With Christmas and New Year’s Day just around the corner, we thought we’d forsake our aversion to the obvious and talk Champagne for a moment. Instinctively, we wince when speaking of Champagne under celebratory pretense; Champagne should be sipped not only on special occasions, but as often as possible – for dinner on a Tuesday, on a Sunday afternoon on the couch, at the beach to take the sting out of a sunburn.
That said, there is nothing wrong with drinking Champagne during the holidays. Think of your Christmas bubbles as the first step toward working Champagne into your regular drinking regimen. And while you’re getting started, you might as well drink excellent Champagne.
And while we’re on the topic of excellence… During the past year, St. Louis has seen a heartening influx of high-quality wine portfolios, making available wines that previously had to be purchased online (or not at all). One of the most recent additions to the St. Louis market is a selection of gorgeous wines from the Le Serbet portfolio, brought to this state by Pinnacle Imports. While Le Serbet specializes in Burgundy, they also have a particularly stunning cache of Champagne.
Three of our favorite Le Serbet Champagnes tasted come from two producers, Jose Dhondt’s Vielles Vignes Blanc de Blancs 2008, and Godmé’s Reserve Brut 1er Cru and Rose Brut Grand Cru. Both Dhondt and Godmé are growers, and the wines they produce are known as grower Champagne (often colloquially called “farmer fizz”). This necessitates a slight caveat.
Grower Champagne means the people who grow the grapes make the wine. They are present and active throughout the entire process, and consequently, the wine made is personal and diverse, expressing the land and the winemaker. With big houses that purchase massive quantities of grapes from myriad sources, production is entirely impersonal, and more often than not, this shows in the quality of the wine.
If you must have an excuse to drink Champagne, then the holiday season has arrived. And if you start with one of the wines below, you may soon start finding lots of excuses.
Jose Dhondt Vielles Vignes Blanc de Blanc 2008 A stunning wine opens with brioche and sandalwood notes that unfold into yellow fruit, green herb. and mineral. The palate is broad and deep with great intensity. Exceptionally long and complex, there is some real power here.
Godmé Rosé Brut Grand Cru NV
Strawberry and apple right up front. Notes of plum skin and apricot on the palate. Exceptional structure and backbone, with lots of high-toned Pinot Noir qualities, perhaps owing to a small percentage of this wine being made with Pinot Noir vinified still. An elegant tomboy, polished, powerful, and classy.
Godmé Brut Reserve 1er Cru NV
This wine drinks great right out of the gate. Hard apple and ginger notes on the nose are backed by baking spice and a hint of roasted hazelnut. The palate shows very good concentration, with spicy apple and pear wrapped around a sizzling spine of minerality.
This article appears in December 2013.