Champagne José Michel - Moussy

[at the domaine with José Michel]

NV Brut Tradition - $29.99 [70% Pinot Meunier, 30% Chardonnay - a wonderful intro to the domaine]

NV Brut Rosé - $29.99 [this wine has the fortune of coming from equal parts of great base vintages, ’07 and ’08. Made from 50% Pinot Noir (10-15% of which is still juice) and 50% Meunier, this is the most beautiful and balanced Rosé we’ve tasted in some time. We’re continually reminded in tasting how hard it is to make a serious Rosé Champagne with so many misses and wines coming across as after-thoughts that are only put together to get $10 more for the color. Not at all here. A perfect tension between pretty wild strawberry fruits and underlying stony minerality.]

2005 Special Club - $44.99 [from equal parts Pinot Meunier (from a 70 year old parcel) and Chardonnay (from a 50 year old parcel). José has been part of the club since the ’76 vintage (it’s inaugural year was 1971) and has been a long standing grower and propenent of terroir based Champagnes. A wine for the cellar.]

2002 Brut Millesimé - $49.99 [while we love the up front charm of the 2002 vintage, this wine is built much more along the lines of the 1996 vintage – dramatic, cerebral, and a thrilling vinous experience. This is rich, blockbuster juice with a powerful interplay between wonderfully pure fruit and stunning acidity. This one is packed and built for the long-haul. This wine will age like the best tete-de-cuvées (a la Bollinger, Krug, etc.) and again at a fraction of the price this type of quality always demands. From 65% Chardonnay and 35% old-vine Meunier fruit, this shows how powerful the domaine’s Chardonnay can be as one moves outside of Cote de Blancs proper and into their village of Moussy. A thrilling wine to taste now and one that has left us with a distinct desire to stuff many more in our cellars as the evolution here will be slow and fantastic.]