Eric Rodez Ambonnay Cuvee Des Grands Vintages NVProduct #13994 (In Stock)
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Color/Type Sparkling Country/State France Price $50 - $75 Producer Eric Rodez Region Champagne Varietal Other -
Eric learned to make Champagne as assistant winemaker at Krug, and the Krug style and influence is all clearly on display here (but, fortunately, not the Krug price tag!). This year, it’s a blend of 65% Pinot Noir and 35% Chardonnay, all grown by Eric in his family’s Grand Cru vineyards in Ambonnay. It’s a blend of base wines from up to 10 great Champagne vintages – including 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2003 – fermented in oak barrels (20% new) and given 8 years maturation in bottle on the lees. This release was disgorged in June 2012.
As always, this is a big-boned, powerful Champagne that’s fantastically complex and, thus, a little hard to describe. As English Master of Wine Jancis Robinson said of a past release, it’s “a deluxe, oak-aged, extremely complex, smouldering, intellectual, food-friendly blend of wines from all the best vintages of the last decade.” Tiny, persistent, bubbles rise up from this golden toned wine, with generous aromas of macadamia nuts, toffee, coffee, and toast jumping from the glass. In the mouth, it’s a full-bodied, powerful, wine that retains a clear sense of grace and complex flavors of raspberry, Asian pear, crisp apple, wildflower honey, acacia flower, and plenty of mineral. Delicious and brilliant.
