- I Am As Excited About This Producer As I Can Be
- Gringet - Expressive, Ageworthy, Complex - Only Planted in This Part of Savoie
I Love Champagne
I Love Champagne
- And There Is Terrific Variety within Champagne
- But Other Regions Have Mastered the Champagne Method
- But Other Regions Have Mastered the Champagne Method
- And Prices Are Much Lower
- And Today, We Have Perhaps The Greatest Producer in One of My Favorite Sparkling Wine Regions Outside of Champagne
2019 Domaine Montessuit Gringet Vieilles Vignes "Cuvee Jonquille"
- 70-115 Year Old Vines, Average Age of 93 Years
- Nose: White Flowers and the Smell of a Field after Fresh Rain - Alpine Perfection
- Palate - Juicy, Mineral
- Outrageous Inner Mouth Aromatics
- Finish Is Citrus
- Mountain Meursault
- 100% Gringet
- Amazing Change of Pace Wine - Quality of 1er Cru Burgundy
- But Very Different Flavor Profile
- This Has the Depth and Complexity You Expect from 93 Year Old Vines; It Is a Remarkable Value ($28.99) for a Unique Wine
2019 Domaine Montessuit Gringet Vieilles Vignes "Cuvee Jonquille"
- 70-115 Year Old Vines, Average Age of 93 Years
- Nose: White Flowers and the Smell of a Field after Fresh Rain - Alpine Perfection
- Palate - Juicy, Mineral
- Outrageous Inner Mouth Aromatics
- Finish Is Citrus
- Mountain Meursault
- 100% Gringet
- Amazing Change of Pace Wine - Quality of 1er Cru Burgundy
- But Very Different Flavor Profile
- This Has the Depth and Complexity You Expect from 93 Year Old Vines; It Is a Remarkable Value ($28.99) for a Unique Wine
NV Domaine de Montessuit Ayze Grand Reserve
- Priced like Clearance Champagne, Drinks Like $60 Champagne
- Nose: Drop Dead Gorgeous
- Mineral, Iodine, Pastry and Baking Spices
- Wafting Fresh Mineral Aromatic Experience
- Gorgeous Mouthfeel
- Super Elegant, Insane Complexity, Intense Juiciness
- Sappy and Structured
- Terrific Lean Green Apple Fruit
- Brilliant Minerality
Everyone knows Champagne. And you pay dearly for the Champagne brand no matter if you
are buying closeout swill or top tier vintage Champagne. The funny thing is that the Champagne of today is not the Champagne of yesteryear. Temperatures in Champagne are what they used to be in Burgundy and temperatures in Savoie are what they used to be in, well Champagne. And sparkling wines from Savoie are dirt cheap. Why? No one has ever heard of them. Today, we have two of the absolute best at $28.99 and $32.99. These blow away any Champagne you can get in the store at that price. They drink like $60-$80 Champagne. Let the arbitrage trade begin. Too bad you can't short entry level Veuve.
The father of the region, Domaine Belluard, took over his estate in 1988 and made Ayze sparkling wine a phenomenon and lifted it from being local innocuous sparkling wine sold to tourists. Now we are finally seeing a generation that is influenced by Belluard. Actually generation may be stretching it as Montessuit is only other producer of Ayze that I know. At Montessuit they have immense admiration and respect for Belluard.
The Wines
Up first is the middle dry Gringet and I chose this because it is a stunning wine and also because it is raised in 100% stainless steel. It is also made from very very old vines and is just a ridiculous wine and should be 3-5 times the price.
Today I have the 2019 Domaine Montessuit Gringet Vieilles Vignee "Cuvee Jonquile" for $28.99 a bottle on a 4-Pack. This is a limited cuvee as are the top two still Gringet cuvees. Vines are 70-115 years old with the average age being 93 years old. This is a stupid great wine and a stunning value. I can see this wine being $45 in a few years, a la the Berlioz cuvees.
The nose is stunning and very complex. Pungently mineral but in a distinct alpine mountain way that just screams of the great terroir of Ayze. White flowers and the aroma of a field after fresh rain. Alpine fresh air on the nose. Wild flowers. Super airy and clean. There are faint hints of pear that become more prominent with air.
The palate is to die for. It's super juicy and mineral. So pure and so, so clean. The minerality is remarkable. It's got depth and strength to it that indicates it will age. They opened vintages going back to 2012 of this cuvee and they were right. This has 10/15 years ahead of it. Juicy and elegant with so much finesse and dazzling purity. Really a finesse-driven wine with amazing acidity. The inner mouth aromas are so outrageous and distinctive. Super mountain minerality is so unreal and so persistent. Such a complex finish with terrific structure. Palate is wonderfully elegant and super expressive with major acidity and freshness. This needs air. Structure is dominant the first 15 minutes then it gets more expressive on the palate. Lovely tension on the finish. There is citrus peel on the finish that plays but loses out the incredible mineral depth. The citrus peel is perfectly judged as this is a wine about minerals, structure and depth. It's deep, powerful and concentrated and will age for 5-10 years.
The second wine is the NV Domaine de Montessuit Ayze Grand Reserve for $32.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. Just like the character says with incredible certainty during the audition scene in Mulholland Drive, "This is the girl," I said "This is the wine." I knew as soon as I tasted it. This has only 5 grams of RS and was aged for 24 months.
Gorgeous nose of mineral, iodine, pastry and baking spices. Super mineral and clean as a freshly shaven face. You get that wafting fresh mineral aromatic experience that you get from great Champagne.
On the palate, you have gorgeous mouthfeel and super elegant with insane complexity and intense juiciness. Very pure, very textured with wonderful acidity and freshness. Concentrated and so, so deep. Sappy and structured with terrific fruit which is on the lean green side (green apples, green pears) and brilliant minerality. After air some juicy citrus develops with brilliant inner mouth florals. Wonderful acidity and freshness. Delicious and so, so long. Balanced and just superbly pure. This is as crisp as can be with an alpine cooling minerality and freshness which makes this so unmistakably Ayze. This has a delicacy that is to die for.
The finish is long, savory and mineral with wonderful saltiness.
Just a gorgeous bottle and if this was in Mag I'd sell those as the value would transcend the high shipping costs.
Today I have the 2019 Domaine Montessuit Gringet Vieilles Vignee "Cuvee Jonquile" for $28.99 a bottle on a 4-Pack. This is a limited cuvee as are the top two still Gringet cuvees. Vines are 70-115 years old with the average age being 93 years old. This is a stupid great wine and a stunning value. I can see this wine being $45 in a few years, a la the Berlioz cuvees.
The nose is stunning and very complex. Pungently mineral but in a distinct alpine mountain way that just screams of the great terroir of Ayze. White flowers and the aroma of a field after fresh rain. Alpine fresh air on the nose. Wild flowers. Super airy and clean. There are faint hints of pear that become more prominent with air.
The palate is to die for. It's super juicy and mineral. So pure and so, so clean. The minerality is remarkable. It's got depth and strength to it that indicates it will age. They opened vintages going back to 2012 of this cuvee and they were right. This has 10/15 years ahead of it. Juicy and elegant with so much finesse and dazzling purity. Really a finesse-driven wine with amazing acidity. The inner mouth aromas are so outrageous and distinctive. Super mountain minerality is so unreal and so persistent. Such a complex finish with terrific structure. Palate is wonderfully elegant and super expressive with major acidity and freshness. This needs air. Structure is dominant the first 15 minutes then it gets more expressive on the palate. Lovely tension on the finish. There is citrus peel on the finish that plays but loses out the incredible mineral depth. The citrus peel is perfectly judged as this is a wine about minerals, structure and depth. It's deep, powerful and concentrated and will age for 5-10 years.
The second wine is the NV Domaine de Montessuit Ayze Grand Reserve for $32.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. Just like the character says with incredible certainty during the audition scene in Mulholland Drive, "This is the girl," I said "This is the wine." I knew as soon as I tasted it. This has only 5 grams of RS and was aged for 24 months.
Gorgeous nose of mineral, iodine, pastry and baking spices. Super mineral and clean as a freshly shaven face. You get that wafting fresh mineral aromatic experience that you get from great Champagne.
On the palate, you have gorgeous mouthfeel and super elegant with insane complexity and intense juiciness. Very pure, very textured with wonderful acidity and freshness. Concentrated and so, so deep. Sappy and structured with terrific fruit which is on the lean green side (green apples, green pears) and brilliant minerality. After air some juicy citrus develops with brilliant inner mouth florals. Wonderful acidity and freshness. Delicious and so, so long. Balanced and just superbly pure. This is as crisp as can be with an alpine cooling minerality and freshness which makes this so unmistakably Ayze. This has a delicacy that is to die for.
The finish is long, savory and mineral with wonderful saltiness.
Just a gorgeous bottle and if this was in Mag I'd sell those as the value would transcend the high shipping costs.
5 grams RS, 24 months aging. This would be $50+ in Champagne.
2019 Familie Montessuit Cuvee Jonquille Vieilles Vignes Ayze (Gringet) - $30.99 ($115.96 4-pack)
NV Domaine Montessuit Ayze Grand Reserve - $34.99
($131.96 4-Pack)
No comments:
Post a Comment