Bridget Meagher

9.0

Lovely, soft tannins, ripe fruit 2019 — 16 days ago

J Matt Nickels

9.5

Fantastic out of a magnum. Brie & water cracker and bubbles! — 2 months ago

Severn Goodwin

9.3

2020 | Champagne
(100% Pinot Noir)
Antoine Bouvet; Les Monts de la Vallée
Extra Brut-Blanc de Noirs
Vallée de la Marne; Avenay Val D’Or & Mareuil Sur Ay, France
Disgorged 16 March 2023
(92-94; Drink 2026-36) — a year ago

Patricia Schnitzer

9.0

Dec 2023. Vertical w/ 2010 vintage. Should have tasted this on first! 2010 is outstanding (probably at least partially due to the age) this 2016 is very good. Black fruit, chocolate, tobacco. Classic left bank Bordeaux. Excellent QpR ay $29/bottle. Have several more so can enjoy as it ages. — a year ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

I’ve started to enjoy Marc Herbrart Champagne’s in the last six months. There are just over 20,000 grower producers in Champagne…hard to try them all in many lifetimes. Basically, impossible. I picked up some of his 2019 Blanc de Noirs today on Last Bubbles for $79…used a coupon and got the free ship. I bought two of these at Costco last weekend for $56.99. Had a glass at the end of last Friday night w/ friends. Enjoyed it, but wanted to taste it and write notes with a clean palate.

This lives up to that price point and slightly exceeds it. 91.5 rounding up to 92.

The nose has a sour Lemonhead candy quality (that’s a 1st time wine descriptor for me), white stone fruits-peach, nectarine, lime zest, cream, honeydew, brioche, saline, chalk, sea fossils, ginger, hues of ginger ale, white Spring flowers with greens.

The palate shows nice mousse…crisp. It leans into reductive but flashes some oxidative quality. White stone fruits-peach, nectarine, Meyer lemon, lime zest, lychees, Rainer cherries, some apple cider, bruised Bosc pear, cream, honeydew, pineapple juice, brioche, some caramel saline, gritty chalk-limestone-volcanics minerals, sea fossils, white spice-ginger with some palate punch, ginger ale notes, jasmine, white Spring flowers with greens with a well balanced, knitted, polished and elegant finish that lands dead smack on minerality and lasts two-minutes.

One thing I have been meaning to bring into the light with a post on Champagnes in general but haven’t yet is, I studied the hell out of French Wine Winemaking Laws. Perhaps, the strictest or at least one of the most restrictive in the world…growing, labeling, certain varietals for certain wines. Basically 3 grapes are primarily used in Champagne but 7 are allowed; Pinot Noir, Chardonnay & Pinot Meunier are the primary ones and Arbane, Petit Meslier, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris are the ancillary ones. 5 grapes only in Bordeaux blends and you cannot irrigate there either. You get what the season gives you. Having said all that, there seems to be some allowed leeway in Champagne labeling…Extra Brut, Brut and Demi-Sec etc.. Nature is 0 to 3g, Extra Brut is 3 to 6g and Brut is 6-9g etc. This Marc Herbrart is 5.5g, which technically makes it Extra Brut. Yet it’s labeled Brut. I see this all the time. I regularly see champagnes labeled Brut that are 10-11g or more. So, if you care about the sweetness level of your Champagne, you should probably read up on the champagne you’re about to buy. Given how strict French Wine Laws are, I find this a little baffling.

This Marc Hebrart received its cork March 2, 2023 and as I mentioned, its dosage is 5.5g.

Photos of; Champagne House-Marc Herbrart, the man himself-Marc Herbrart, perfect vineyard Chardonnay grapes & vista of their vineyard(s). What rows!!! — 6 days ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

2008 doesn’t disappoint. My other bottles will lay down for another 5 years plus.

It is fresh, lush, rich with great o2. The flavors burst onto the palate. Bruised apple, Bosc pear, ginger ale to ginger, cream soda, cream, lemon, lime, orange citrus, biscuit, yeasty, limestone, chalk, saline, baguette crust, yellow & white florals, the acidity is outstanding. The finish is well balanced, structured, big structure and lasts two-minutes.

Pictures of my October visit Philipponnat. Pano from their Clos de Goisses of the beautiful Cote de Blancs, upward look at their Clos de Goisses, Clos de Goisses signage as you walk up to that vineyard and their cellar.

Really good w/ Himalaya Pink Salt Popcorn!!! — 2 years ago

Peter van den Besselaar

8.9

NV | Aperitive and paired with duck liver | at Reddende Engel Antwerpen — a month ago

Jeroen Koenen

9.2

Deg. 14-11-2023 — 3 months ago

Graham

9.1

Opened and had a small glass. Closed with good seal and glass on second night was noticeably better. — a year ago

Brecht Spileers

9.5

Praying this will still be available at a reasonable price in a few years. Fantastic. 1/500 bottles. — a year ago