end of the year traditions start to happen. You know what I'm taking about. Thanksgiving, the Army/Navy game, Christmas, Chanukah and of course the most anticipated tradition of the year and that is the Fass Selections Wines of the Year.
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So Why is This The Sparkling Wine of the Year?
I wanted a wine that real Champagne geeks would appreciate and also one that the casual Champagne drinkers would love. I decided that I wanted 3 things:
1) Zero Dosage. At its best, some of the best Champagnes made are zero dosage (no added sugar). The complexity, linearity and precision are almost unequaled. But, this is a very hard style to make as there is a reason dosage was invented, which was that sometimes bone dry Champagne is too brutal and needs a little sugar to balance it out.
2) Pinot Meunier. Don't get me wrong, I love chardonnary and pinot noir-bsed Champagnes. But for me, Pinot Meunier adds that extra little bit of complexity. Of differentness. The wines are delicious but also super interesting and appropriate for both geek and non-geek audiences.
3) Top, Top Producer Yet Still Affordable. I wanted a top producer but obviously wanted to get the wine under $45 so as many people as possible could try it. Perseval Farge is gaining the recognition that they deserve and prices are rising. I wanted a last shot to have a bottle of this wine for under $45. This worked out quite nicely with #1 because Perseval-Farge is absolutely a master of the brut zero style.
The NV Perseval Farge Champagne Brut Nature Zero dosage can be had for $44.99 on a 3-pack and because I want people to have this wine and a lot of it, I am offering a special 6-pack price for $42.99 a bottle. This is just an ultra special bottle of Champagne and reminds me in so many ways of its big brother, La Pucelle. The blend is important in that this is Pinot Meunièr dominant with it being 52% of the blend and the rest is 38% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Noir. It's mostly from 2009 and 2010 and a little bit of '08, '07, '06 and '04. The vines are around average age of 29 years in argile/sable soils. The wine is pure magic.
The Brut Nature is very elegant but also has an appealing wild element that Pinot Meunièr often gives. So long, so pure, and so much better than many of the hip growers that everyone is drinking. Toasty, nutty nose with every expanding mineral complexity. The palate has supreme elegance, sappy red cherry fruit, incredible concentration and sap. The depth and flavor intensity are world class as are the power, concentration and finesse. Just top top class. The finish is like you just rode a roller coaster - you are left with the long but fleeting memories of the perfection of the palate. This is Brut nature, but not a screecher, like some can be. Simply put this is an astonishing bottle of Champagne and the value for the money is unlike any Brut Nature out there. It is one of those Champagnes that is so balanced, so fine, so elegant, so full of character. you would have no issue paying $60-$80 a bottle. What I love about their Brut Nature in particular is it is so sappy and well-fruited that you swear there has to be sugar in there. Even a little. No. None. Nada. It's like those people spinning plates on sticks. One small mistake of balance and the whole thing comes tumbling down. That is this wine, a perfectly balanced wine that the drinker cannot believe is so balanced despite the odds against it.
A client and a friend just went to La Fete du Champagne in NYC which is pretty much the biggest event stateside for Champagne. He texted me and said, you know I've been reading for years how you kind of trash most Brut Nature because they are too screechy and not balanced, and you know, it's even worse than you say. I liked maybe 2-3 out of 30+ Brut Natures.
Across the board my yearly tasting with Isabelle Perseval of Perseval-Farge was extraordinary as it was revelatory. The flavor intensity is something I hadn't really encountered before in Champagne. The purity, the delineation, the body, the length were all just top class. Isabelle asked me which was my favorite, I couldn't answer, then she asked me for top 3, and I reluctantly answered (La Pucelle, Jean Baptiste & the Brut Nature), but that whole lineup was insane. Memories of tasting the Roulout 14s and 13s, Donnhoff '01s, Battenfeld Spanier 15s Prum 05s and other such ethereal tastings in Europe rang into my head, as this annual tasting is always up there. I retasted and then left and reflected on what just happened. I was so giddy and on a cloud on the drive back to Reims. That was just a perfect tasting and a funny counterpoint to getting there as Isabelle had to guide us on the phone as the GPS was possessed and I was late and anxious walking in and then stuck my big nose in that glass and all was right in the world. It's that type of wine. And that type of estate. It's a 5 star Fass Schnozz estate.
The estate is only 4 hectares but like our own Croix Montjoie in Vezelay it is unusual that all the wines they make are from one continuous plot. It's usually not that way in Champagne at all. There are maybe 27 or 28 Clos' in all of Champagne. Not that this is one, but pretty close. They farm sustainably and are very concerned about what their work on the land will affect future generations. They use lower sulfur than most but not at the levels of natural winemakers.
NV Perseval Farge Champagne Brut Zero Dosage - $46.99
($179.96 a 4-pack, $257.94 6-pack) (VERY LIMITED)
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