OK, first, I know that Richnicity is not a word. I made it up because I needed something to describe the wines of Marie Demets. These are not typical Champagnes for sure. Why? Because they have incredible richness and fruit along with perfect acid and mineral balance. They are not sweet but are not austere either. They are from the Aube, about an hour and a half South of Reims where it's a bit warmer and the grapes actually ripen giving the wines richnicity. And you know what? Having a different style of Champagne is a good thing. Chambolle is not Gevrey Chambertin. Cote Rotie is not Crozes Hermitage. Hohen Sulzen is not Frauneberg. These wines are all awesome, from the same region but also very different. Vive la freaking difference.
The current trend in Champagne geek circles is for wines that are super dry, austere and mineral driven with a minimum amount of richness. Don't get me wrong, I'm the last person to criticize this style. I like to swirl a single glass of uber geek bubbly for 3 hours as much as the next guy. But every day is different and every meal is different. I don't want every wine in my portfolio to have to breathe for 6 hours or what not. If you had a bad day at work or if your team lost in the World Series you just want to pop, pour and enjoy. It needs to be tasty and really delicious with great flavor
intensity and the one or two notes it excels it really excels in. Sometimes you don't want a Champagne that is high on interest and lower on pure joy. And on those nights, I reach for Marie Demets. One of our largest customers, who buys and loves every single geeky Champagne I sell buys the most of Demets. Why? It's a great value, he drinks it whenever he wants and when he serves it to guests, everyone adores it.
The first wine is the Marie Demets NV Tradition for as little as $25.99 on a 4-pack. 100% gorgeous, luscious giving, rich pinot noir fruit. So well balanced and not a hair out of place. I challenge you not to smile when you drink it. It definitely has that acid balance and mineral backbone, but this is a wine that you drink off of its stunning pinot fruit. The Tradition is so damn delicious. Full of orchard fruits, precise and with a light creamy yet effusive mousse. This is $26 Champagne. I repeat $26. Go buy a bottle of any entry level Grand Marque for $35-$40. This will blow it away.
The second wine is a monster of a saignee rose. The Marie Demets NV Rose "Cuvee Rubis" for $28.99 on a 4-pack. The Rose is wonderful as well, being rich and full of deep Pinot fruit with a rich orchard fruit character and loads of super fresh raspberries. Lovely earth tones and a serious almost gout de terroir you really only find in Red Burgundy and the red wines of the Cotes de Auxerre. It really is almost sparkling red Burgundy.
I cannot find any Champagne through the 3 tier system for these prices. These are not your screechy zero dosage geekified Champagnes, both of these are full of orchard fruits and remind me of Burgundy that overshoots its appellation (Mercurey, Côte de Nuits Villages) yet with bubbles
I tasted with Pierre Demets, albeit briefly, as we had a long drive that day, and the latest versions of both the Tradition and Rose are beautiful. For those of you who buy Champagne, you know that only the occasional closeout drek is under $30. Most $30-$40 Champagne on the shelves is truly wretched stuff concocted in vats the site of Kansas. For those of you who don't buy Champagne because it's too expensive and the $35 stuff is crap, this is your chance to stock up.
These are incredible values. Today I am selling my two favorite "I've had a bad day and need something delicious" wines from Marie Demets. I also want to take advantage of the low Euro as well.
NV Marie Demets Brut Tradition - $27.99 ($103.96 4-pack)
NV Marie Demets Rose "Cuvee Rubis" - $29.99 ($115.96 4-pack)
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