A Whole New World: Virtual Champagne Tasting
One of the bedrocks of K&L is staff education—it’s the reason you can walk into any store and pepper us with questions, and we’ll say to you: “Bring it on.” We take pride in our highly trained staff, and one of the ways we achieve this is with weekly deep-dive staff tastings, where the expert in the region leads the staff through up to 30 wines in the category. For years, this was a deeply embedded tradition, but, since Covid, we’ve popped nary a cork together in the name of staff education.
Until today, that is. Thanks to technology, we were able to convene and do a virtual tasting, led by our Champagne Guru, Gary Westby. This is particularly special since staff from all three locations were able to taste at the same time—something that’s never happened before. As we’ve all learned during this pandemic, sometimes technology actually does bring us closer.
To kick it off, Gary dug into the core producers in our Champagne program.
He started with Ariston Aspasie "Réserve" Brut ($34.99). If you’ve been drinking our Champagne for awhile, no doubt you’re familiar with this bottle. It’s at the very heart of our program. Champagne Aspasie, grown and produced by the Ariston family, is our very oldest Champagne Direct Import. It’s grown in Brouillet, one of the northernmost regions, and it is one of the most balanced, well-rounded Champagnes on the shelves, especially for the price tag. The blend is 40% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Meunier, and 30% Pinot Noir, representing the three major grapes in the region. It sees 5 years of aging on its lees.
In the glass, it’s a gorgeous golden color, opening up to aromas of apples and freshly baked brioche. It’s a beautifully balanced wine. The acidity is so bright. The fruit on the palate is sweet like baked apple and spice. It’s full and vibrant with nice acidity and a touch of nuttiness. It’s a lot of Champagne for the price.
But then again, a lot of Champagne for the price is one of the things we do best, and Launois is a producer that typifies this. Another of our long-term Direct Imports, and 100-percent our best-selling Champagne producer of all time. Why? An elegant, creamy style and an exceptionally friendly price tag. Launois is the largest grower-producer in Champagne, and their fruit comes mostly from Mesnil, the single most expensive village in the region, with the remainder from Oger and Cramant. Today we tasted the Launois "Cuvée Réservée" Grand Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs ($34.99). It’s a light lemony color in the glass and shows fresh stone fruit and a touch of fennel on the nose, with tangerine zest as you move to the palate. The bubbles are delicate and the acidity is sparkly.
We moved on to the Egrot (Elisabeth Goutorbe) Brut ($34.99), which, in many ways, occupies the opposite side of the spectrum from Launois but is absolutely no less delicious. It is full and vivacious, with breadth and lively bubbles. Notes of ripe cherries and hazelnuts and pie crust. Grown in Aÿ, which is south-facing and known for a luscious style. The cepage is 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay. An amazing factor of this wine is how long they age on the lees—10 years! If you like a celebratory, full-bodied wine, go for this! It’s so delicious.
Next up was the 2014 Michel Arnould "Memoire de Vignes" Brut ($69.99). We have the 2013 in stock and will be getting the 2014 shortly (Gary says it’s on a slow boat, but it’s coming!). Gary wanted to show us the 2014 because the vintage is is relatively cool and classic, compared to the riper, warmer vintages that have come since. This means the acidity is laser-like and will keep this wine for a long time in the cellar. It’s grown in Verzenay, the northernmost of the Grand Crus, facing north—which may seem counterintuitive in a cold climate like Champagne, but Michel Arnould definitely makes it work. There’s fresh minerality and so much complexity: stone fruit, orange zest, Grand Marnier, spice, licorice, and then linear acidity leading to the finish.
We’ve been carrying Billecart-Salmon nearly since we opened our doors and believe in the wines whole-heartedly. We tasted the 2007 Billecart-Salmon "Cuvée Nicolas François Billecart" Brut ($129.99), coming from a roller coaster vintage of very hot then very cool weather. But wow! There’s mega acid here and a lot of bubbles. It pulls off a gorgeous combination of elegance and complexity. There’s nice weight on the palate and a long, linear finish. This used to be $180, but Gary worked his magic and got it down to our current price.
The 2002 vintage was excellent, and the 2002 Billecart-Salmon "Cuvée Nicolas François Billecart" Brut ($189.99) was full and long and aromatic. Notes of honey, shortbread, and lemon blossoms and a delicate bead all buoy on a long throughline of acidity. This, too, had a higher price ($200) until Gary worked his magic.
I’m thrilled to be able to taste again as a staff, and Gary’s presentation reminded me how much I love his Champagne program. If you haven’t been down the Champagne aisle in awhile, it’s a great time to take a stroll there—no celebration needed! Any of these bottles would make a day special.