter character by notes of pear skin and peach pit, with a waxy note coming up on the back half. A smoky nuance lingers on the finish, which shows very good clarity and length. Fifty-five percent of this blend is from 2010 and the rest is reserve wines, mostly from a solera that was begun in 1998.
Burghound
Score:
90
Date:
2013-10-15
Review:
A cool and ultra-pure nose features notes of
yeast, lemon peel, green apple and floral hints. There is good verve to the delicious flavors that possess a moderately fine
effervescence on the markedly dry but not really austere citrus-infused finish. This would be a good choice for those who want
a clean and dry Champagne that stops short of being clipped on the finish in the fashion of some non-dosage examples.
yeast, lemon peel, green apple and floral hints. There is good verve to the delicious flavors that possess a moderately fine
effervescence on the markedly dry but not really austere citrus-infused finish. This would be a good choice for those who want
a clean and dry Champagne that stops short of being clipped on the finish in the fashion of some non-dosage examples.
