|
|
Delamotte Champagne Blanc De Blanc 1999
|
| |
|
|
Disgorged in 2007 to allow the legendary Salon Chardonnay grapes time to brood, the last vintage of last century is a testament to all that is great about French Champagne. Initial reviews were cautious, but since 2009 this wine has really started turning heads. Good until 2015 at least.
“92 points. Pretty notes of smoke, mint, licorice and peaches emerge from the 1999 Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru. This medium-bodied, refined Chardonnay possesses notable complexity in its layered, refined personality. Here, too, the wine offers superb length and finesse." - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate.
"Pale yellow with a strong bead. Peach skin, buttered pear and musky herbs and lees on the nose. Deep, buttery orchard and pit fruit flavors are underscored by racy minerality and pick up an exotic floral note with air. Finishes with very good length and echoes of smoke and pear. This is drinking well right now." - Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, Nov/Dec 2009
Delamotte is the alter ego, if you like, of Salon, that rare bird of the Cote des Blancs. The company does have 11 ha of its own vines (in Le Mesnil, Oger, and Avize) and makes a number of its own purchases, but it also inherits all of the Salon wine not required by Salon- which, in years when Salon doesn’t declare, means the entire harvest.
Like Salon, it is owned by Laurent-Perrier; indeed it was at Delamotte that the great Bernard de Nonancourt began his career after his distinguished war years (at the time, Delamotte was a larger house than Laurent-Perrier). The fresh, smoky non-vintage Brut is 50% Chardonnay from Mesnil, Avize, and Oger, plus 30% Grand Cru Pinot Noir from Ambonnay and Bouzy; it lies on its lees for three years. The non-vintage Blanc de Blancs was in 2002, 30% 1996 with 70% 1997, giving a wine of powdery, sweet-blossom purity but also palate-slicing acid levels; the 1995 vintage Blanc de Blancs has had six years ageing, by contrast, and this (plus the riper vintage) gives a fuller, more statuesque style. In theory, Delamotte undergoes malolactic fermentation whereas Salon does not, which implies that the eventual destiny of all raw materials is swiftly decided after malolactic fermentation.
- Andrew Jefford –The New France
|
| Don't Pay: $150
|
WBW Rating: 95/100
Closure: Cork & Wire
Region: Champagne, France |
Winemaker: Michel Faucounnet
Drink now until: 2016
|
Tell a friend
|
Customers who bought this product also bought |
|
|
|
|
|
|
