Back from Seattle and a visitor from France…

Two weeks ago I got a window of time to escape up the Pacific north west. Luckily my girlfriend and I missed the snowstorm by one day, but that didnt mean that the snow was gone.

Need less to say it was cold, we were bundled up like burritos from Lucky Boy. We were in Seattle to visit Fatcork.com. They had visited us a few months ago to do a little tasting at POP, so I figured I should return the favor. That tasting was on Monday, however, and this was Sunday. With our scarves and our appetites armed, we headed out in search of some of the good seafood I heard Seattle was known for. First stop was a wine shop at Pike and Western, they specialize in small producers. And I heard they had a certain fondness for champagne. They did.

This was rich with notes of butterscotch and bruised gala apples. Much more mineral driven than I was expecting. Clean and vibrant with a long finish. Got better and better with more time in the glass. Perfect with the crab cocktail!

Picked up this nice little bottle you cant get in California and headed over to a local joint for crab, oysters, and salmon. We watched the 49ers game, ate, and drank.

The next day we did some sight seeing. Space needle (it was a sunny day!)

Fish market…

Even found some competition…

Then finally made it to Fatcork.com!

Just before we left to Seattle, I found out that my friend Peter (who owns Monopole wine shop next to the playhouse) was going to be in Seattle as well. I invited him and he met us there. We walked in and were greeted by the always kind Abby and Bryan. Chatted for a while and got to tasting…

Tasted some really good wines and had some fun discussions. Here are some quick tasting notes….

2002 Jean Baillette-Proudhomme – Clean and crisp. Reminds me of a livelier version of the J. Charpentier that we carry. The nose shows its pinot origins with red fruits and on the palate the chardonnay takes over and really delivers some class. This is a very good wine. Not a juicy wine but very good and dry. This leans more towards the dried fruit spectrum, specifically dried stone fruits. Its a 2002, and it shows it. High degree of polish to this.

Alexandre Lenique Rose – This was awesome. Had my nose in this the entire time. A clean, crisp, and racy rosé. Dried fruits and spice on the nose and palate. Acidity and minerality poke out in the mid palate and bring it home with a nice tight precise finish. I swear I was tasting some blood orange in this, but maybe it was just me. Maybe some tangerine too? Loved the freshness to this rosé. I could drink lots of this if it was around. *this is not available on their site.

Grongnet Brut Tradition – This was a shocker. For a NV brut, one expects more freshness than anything with a touch of that bready/yeasty character. This was the exact opposite. This tasted like it was a fully mature vintage wine, but it was just an NV! Beautiful roundness to this, and with a long finish. Fresh and creamy, this really over performs for the price. An awesome wine to bust out when you are ready to step things up.

Pascal Redon Cuvée de Hordon – A faint moist yeastiness in the nose behind a wall of sweet soft apple aromas. This has the longest finish of all the wines. The texture is sublime, this is classy and elegant. Super soft and ethereal on the palate, almost like drinking a cloud. Everything in balance in this, and everything in reserve. Rich caramel notes intermingled with soft apples, minerals, and acidity. No hard edges to this wine at all. This was made to show off. Awesome.

Didier Ducos 2004 – This is a monster. A real bully. Firm up front with giant apple and berry flavors. Releasing to a long finish where the touch of chardonnay shows finesse and elegance. This has a distinct waxiness on the finish which makes it fun to pair with some foods. Perhaps a little skin maceration to this? It DID have a pretty deep golden color. A good way to end the flight. Shows what powerful means in the champagne region.

After the tasting we took a trip over to a town called Ballard where we went to a restaurant called The Walrus and the Carpenter. Yum! See for yourself..

Anchovy tartine. I already know this is going to be in the top 3 best things I ate in 2012.

Olympia and Blue Pool oysters.

Bag of oysters

After I got back from Seattle it was time to get ready for a special tasting of Stéphane Coquillette champagnes. As a special guest, Diane Coquillette came to POP and poured her fathers champagnes while explaining the details of each one.

Tasting lineup

All of the wines were showing wonderfully. I especially liked the Blanc de Noir and the Rosé, but I had a soft spot for the Cuvée Diane and the Cart dOr. But who could live with out the 2006 Brut? SIgh, I guess I liked them all! Anyway, a big thank you to Jennifer who helped us get Diane to POP, and Diane herself who charmed the pants off of everyone who came her way. We are grateful to be working with real people who make real wine.

Stay tuned for another visitor in March (fingers crossed).

Rafael Sanchez
Sommelier
POP Champagne

Religious experiences…

Happy 2012!!

I have never really been very religious at all but sometimes I wonder…

I was lucky enough to get my hands on a few bottles of the 2002 Paul Bara Special Club. I opened a bottle last night and spent some time with it and now I am revisiting it again. I am not sure that this qualifies as a genuine religious experience but I couldn’t help but reminisce on my Philosophy of Religion class in college. The moment I tasted this wine I was quite shocked at the quality of the wine and after decanting it I was deeply moved by how much it had changed for the better. I am left wondering how a wine can be this good (not to compare the two wines but I had the same sort of moment when I tasted the 2002 Jacquesson Vauzelle Terme). I thought I had enough variety of champagnes to be aware of the potential heights it can achieve, but I was wrong. I can’t help but wonder what kind of being turns grapes in a marginal climate into this f*%$#*& awesome wine. Pardon my french. Was it some special super powers? Was it the ability to turn water into wine? Or maybe it’s the ability to control the weather like in Captain Planet?

Seriously though, this wine is pretty damn good. Aromas of red apple skins and chalk jump out of the glass the more you time you give it. The faintest hints of dough and yeast in the background. The nose is much more precise than any other Paul Bara champagne that i’ve had, except maybe for the 2004 Special Club Rosé. What a wine THAT was! Once the nectar hits your palate you get that signature rich fruitiness that Bouzy brings, supple red fruits glide over your palate. This finishes different though. The lengthy finish becomes much more mineral driven than I expected. Resulting in a very elegant experience. Now I am really wondering what kind of ‘thing’ can make this. Is Bouzy heaven on earth? Is that the terrestrial office of some otherworldly being and is it behind champagne Paul Bara????

One of my resources for champagne is champagneguide.net by Peter Liem. A well respected, experienced wine writer who lives and focuses on Champagne. I go to his website to find out more about this wine and what do I see? I see the being that made this wonderfully elegant but supple wine. Her name is Chantale Bara.

 

I felt very relieved to find this wines humble beginnings. I knew who made it the whole time, but I couldn’t believe it. It was unbelievable to me that a mortal can do this. But, there you have it. My religious experience (however short it was) led me to its creator. Thank you Chantale!

Rafael Sanchez
Sommelier
POP Champagne Bar

ps. Only a few bottles of this left at POP. First come, first served.

The next level… Geekazoid 5000.

What the hell is this guy talking about, you might be asking yourself. Well, for a long time I have been frustrated with the inequity between Champagne and other wine regions of the world such as Burgundy, Barolo, Bordeaux, etc… It seems as though it is very easy to order a champagne at a restaurant simply by saying the word “champagne” to your waiter or sommelier that evening. But, I don’t drink wine… why should I care about any of this, you might say to yourself. Ok, fine. Say you wanted a beer… do you simply say “beer” or do you specify a style, ask for a pairing, or even ask for a specific producer? Chances are you have your favorite few beers by now because you have gone to Lucky Baldwins (RIP David Farmworth, it’s because of you I love Chimay!), Quadrupel, or been to a brewery. I digress… Some people who dine frequently request wines from certain vintages and from particular plots of land, why not the same for champagne? The To Kalon vineyard in Napa is super famous, can you name a single vineyard in Champagne?

When speaking of champagne, for the most part, we are talking about a bubbly wine from France that has some acidity and yeastiness. This is true for most of the Grand Marques, these wines taste the same every year in spite of the differences in climate. Weird! I grow chili peppers outside of my apartment, and this year I had a very little peppers. I think it’s because of the weather this year, it wasn’t all that hot really except for a little spell in August. The previous two years I have lived here the average summer temp was higher and I got way more peppers. One thing I noticed however is that the peppers this year actually TASTE better. Definitely not as spicy, but they had more flavor. Another thing I noticed is that if I picked them when it was cold out, they were spicier than if I picked them in the middle of the afternoon. Cool! These are important in cultivating grapes for wine too. So I had two plentiful years, then one better tasting but small crop (we like low yields in the name of better flavor!). If I had a champagne house and I carried over the analogy, then this year would have been a vintage year for me and the first two would have been great years for base wines because I got some good peppers in large amounts. So, if you bought my wines that were based on the first two vintages you may prefer one to the other, but chances are that once my third vintage was released you would LOVE it. Super concentrated without being over the top and with bracing acidity (yes that’s how I describe the current pepper vintage for the Hermon AOC). Just to confuse the matter some more… when last spring was rolling around I planted some peppers at my moms house in her garden. Turns out, that these peppers are both SPICY and FULL OF FLAVOR. Grand Cru peppers! Her garden is a better place to grow peppers than mine, she gets more sun and she is out there everyday doing whatever she can to keep them growing. She’s got better terroir and is way more hands on than I am.

So what’s the point? Basically, this is my commitment to the wines of Champagne. I want to focus on the nuances of the region itself, and that means more wines sourced from smaller plots, and less wines sourced from all over. I have never really felt as comfortable in the region or myself to be able to point out differences from a Blanc de Blanc sourced from Cramant and a Blanc de Blanc from Ay or even Cellers-Sur-Ource. But now I do. These three places are different, so their wines will be different. That’s the fun! Who wants the same wine everyday anyway? Not me, I will always choose something I have never had over something I have (unless there is some strong recommendation against the unknown wine, but even then I want to find out for myself!).

I know the names of some of the villages seem foreign to you, but at one point in your life so were the words Napa Valley, Carneros, Rutherford, or even Lager, Ale, hops…. or how about Foie Gras, Hors d’oeuvres, Eggs Benedict… even Hola, Bonjour, and Konichiwa. Give it some time, give us a chance. It won’t be easy, but it’ll be fun.

I hope you guys like the wines you try at POP. Please let me know what you think!

Rafael Sanchez
Sommelier
POP Champagne Bar

In the moment between crisis and catastrophe…

… we might as well have a glass of champagne.

So, last month has been full of ups and downs. At POP we had tons of events planned that required lots of attention, and my life outside of POP also went through some changes. I think now is a good time to catch you up on the recent happenings and let you know what to expect in the next few months.

Boy oh boy was October full of champagne. Tons of trade tastings and wine events, then the Los Angeles Food and Wine Festival happened (if you didn’t go this year, you don’t know what you missed! It was a food and wine play ground for adults!), then Regis Camus came to POP, and finally Champagne Day and a 1920s party.

I’ll make my first blog back short and sweet and just tell you what champagnes really stuck out this last month. Hopefully we’ll be getting them in at POP soon!

Michel Loriot

Michel Loriot provided some of the most memorable sips this last month. This producer focuses on the Pinot Meunier grape. No one really messes with this grape all that much, but after speaking with many people in the trade I am starting to think that they just don’t want to let their secret out. If you google Pinot Meunier and read up on it, you’ll find an accepted perception that this grape is less noble than Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. This is simply not true. Michel Loriot is not the only producer who takes this grape seriously, but he is definitely one of the best ones you can find in this country. Flavors of baking spices and dried fruits jump out of the glass, and an almost gritty texture on the palate. My personal favorite of this lineup was his Blanc de Noir which was 100% Pinot Meunier, but I ended up really really enjoying his 2005 brut which is 70% Pinot Meunier and 30% Chardonnay. I have to admit that this particular blend is completely intoxicating in an exotic way. Not only is Pinot Meunier delicious on it’s own, but when you add a layer of precision, finesse, and class (which is what the Chardonnay brings) then it really becomes something more than just delicious. This wine is now available at POP.

Chantal Gonet is our twitter friend! @champchantal. Her wines kick butt too. High levels of finesse and purity.

This champagne is just plain good. I get a good feeling when meeting a winemaker who has a brother who makes his own really good champagne, and a father who owns vineyards and the mother who can cook up a storm. I don’t know why but it inspires confidence in the buyer/taster knowing that the whole family is committed to making good champagne. These wines are from the village of Le Mesnil Sur Oger which is Chardonnay country for sure. I think these wines are special because they are affordable very good interpretations of what kind of wines this Grand Cru village can produce. I don’t drink enough Gonet, I need to change that.

Chantal has a brother who married into another Champagne family. They make a Champagne called Gonet-Medeville, we carry it at POP!

 

Vilmart Champagnes are MONSTERS.

The Monday after the LA Food and Wine fest there was an industry tasting. Not just ANY industry tasting, this is the most anticipated tasting all year, for me anyways. Terry Theise is a pioneer of grower champagne in the United States. He brought peoples attention to the genre and has made a name for himself and the champagnes that he brings in to the country. The entire portfolio is stellar, it’s like an all star lineup of champagnes. The smallest producer that he carries is Vilmart. This is a unique champagne house because their wines go through a heavy oak barrel regiment and they produce very small quantities. These wines are big wines, they are atypical champagnes really. Where a champagne usually has finesse, clarity, and elegance, these wines are burly, round, rich, but still have the finesse, clarity and elegance! I’ve been lucky enough to have older vintages of their prestige bottling and what an unforgettable experience! The best part of trying these is knowing that you may not ever see them again until the next years tasting. Taste buds and senses kick into “game 7″ mode when you get to this table. Really incredible wines, the vintage wines are spectacular.

Best table at the tasting goes to A. Margaine. The wines were unreal!

A. Margaine champagnes and I have had a long relationship. This was one of the first grower champagnes I tried that really made me go whoa! The concept of a Non Vintage brut isn’t the same for the small houses as it is for the big houses. What do I mean? Big houses have tons and tons of reserve wines in order to blend into the wines to achieve the sameness every year in their NV brut. This is not a bad thing. Bollinger, Krug, and Charles Heidsieck each have a great NV brut and their keeping it the same year is part of the “brand” image they have to uphold. With smaller houses, they rely on a base vintage for the Non Vintage brut. In short, there is more chance of a different flavor and structure profile from year to year. (This is why there has been a call for producers to label their bottles with base vintages, disgorgement dates, and lot numbers.) At this tasting, the A. Margaine wines have never tasted this good. They were incredibly precise, with an intense raciness underneath the beautiful fruit. The rose is the best i’ve ever tried from them and the special club was absolutely superb. It was a real treat to see Arnould Margaine again after over a year since the New Orleans Champagne Conference, his wines were great then but this new batch of his wines, I think, are the best he’s ever made (at least since i’ve been trying them).

Grand Cru bubblies

The bottles on the left are from Pierre Peters. The one with the gold flowers on the side is the Les Chetillon 2004. This is a single vineyard, single varietal, vintage champagne. I have had the pleasure of trying this wine in ever vintage back to 1999. This wine is so good that every time I try it, I start to think of ways to get as much of it as I can. There’s never enough, however. This stuff is gone before you know it and all you have is the memory (and what a memory, this wine lasts for minutes!). Anyway, hopefully we can get a few bottles of this for POP. If not, it’s ok… I still have one bottle of the 2000 in my cellar. =)

They were pretty much giving away all the Krug you can drink at the after party... they even gave me one to finish on the elevator ride down to the lobby.

Oh Krug. I was lucky enough to be a part of the team of sommeliers that worked at the Los Angeles Food and Wine festival a few weeks back. What an experience. I have never been surrounded by so much talent, superstar chefs and superstar sommeliers met over a weekend and threw down, hardcore! During the day I was helping pour wines and as a local som, I also was the driver to a few events. Car full of out of town soms, we drove to Manhattan Beach and Santa Monica for events. Call time was at 8 am most days and we weren’t done until 11 pm. Long days! The silver lining (not like we needed one, there was phenomenal food and wine within arms reach everywhere we went) was the kind gesture of renting a rooftop in downtown Los Angeles for the official after party for the soms, chefs, VIPS, and celebs. The party ran every night from 12am to 5am, and it was sick! Fully stocked bar, dance floor, hookah lounge, fire pit, a chef on hand at all times, and never ending champagne. The first night it was all the Billecart-Salmon you could drink, the second night it was all the Louis Roederer you could drink, and the last night was all the Krug you could drink. Needless to say that with a full army of trained soms, the champagne didn’t stand a chance! But really this portion of the blog was to talk about how darn good that Krug is. The wednesday before LAFW, I was invited to the Krug house in Bel Air where they showered everyone in Krug with the finest of hors d’oeuvres. That couples with the never ending Krug at the after party reminded me why this champagne is what it is and costs what it costs. Simply put, it’s that good. They have crazy old reserve wines that they use to make a rich, layered, decadent, champagne. It’s worth the money. Maybe i’m just saying that because I had too much of it recently, but I’ve purchased Krug before without hesitation and am looking to the next chance I get to have some.

Then to top it all off…

Regis Camus, winemaker of Piper and Charles Heidseick came to POP! We had 20 guests enjoy a tutored tasting of his Piper Heidsieck wines. What a night! Piper will never taste the same again! We had a great turnout and the wines were stunning! The 2004 vintage brut and the 2002 Rare were off the charts! Not to mention the Cuvee Sublime (demi-sec). A memorable experience that we will try to duplicate with other champagne houses. This was a once in a life time experience that I am glad we got to share with some of our guests at POP. A big thank you to the Heidsieck team! The 2002 Rare is a KILLER wine.

Rafael Sanchez
Sommelier
POP Champagne Bar

I’m not getting lazy, just been busy… More pictures.

Some more pictures of the last few days since the last blog post…

Great Biodynamic Champagnes, the '98 was particularly big this evening.

One of the first Biodynamic producers.

The Comtes is always good! Did you know that Tattinger sources most of the Chardonnay for it from La Chetillon? Pierre Peters makes a stunning wine purely sourced from that vineyard.

The Moet table.

Never heard of this Champagne house. Nice bubbles for the money. The '04 is the heat!

I might get in trouble for this, but the '99 Louise was great! Always super precise.

One of the biggest producers in Champagne.

'04 Cristal might be the best Cristal I've tasted upon release. Usually I would wait a while to drink it, but this is just so good now!

This was the biggest surprise of the night. I remember these wines being a bit clumsy a few years back. I have actually been trying to avoid them, but on this night they were absolutely delicious! The '02 Rose is the BOMB!

Michel Loriot!

Pinot Meunier master. The entire lineup is off the charts good.

This was an interesting table, two hot shots back to back.

Always a treat to taste Salon, even more so when a new vintage is just released!

The Goutorbe family knows what's up.

In the background is Elisabeth Goutorbe, I met her brother, Etienne, at a tasting last week and I met their mother, Nicole, last year in New Orleans. A true Champagne family!

Mumm de Cramant was the winner here.

Henriot is always good. The '98 was kickin! and the Enchanteleurs is pretty darn good too!

Chantal Gonet is our twitter friend! @champchantal. Her wines kick butt too. High levels of finesse and purity.

Chantal has a brother who married into another Champagne family. They make a Champagne called Gonet-Medeville, we carry it at POP!

The '99 was BIG. And the rose was GOOD.

Always good. The brut is dependable and the 2000 sings.

The ’02 Grande Annee was waaaayyyy to big to be drinking now. Needs ten+ to be ready. Put it away! Bollinger Rose, however, is sexy stuff.

Really good stuff. The winemaker is half spanish and likes Barca F.C.!

So it’s been busy around POP lately. I will get back to the blogging soon enough. With the holidays just around the corner, this time of year is always chalk full of trade tastings in anticipation for New Years. This past Monday we had the pleasure of receiving Regis Camus, Chef de Cave for Piper and Charles Heidsieck, at POP for a tasting of the Piper Champagnes. What a treat that was! Pics and write up to come.

Thank you to those that came to the tasting and thank you to Regis and the rest of the team for taking time out of their busy schedule to visit us.

Looking forward to the next visit already!

Rafael Sanchez
Sommelier
POP Champagne and Dessert Bar

Sorry for not updating the blog… been out on the town, the pictorial.

These out perform Champagnes at 2-3 times their price. Insanely sick.

This is how you are welcomed to the 'Krug House'

This made me LOL in front of people in suits...

Krug House...

Not a bad view...

General Manager of the Krug and his staff. Talking Krug.

These were cool... Hungarian bubbles.

Los Angeles Food and Wine Fest. The VIP booth had a seemingly endless amount of Cristal.

At the Pins, Pigs, and Pinot event at Lucky Strike. TONS of pinot...

Lunch at the MB Post. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Top notch restaurant with real deal wines and serious attention to detail.

Botrytised Late Harvest Riesling with some dessert...

Left to right: Sommelier Carl Grubbs, Sommelier Ryan Fletter, Chef Lincoln Carson, MB Post Chef David Lefevre, POP Sommelier Rafael Sanchez, Chef Casey Thompson

Starting the fire pit for the clam bake!Unearthing the clams after they have been in the bake for over an hour!

 

Opened this at the rooftop after party for Chefs, Soms, and VIPS...

They were pretty much giving away all the Krug you can drink at the after party... they even gave me one to finish on the elevator ride down to the lobby.

Capped the weekend off with the most anticipated tasting of the year. Terry Theise selections...

1er Cru bubbles

Grand Cru bubblies

The Special Club was very tasty.

These were nice.

Blanc de Blanc Heaven

Etienne Goutorbe from Champagne Goutorbe

Chiquet!

Aubry Champagnes are some of my favorites.

Best table at the tasting goes to A. Margaine. The wines were unreal!

Billiot bubbles are something to be reckoned with.

Best releases of Geofrey I have tasted.

Chartogne Taillet. An 81 pt village that kicks grand cru ass.

Lallament and Pehu!

Vilmart Champagnes are MONSTERS.

So I apologize for not updating sooner… I’ve been a bit busy.

Rafael Sanchez
Sommelier
POP Champagne Bar

2nd day in the bay. Enter Andre Beaufort and Billecart….

So, after a kick ass day in Oakland I stumbled out of bed and my good friend Martin and myself moseyed over to Jardiniere in the city to attend the North Berkeley Imports tasting. This was an added bonus for me, as my intention on going to the bay was the Jacquesson tasting the day before. I got the scoop that they were going to be pouring the Andre Beaufort Rose Champagne. I was very excited to taste this as I had only read about it and never actually seen a bottle. It is made in small quantities and is expensive. This producer is suppose to be the best in the village of Ambonnay, 100% biodynamic estate grown grand cru vineyards.

We walked into the venue and grabbed our glasses, scoped out the tables full of opened bottles (noticed that it was a “pour yourself” format) and went straight for the Champagne. We poured ourselves a taste as I explained why I was stoked to try this, gave it a sniff, swirl and sip. Instantly I realized that the two main branches of Champagne, negociants and growers, need to coexist together. There is no way someone who is used to drinking Champagnes from Louis Roederer, Charles Heidsick, Veuve, Deutz, and other big houses would like this rose (well, maybe… but it’s very different). The Andre Beaufort is a Champagne that rewards you the more time you spend with it. One quick sip is not enough, nor is two, maybe three, preferably four or more. It’s a burly rose, aromas of christmas fruit cake, cranberries, dust, and those lovely mineral notes jump out of the glass. The color is vivid and a shade closer to red from pink. The palate is big. Here is where the difference between a big house and grower was most apparent. In a big house you get more layers, complexity, and balance due to blending across a variety of years (finesse, if you will). Grower Champagne offers something else, this something else will by some be considered less sophisticated or less complex. They offer brutal honesty. This Champagne was raw and strong, offering a full body that is full of flavor. Strong notes of cranberries, raspberries and blood oranges unfold to a very long finish and an ever changing mid palate. Each sip is different from the previous, slowly you realize that it’s going to take you some time to get this wine. This NEEDS your time. 

I loved this rose. It made me question certain things I thought I knew about roses, Champagne and the village of Ambonnay. It made me feel awkward and happy at the same time. Weird, I know. It knocked me out of my comfort zone, it messed with me. After one of my swirling and sniffing sessions with the Champagne the wine rep who invited me came over and said hello. He asked me what I was doing in San Francisco, why I didn’t just go to the same tasting that was going to be in Los Angeles two days later. I told him I came for a Champagne tasting. He asked if it was the Billecart-Salmon tasting later that day to which I answered “no, I didnt know there was a Billecart-Salmon tasting today,” he said “Ya. It’s at Alexanders Steakhouse, they are pouring the entire line.” I said thank you, shook his hand and we were on our way.

Martin and myself walked over to the next tasting. The contrast could not be more perfect between Grand Marque Champagne and grower Champagne. We got to the Billecart tasting and went to work. These wines were very elegant and non threatening. The NV Brut and Rose are both fantastic wines. They are very pretty wines with no hard edges and tons of finesse. The extra bruts were a bit too dry for me and all of the vintage Champagnes showed pure class and reminded everyone in the room what Billecart-Salmon was all about. These are the Champagnes that reinforce the images of kings, tuxedos, and sophistication. There is nothing wrong with this at all, just that the Beaufort didn’t do what these Champagnes did and vice versa.

Just something to think about I suppose. I would never turn down the Billecart Clos Saint Hilaire, Cuvee Elisabeth Rose, regular brut or non vintage rose. That would just be crazy. I would also never turn down the Beaufort Rose, it’s just too good! Moral of the story? Drink all the rose you can.

Rafael Sanchez
Sommelier
POP Champagne Bar

Tasting Champagne in Oakland…

So I am sitting here at Ben & Nicks on College avenue down the street from A Cote, where I just attended an awesome Champagne tasting. It was intimate (no more than 10 people), it was a lively crowd (I only saw one person spit), and it was one of the best focused tastings I had ever been to. The tasting was presented by Champagne Jacquesson in conjunction with their distributor V59. Here was the line up…

Jacquesson Cuvee 733
Jacquesson Cuvee 734
Jacquesson Cuvee 735

2002 Jacquesson Corne Bautray, Dizy – Single Vineyard 100% Chardonnay. 16 bottles for the west coast
2002 Jacquesson Champs Cain, Avize – Single Vineyard 100% Chardonnay. 20 bottles for the west coast
2002 Jacquesson Vauzelle Terme, Ay – Single Vineyard 100% Pinot Noir. 8 bottles for the west coast

The Rose was not tasted.

Jacquesson is cool for many reasons. First, they do not follow the usual formula for Champagne and try to make their non-vintage blend taste the same year in and year out. They respect the differences of each vintage and try to make the best wine they can every year, regardless of continuity of style (still there is a Jacquesson fingerprint in all the wines). Second, they are the cousins to a POP favorite, Champagne Gaston Chiquet! Thirdly, they openly praise the big houses for paving the way towards making Champagne as a whole an international brand.

Before I get to the wines I feel like I should mention that these wines did not have much time to get some air and I wish they did. They were served cold, not chilled. So the tasting, for me, took more time as I had to warm up the glass and aerate the wine a bit more than usual. THIS WAS TOO BAD! CLEARLY THEY WERE OF HIGH QUALITY BASE MATERIAL, BUT THE TEMP DID NOT HELP THEM SHOW THEIR BEST.

Jacquesson Cuvee 733 – This wine showed the most maturity of the 7-series wines. Based on the 2005 vintage, it had light notes of richness. Some caramel, yeast, and dough. What is most impressive about the Jacquesson is the tendency to have impeccable balance and elegance. They are always different, but they are always good and interesting too. I liked this the best of the non vintage wines. Fresh yet maturing wonderfully.

Jacquesson Cuvee 734 – I am not convinced with this bottling. The first time I tasted this wine sometime last year it blew me away. A year ago I was using words like “incredible,” “wow,” “super rich and delicious like swimming in gala apple puree.” Notes from this tasting are a little less than enthusiastic, it felt a little disjointed and out of balance. The nose had hints of oak barrel and stuck out like a sore thumb. The palate fell short and dried out. Still, the wine was actually not all that bad. It definitely doesn’t “suck,” but compared to the other wines on the table today it was the weakest link.

Jacquesson Cuvee 735 – This wine is yet to be released. Expect to see it on the market sometime in the beginning of next year. This wine is youthful and vibrant. Very energetic and a bit wild at the moment. Once this settles down, it will be a beauty! I liked this wine a lot, drinking every drop. Showing those typical characteristics of a Chardonnay driven wine in spades… minerals, juicy green apples, white flowers. Oh man, I can’t wait to get this and put this in my cellar and forget about it. The 733 was the best today, but I think this will beat it in the long run.

Now to the big boys…

At the highest point of Dizy

2002 Jacquesson Corne Bautray, Dizy – Single Vineyard 100% Chardonnay. 16 bottles for the west coast – This is a Champagne made from a very small parcel at the top of a hill in Dizy. The Chiquet brothers decided to make this and the next two Champagnes their tete de cuvees. This was explosive on the nose and palate. There was a lot going on in this wine, but the best part of it is that each of the aromas and flavors played off of each other. Nothing was competing, but rather everything slowly unfolded. A very light bodied wine, but full of flavor. The palate was super clean and precise. Showing flavors of world class Chardonnay and finishing for minutes.

2002 Jacquesson Champs Cain, Avize – Single Vineyard 100% Chardonnay. 20 bottles for the west coast – This was another pure Chardonnay wine but totally different. This is from Avize, a well known village for Chardonnay. I have always associated “lofty minerality” with Avize. This has it all day long! Imagine the chalky flavors from the Cote des Blanc, now imagine them as they slowly dissipate through out the palate from beginning to the end and just linger at the top of your palate. They also seem to be less severe and more “puffy” than other villages. Incredible wine. This was bone dry and it almost hurt. A very delicious wine no doubt.

2002 Jacquesson Vauzelle Terme, Ay – Single Vineyard 100% Pinot Noir. 8 bottles for the west coast – Winner winner, chicken dinner! This is the bomb. The color lets you know it isn’t messing around. It had the golden color of a good apple juice. The nose was extremely forward on this. Gorgeous aromas of red apples (it actually smells better than a real apple!) and minerals. I miss this, I really do. The palate was explosive too, brimming with flavor. Minerals, super decadent red apple flavors, and a very very long finish. Wow. The finish was intense too, gripping minerality and apple skin tannins! A powerful wine for sure, not for the faint at heart. But definitely worth seeking out and drinking. Favorite wine of the day.

I ended up purchasing one bottle of the Corne Bautray and one bottle of the Vauzelle Terme for POP. They will be here by the end of the week. It’s all I could afford at the moment, these aren’t cheap!

Tomorrow is another tasting in the City. Looking forward to watching the Oakland Raiders play tonight, IN Oakland. Boo ya.

Rafael Sanchez
Sommelier
POP Champagne Bar

Fatcork.com visits POP… the recap.

Awesome night.

Tonight was the perfect mix of new friends, old friends, great Champagne, and even better weather! This morning I drove up from San Diego where it was 60 and raining and got to L.A. and it was 102. Sorry, but I love it when it’s this hot. Anyway, after spending a wonderful day with my girlfriend in San Diego I came to POP ready to meet and taste with Bryan and Abby Maletis from Fatcork.com.

After working at POP for a few years I have noticed that a few things really influence the traffic to the restaurant. They are 1. Lakers Playoffs, 2. Rain, 3. Extreme heat. Today was a good example of #3. Super hot and dry, and you can feel it in the breeze. Good thing I had a Champagne tasting to look forward to today!

Susie running through the flight before her pick up soccer game. Bryan and Abby manning the station.

Finally I get to work and get things rolling… things start off smooth, then 6:15 rolls around. I get a phone call from Bryan and he tells me that he is on the 10 Frwy at the La Brea exit… and it’s 6:15! Oh man, I told him he would be fine but I knew that drive at that time and it was no fun. I wished a speedy arrival and hung up. 7:02 came around and Bryan walks into the door and immediately recognizes his station and chills his bottles. Right behind him our first guests arrive and look more eager than me to taste some Champagnes. We get things set up and Bam! tasting is on!

Bryan and Abby were awesome with our guests, answering questions and directing them through the flight of Champagnes form their company. Everyone was happy. After about an hour after they got there I finally got a glass and tasted the Champagnes.

The only picture I took of one of the bottles. Turned out we were a bit busy!

First up was the Alexandre Lenique Cuvee Excellence Brut from Pierry (shout out to Peter Wasserman for importing another great Champagne from this village, Bruno Gobillard). Oh man this was exactly what the doctor ordered on a hot day. Super crisp, fresh, and with vibrant fruit flavors reminiscent of eating blueberries about an hour after you brushed your teeth. Are those skin tannins I taste? Maybe just a little bit. I can draw some conclusions about this village now that I have tasted two “RM’s” from this village (NOTE: The Alexandre Lenique is technically an NM, but… he buys the grapes in small quantities from his uncle. So, since he “keeps it in the family” I consider him an RM.) Almost like a dried crystallized blueberry flavor comes through, not sure if that’s it… but definitely something dry and fruity at the same time (think the blue sweetart). Not only is the wine top class and ready to Win, Place, or Show at your next wine-off, but the label design is so cool that it will make you want to redesign your place at Design Within Reach. Ha! Awesome wine, period.

Next up was the Didier Ducous Brut. This was from a village I have never heard of, but I feel like at some point last year I may have had this. This is 80% Pinot Meunier and 20% Chardonnay and is very “round.” The texture to this really sticks out and tells me that it is more than just an aperitif wine, I want this with the clarified butter that comes with the lobster, with the crab cakes from Sinbads in San Francisco, even perhaps some crab enchiladas when they are available. Nice acidity, but it’s the weight to this that I like. Not a flashy Champagne, but very confident with a puffed out chest. A medium+ body, and very delicious. Think dried granny smith apples, with a chalk dust and a yeasty finish. This is not for everyone, but for those who like something more than just a “regular” Champagne, you will love this. This is big boy Champagne.

The third Champagne was the Pascal Redon Diaphane Blanc de Blanc. Wow. Just when you think you have it all figured out, someone brings you a Blanc de Blanc from Pinot Noir country (NOTE: I had the same feeling when I had the Blanc de Blanc d’Ay at the Bubble Lounge last week in San Francisco. Ay is known for Pinot! Why are they growing Chardonnay! Because it’s tasty juice! That’s why.) I didn’t really get to spend a lot of time with this one but I did come away with the feeling that it was a very high quality bubbly. The Pascal Brut that I had tried in an earlier blog blew my socks off, but this was a different style (Much more feminine where the Brut was masculine.) This is something that I love with small production Champagne. They have finite resources and they must manage them to the best of their abilities. Sometimes there is a proper order to their line of wines (Brut is ok, Vintage is better, Tete de Cuvee is best), but sometimes there is a mix up, and it turns out that the Brut is better than the Vintage, or even the Tete de Cuvee! Not to scare you or anything, but I think that the “bang for buck” award goes to the Pascal Brut. The Diaphane wine was a very high quality wine, but for my personal enjoyment (I like wines with finesse, class, balance, and a touch of emotion) I think I prefer the brut. I do like the soft texture and almost cloud-like body. But just for the record, I didn’t get to really get into this one as much as the others.

The bonus round Champagne was the 1999 Gronget Special Club. This was a BEAST! A big oxidized style that is a force to be reckoned with. Right away you can tell that this wine is not a push over. This will actually kick YOUR ass. BIG notes of nuts, caramel, almost madeira at times. The palate is as dry as it can get, but with hints of caramel and spice to go with the food metaphors. The palate explodes with the tension from being 12 years in a bottle (that’s like being kissed for the first time when your 22, and liking it). This is the hardest Champagne to get along with from Fatcork.com so far. BUT, I love it. I like this style, I like the abuse, I like to get my ass kicked from time to time. I wouldn’t pour this for everyone, but for those that I would pour it for… I know they would love it. I told Abby and Bryan that this is the kind of wine I imagine an old french man drinking on a leather chair in front of a fire place while reading a book.

All of the wines showed wonderfully tonight. The care that they take in getting the Champagnes to you is second to none. THIS IS THE BEST COMPANY TO BUY CHAMPAGNE FROM BECAUSE THEY CARE ABOUT HOW IT GETS TO YOU. No other online retailer will insulate and add chill packs to your Champagne. You didn’t know this, but there is a good chance that most of the Champagne you have had up until now has not been in the best conditions. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but it’s the truth.  Back to the event…

Post pouring refreshments.

Post event drinking included the 2004 Vazart-Coquart Special Club Blanc de Blanc, Laherte Freres Les Beaudiers Pinot Meunier Rose a la Saignee, Bereche Brut Rose, and from home I brought my only bottle of 2005 Bouchard Pinot Blanc Champagne… but it was corked!

A big thank you to fatcork.com for making the trip out to sunny and hot Los Angeles. A big thank you to those that made it out to the tasting. A wonderful warm Los Angeles night filled with great Champagne and good friends.

Rafael Sanchez
Sommelier
POP Champagne Bar

POP guests sipping on some Champagnes at the event. (Hi Peter and Sandra!)

Fat Cork pt. 6, Francis Cossy Premier Cru Brut

I can’t believe this is the last of the half case we ordered. I wish these moments never ended. This Champagne comes from a village that has some serious street cred, Jouy-les-Reims. This is the home to one of my favorite producers that uses the “other” varietals of Champagne, Aubry. All of their wines show some serious savoriness and I don’t think this will be much different. Already from the color you can tell that it is at least a middle weight. The wines have been poured into the three glasses and ten minutes has passed.

The last Champagne from fatcork.com, for now!

The nose is cocoa powder and apples, with a dust of chalk. (I know that tasting note is common in these blogs, but it is the sign of a good terroir driven Champagne when you get those characteristics. Stick your nose into a glass of a big house Champagne and you won’t get those same notes.) Hints of a sea breeze come forward with some air. The palate is clean, crisp, and very smooth. No hard edges to this, reminds me a bit like the Pascal, only a bit fruitier and firmer. A very delicate mousse welcomes you and opens up nicely to some tangerines and a creamy texture. This unfolds very nicely to a lengthy mineral driven finish.

This is nice! I could see this doing very well at one of our brunches. This perked me up, not going to lie. I have been at POP for about ten hours so far and this is really hitting the spot. With a bit more time and swirling the wine opens up to some developed flavors of blood oranges and a light autolytic character (kind of like “dough” or yeastiness). I can’t help think that this “tastes like Champagne.” (Disclaimer: This is NOT a bad thing, rather it shows that this wine has a high degree of likeability. Some Champagnes are too severe one way or another to be enjoyed by most people, those wines are recommended for wine geeks. This on the other hand will please the wine geek, but also be welcomed by anyone who crosses it’s path. And I HIGHLY suggest you meet this as soon as you can.)

The last sips are even better than the first. This is seriously dry. Medium bodied and very aristocratic Champagne. I feel like I drank this too fast, I should re taste this later to check my work. ;-)

Just as I thought, this wine opened up and got even more generous with two hours of being in the fridge. I would have loved to taste it tomorrow but there is none left! Robert, one of our bartenders, absolutely loved the wine so much that it didn’t last very long at the bar with his backing.

This rounds out the six Champagnes ordered from fatcork.com. I must say that I was very surprised by the quality of the wines. Doing what I do, I get to taste a whole bunch of sparkling wines made in “small production” that are “artisan” and rare. For most of them, that’s all they have going for them. But these really do stand above the rest. There was a definite trend of personality and style in these wines that makes you wonder why you don’t drink Champagne more often.

I can’t wait to try more of the fatcork.com wines on Tuesday when they come to visit us at POP! Bryan and Abby will be pouring three Champagnes in a flight for $10. Each Champagne will represent a different region of Champagne and will offer unique perspectives on this fascinating wine. See you then!

Rafael Sanchez
Sommelier
POP Champagne Bar

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