Champagne sunday - 6/22

Bobo Sr.

My father wanted to celebrate his birthday with some steamed lobster and Burgundy, but it was Sunday and we had began with Champagne. Jacquart is one of the largest producers in Champagne, but most of the production is made into private labels for various retail chains. This cooperative, however, produces a solid range of wines under its own label and the Jacquart, Champagne, Brut, NV is a great value. The wine is full in flavor, yet retains some elegance.

My father is a member of Taittinger's CA outpost wine club, so we cracked open a Domaine Carneros, Le Reve, 2002. Le Reve is the Tete de Cuvee of Domaine Carneros and it shows
alot of elegance and class. This excellent wine is more fruit forward then the bottles produced by Taittinger in Champagne.



As my sister and wife polished off the sparkling wines, I pulled the cork on a Chateau de Pommard, Meursault, 2005. The wine smelled and tasted like Meursault, but flavors were very subtle. Not a bad wine, but not very good. Since I had been drinking alot of their wines this week, I brought along a Chandon de Briailles, Corton, Grand Cru, blanc, 2002. I tasted this wine when it was released a few years back, and I was underwhelmed by its lack of intensity. Recently, I tasted the 2005 and 2006 versions of this wine and loved the richness of fruit that both possessed. Once again, this wine did not show a lot of character. There was nothing wrong with the wine, it just did not show much personality. I would wait another 10 years before opening another bottle of the 2002 Corton and hope it develops more complexity.

After the lobster we munched on some cheese and my father opened up a Louis Jadot, Chambolle-Musingy, 1er Cru, Les Fuees, 1999. The color was slightly advanced, as were the flavors on the palate. I would blame the criticism on the fact the wine sat on retailers shelf for a couple of years. Otherwise, the wine was really nice. The nose was very fragrant and the wine was soft and elegant in the mouth. Not profound, but very good.

Happy Birthday Dad!