Champagne Aspasie: Always Number One in Our Hearts
K&L Champagne Buyer Gary Westby is ready for the holidays!
Happy holidays! We have a better-than-ever supply of great value Champagne in stock at K&L for you to enjoy with your friends and families over the coming months. This week, we’ll be posting articles on old favorites and new discoveries from our Champagne aisle. Below, you’ll find Scott Beckerley’s article on Champagne Aspasie, our very first direct import, and still one of our best. Coming up this week: Philip Roufail’s piece on perennial K&L customer favorite Billecart-Salmon and three articles from me on great values from new and old producers alike. I will introduce both Champagne Petiau, a wonderful new addition to our portfolio from the Mountain of Reims, and Cordoin Didierlaurent from the Marne Valley. I also feature two of our biggest inflation-busting producers, Baron Fuenté and Gilbert Jacquesson, both crafting entry-level Champagne at just $24.99… And the quality is excellent!
- Gary Westby, K&L Champagne Buyer
Scott Beckerley is our Champagne Specialist in San Francisco.
If my memory serves me correctly, we are approaching our 20th year since initiating our very successful small-estate Champagne import program, care of Gary Westby! It was an immediate hit, and to this day it still surprises me how well the wines beautifully balance high quality and extreme value. As many of our long-time customers know, the nonvintage bottling from Champagne Ariston Aspasie was our first direct import for this program. Paul Vincent Aristan and his wife Caroline have been with us from the start.
Their wonderful lineup features many choices—there is something to please everyone. Their entry level Ariston Aspasie "Réserve" Brut Champagne $34.99 for the 750ml; $16.99 for the 375ml is a lively blend of 40% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir, and 30% Pinot Meunier. It starts off clean, bright, and quite quickly fleshes out with round apple fruit, roasted nuts, and a light toastiness. Delicious and good enough for any occasion!
A bump up from that is the Ariston Aspasie "Brut Prestige" Champagne $39.99 for the 750ml and $84.99 for the 1.5L. This is a blend of 50% Chardonnay and 25% each of Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. The average vine age from the parcel of land that produces this wine is over 60 years old. The result is a darker and richer offering with flavors of dark cherry fruit, toasted nuts, yeast, light stone fruit,s and cream. This is main course champagne, folks! Serve it at dinner.
Speaking of creaminess, the Ariston Aspasie Blanc de Blancs Brut Champagne $39.99 for the 750ml; $16.99 for the 375ml; $84.99 for the 1.5L is just that. Plush, with lemon cream, golden apples, and a light undertone of that signature Ariston nuttiness.
Paul Vincent Ariston is the man behind some of our all-time favorite Champagne.
As always, Paul Vincent has also made a vintage Brut that is excellent. The 2012 Ariston Aspasie Brut Champagne $44.99 is from a renowned vintage that has been extremely popular with our customers. It is clean and toasty, all at once, with a zippy beginning that finishes with golden apple and dusty cherry fruit. A blend of one-third each of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier.
For something extremely unique, there is the Ariston Aspasie "Cépages d'Antan" Brut Champagne $99.99. This is a truly historic bottling and is perfect for you Champagne fanatics and super geeks! Composed of the ancient varietals of Petit Meslier (40%), Arbanne (40%), and Pinot Gris (20%), it is memorable and my flat-out favorite of the line. Exotic fruits are coupled with yeast and pine nuts on the nose. On the palate, it is rich and creamy with almond croissant, poached pear, and whipping cream flavors. Then, suddenly, there is a citrus and chalk that hits the tongue. Extremely complex and so very memorable.
The Ariston Aspasie "Brut de Fut" Champagne $59.99 is back to the classic 50% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Noir, and 25% Pinot Meunier blend. The difference here is that this bottling is barrel fermented (though not barrel-aged). There is a richness and oakiness to the palate, with golden apples, poached pears, and toasty oak. Like all the Aspasie offerings, it finishes clean.
Lastly, we have the perpetually popular Ariston Aspasie Brut Rosé Champagne $39.99 for the 750ml; $21.99 for the 375ml). Made entirely of red varietals (50% Pinot Noir and 50% Pinot Meunier), it is from old-vine fruit and yields a nicely rich and dry cherry and black raspberry fruit with a creamy and taut bead. It also has a clean mineral laden-finish that lingers and lingers. This bottling sells out very quickly, so do not wait too long to buy it!
Happy holidays!