Heatwave returns - GET SOME CORKS POPPIN!

Hi All!

Well… Another Tuesday mailout and another scorcher of a heatwave!? It’s like the two go hand-in-hand. Or is that the two go very well with glass in hand? Something crisp and refreshing to sip in the heat?

I do hope you are all having delightful summers. I’ve taken my foot of the gas a little with mailouts, mainly because of staff holidays, quiet days at the shop (while you are all away on much deserved breaks) and basically just wanted to wait for a legit reason to sound the vinous horn.

And, as a matter of fact, some lovely treasures just dropped in to my lap and I thought they might be just the thing for warm summers afternoons and evenings. We have to take advantage of this heat while we can, and the outdoor dining, shmoozing, drinking, socialising and so on.

Recent arrivals of Champagne seemed just the ticket, in order to crank up the fingers and get typing in your respective directions!

First up, after a short hiatus, I now have more of the below, the shop fav and value star find that is G4.2 – at only £40 a bottle if you haven’t tried this (and I think most of you now have) you need too. Like, don’t stop to think, just “BUY-BUY-BUY!” This is worth stashing a case of somewhere. Cheap as chips for the quality and will impress the novice to the hard-boiled aficionado.

Remy Lequeux-Mercier G4.2 NV £40.99 - A total bargain and star find. It’s unfair to other Champagnes just how good this is for the price. 65% Pinot Meunier and 35% Pinot Noir. 2012 base, disgorged April 2024. Loads of time on the lees and then additional bottle age post disgorgement. Deep golden appearance. Creamy buttery and nutty, caressing bubbles wrap around a highly textural and chalky core, with plenty of brioche and a striking salty and chalky zip and grip that makes the finish clean and mouthwatering. Low dosage of 3g. The natural ripeness and gentle caramel oxy notes from maturity are the perfect counterpoint to the laser-like cut of the wine. This is only a few quid more than house Champagne and yet is sophisticated enough to punch with the big boy’s multiple times the price.

Caillez Lemaire Jadis 2011 £64.99 – This, arguably the biggest selling Champagne of my career in terms of sheer volume sold and on a regular basis, by the bottle or by the case… It is a STAR. My precious. Now, the wine has moved on a vintage, now on the slightly more taught and tensile 2011 vintage. I didn’t think the 2010 could be improved and of course beauty is always in the eye of the beholder, however, I do prefer acidity, cut and tension in general, over open knit wines these days, so 2011 plays extremely well to my wants, likes and desires. This has all the mature notes of truffle, parmesan, oxidative nutty and bruised fruits, figs and pears covered in truffle honey, gunpowder and aromas of Caramac bars eaten in deep, dark chalky crayeres – but it has a wonderful focus and drive and lick of lemon sherbet on the finish, which suggests this will continue to evolve very nicely, growing in to its maturity, but keeping elegant and buoyant in the process. Like a retired 007 cutting a path in a speedboat along the French Riviera at dusk. If you knew and loved the 2010, please don’t be shy and try this at your soonest convenience, then grab yourself a case. As my one liner goes with Caillez Lemaire… “If you want to drink 2002 Dom Perignon for £65 instead £345, buy this!” This is a personal fav of mine and often popped at Chez Jim when Champagne is needed.

Bonnaire Cramant 2008 £135 – From the lauded 2008 vintage comes this Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs from one of my favourite GC Chardonnay villages, Cramant. The chardonnay from here is all about chalky minerality, extract and concentration. But it evolves beautifully, perhaps developing into some of the most hedonistic Chardonnays in Champagne. We are talking apricots, stone fruits, honey, toffee, hazelnuts – and in this case with time spent in bottle, coming from the vinotheque at Bonnaire, these library wines are just sensational, offering up a perfect example of mature Champagne. Just beginning to tilt into tertiary complexity, with burnt orange peel, baked fruits and a wonderful umami nose that is coated in white truffle, chanterelles, a hint of forest floor and smoky chalk exposed to sunlight on a warm day. This is a beast of a Champagne. Full bodied, rich, certainly gastronomic. This would be superb with a mustard chicken, skin on, lots of salt and seasoning, wild mushrooms and a white wine and cream sauce. A real contender for a Champagne to have WITH dinner, not before it. Or try with a mild fish curry, with coconut and almond in the sauce. Would sit well with a Tikka Masala or butter chicken. Would be incredible with Lobster.

Herbert & Co. 1000% Pinot Noir £96.99 – This is rather special stuff. So special in fact, that I didn’t even get to write about it last year, as it sold out in the UK almost immediately on release. Only a maximum of 1920 bottles are produced per year, so that’s not much for the world. Whilst this is not the untouchable epicness of say of Jacques Selosse (a magical producer/Champagne and one of great meaning in my life) there are some cross overs in terms of production. This wine is great in its own right. Subtle oxidative notes, use of 228Ltr Burgundy barrels, meticulous attention to detail, concentration and low intervention. All vinification takes place in oak barrels. In relatively small Burgundy barrels to be precise. This is made from the best Pinot Noir from around Premier Cru and Grand Cru villages parcels are taken from Rilly-La-Montagne, Ludes, Trois-Puits and Verzenay, Mailly. A standard 3 Years at least of lees ageing. The wines are broad, precise, intense and deep, whilst never coming across as heavy. I think whilst they can be enjoyed now, patience and cellaring a couple of bottles would make for ideal drinking experiences in the future. There’s a lot of concentration and bound up energy and potential. But I cannot urge you enough to experience these very special and unique Champagnes – especially for lovers of Ulysse Colin, Selosse and producers doing things a little bit differently in Champagne.

Domaine Vincey Le Grand Jardin 2020 £96.99 – Now, sometimes suppliers tell you you’re going to love a producer for the hard sell, and then other times, they just have your back and understand your pallet and can see you as a passionate, Champagne loving so-and-so who is always looking for the next rising star… I’m very pleased to say, that the recommendation to try some Vincey Champagnes was the correct recommendation. Having read a bit about each Cuvee, I selected the Lieu Dit Le Grand Jardin, as in terms of wine making on paper, it read like a Champagne I would enjoy and be intrigued by. Now, looking at a young vintage and a Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs, it did have me reaching for the Gaviscon – but this absolutely blew me away. The approachability and completeness for such a young wine was outstanding. It was an ode to poached pears and orchard fruits, blanketed in a creamy Meursault-esque polished oak cape. The references to white Burgundy grew and grew as the wine unfurled in the glass, given time in air and bottle. This really had a broad-shouldered White Burg with bubbles thing going on. I was so excited I could hardly put the glass down. I just wanted the experience of the almost juxtaposed tight, fresh verve of crunchy orchard fruits, citrus chalk and salt with the polished magnolia and vanilla pod cream, buttered pastry and strudel over and over again . At points I thought I had discovered a liquid version of a less confected Mr. Kipling’s Apple and Custard tart! This is very pure and deftly balanced by the wonderful oak barrels and doesn’t deserve to drink so well so young, but it does. I am told that this producer is about to become the stuff of legend and to buy while one still can as it’s probable that these wines will vanish in the not too distant. You don’t need to tell me twice! Serious, excellent and highly unique stuff here.

Some of the above are already very limited in terms of volume. However, I will be getting more. Just waiting for a new shipment to arrive from France. I will be buying more of each wine, but please do get in touch soon if anything is of interest if only so I know what kind of volumes to grab on my next order.

Cheers me dears!

Best

Jim