Champagnes of the Week
Champagne Joseph Perrier Brut Blanc de Blancs
We featured this two months ago and, tasting it over dinner last week on 19 December in Singapore (above picture) – with two Nino Franco sparkling and two cuvées of Champagne Drappier – this Blanc de Blancs Brut was again in top form. The experience did not change either, an explosion of citrus – pomelo, limes, lemon, and grapefruit. The burst of fruit, freshness and energy was all there. Aged five years on lees before disgorgement with a dosage of 7 g/l. Delicious now and will become even creamier with every passing year. Should peak between 2023 and 2025.
Champagne Drappier Grande Sendrée 2009
In 1836, a fire ravaged Urville. As a result, a parcel of vineyard land on a hill outside the village belonging to Drappier was covered in cinders, or cendrée. When it was time to register the name, a spelling oversight had it written instead as ‘Sendrée’. There is, however, no mistaking the quality of the wine. The 2009 is the latest release and I am not sure about the exact proportions of pinot noir and chardonnay (2008 was 55% and 45% respectively). Unfiltered, about a third of the wine was matured in old oak barrel for about nine months. This single-vineyard Champagne was aged nearly nine years on lees before disgorgement. Rich, ripe, juicy fruit including dried citrus in a compote. Hint of spice. A winey, full-bodied champagne. Delicious now and will continue to evolve and become more complex into another decade and more.