Essi Avellan: Bright lemon-gold. Big nose of bold toffee and apple fruit, wax and oriental spices. Zesty, succulent palate, with great drive and linearity despite unapologetic, plush ripe fruit. Sweet, almost sugar-coated finish: not yet perfectly integrated dosage? Full of ambition and held-back power. Explosive and exuberant but not one of the most refined examples. The acidity is really mouthwatering and verging on tartness: not to everyone’s liking, I suspect. A fine, pencil-shavings finish. 18.5
Simon Field: Baking-powder nose, but with very small, impressively regimented bubbles. In the mouth, the dosage is domineering and overpowers any potential for harmonious integration. I’m not sure that time will help much in this instance. Having said that, a second tasting after a mere 10 minutes, reveals a certain Glasnost. 15.5
Tom Stevenson: Medium lemon color, with lovely toasty aromas and richness of fruit. The dosage seems substantial, but nicely integrated, not at all syrupy. Would love to taste this in 10 years’ time. 17 (30 months post disgorgement, tasted 2014; 12.5%; 8g/l dosage; 5mg/l total SO2)
Details
Wine expert | Simon Field Essi Avellan Tom Stevenson |
Tastings year | 2014 |
Region | Champagne |
Appellation | Champagne AOC |
Alfred Gratien

