When you look at the great expressions of Pinot Noir, Burgundy, of course tops the list. As loyal Fassists, know, Germany is a close second. There are also some interesting Pinots in California and the Loire. But perhaps the most interesting Pinot Noir region that most Pinot lovers have not yet tried is in a region that is famous for Pinot, but only in sparkling form. And that region, of course, is Champagne.
Most of us have not tried still Pinot from Champagne for 2 reasons:
1) It is frightfully expensive because great Pinot fruit is generally made into sparkling Blanc de Noirs and sold for a fortune.
2) Champagne is very far north and darned cold so only in warm years can you really have the ripeness that make still Pinot Noir approachable.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, today is your day to try one of the great Pinot Noir regions of the world and, because it's from buy-direct-from-the-winery Fass Selections, it's very (and unusually) affordable.
The 2015 Brice Coteaux Champenois Bouzy Rouge which can be had for $35.99 a bottle on a 4-pack is absolutely hands down one of the best 2015 Pinot Noirs I've tasted from France or Germany. It's just ridiculous. It is one of the most interesting and drop dead delicious and exciting wines I tasted on my trip. The 2015 Brice Grand Cru Bouzy Rouge. Bollinger, Lahaye and Egly-Ouriet ($75+) are the standard bearers for this unique and compelling style of wine. I think Brice, who makes 1,000 bottles of this is nipping at their heels. This wine is nothing like Burgundy, or German Pinot Noir or domestic Pinot Noir. It is so wildly distinctive and unique that one must taste at least a dozen Coteaux Champenois to be able to identify what it is. If Enderle and Moll make Spatburgunder that is essentially "Red Riesling," then Brice with this wine is making what can only be called "Red Grand Cru Champagne." I know it sounds ridiculous but that is what this wine is like. It has all that minerality you find in many of the Brice wines, but also ravishingly deep and powerful tiny berry concentrated dark fruits. The fruit in 2015 is beyond anything any of you are ready for. It is crazy. It makes the '12 look like and taste like a rose. It is an explosion like no other. The epic amounts of red fruit soak your palate but it is all on a bed of gravelly/chalky minerality but so utterly infused with the quality concentrated and dense fruits of 2015. It has insane finesse. It is so pretty. Man is this wine pretty. Striking in its intensity and uniqueness assaulting your palate. The finish just is a sop of fruit soaking and pushing to the nether regions of your taste buds. I'm telling you the 15 is like 10 times better than the 12. I've never experienced a vintage swing like this ever. But Coteaux Champenois Rouge is a crazy individual wine. It is a remarkable wine and unlike anything I've ever had before and absolutely delicious. It has serious structure and will age gracefully for 10-15 years. The wine is a steal at this price. Remy Brice told me that it is currently very hip and many wineries are reviving Coteaux Champenois Rouge and making more of it. Who knows maybe more red wine from Champagne in the future. One thing I know is red wine this good does not stay at $34.99 a bottle that long.
I've visited Champagne 5 times since Fass Selections has started and the one type of wine I have never been able to get my hand on is Coteaux Champenois Rouge. For those of you who don't know this is the still red/white wine appellation that covers the entire area of Champagne. Not much is made and the reason is simple. Why take away potential sales from a world famous product where the name sells itself and divert them to an obscure wine that is much more difficult to sell and is, outside of the Fass Selections parallel universe, usually very expensive ($75+) for the top examples.
The top areas for Coteaux Champenois Rouge follow the typical Grand Cru Villages where Pinot Noir is dominant. So Ay, Ambonnay and Bouzy lead the way. The top vintages also generally follow a pattern that is similar to the top vintages in Champagne. 2015 is great for Sparkling wine and red wine. It's the best red wine vintage Remy Brice remembers he told me on my last trip.
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