Grower Champagne

Grower Champagne accounts for a miniscule amount of the total Champagne production. They are true artisanal products made on a small scale by "growers". The wines have much more individual character than the "house" styles of the big names.

Aubry Champagne Brut 1er Cru..$39.99 "Light peach skin color. Cinnamon, poached pear, apple, honey and smoke on the pungent nose. Fleshy orchard fruit flavors are complicated by floral honey and candied ginger, with impressive back-end grip. Reminds me a lot of a wine from Krug. Finishes with very good grip and an echo of ginger."
Rated 92/100 Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar


Vilmart Grand Cellier Brut....$68.99 "The NV Brut Premier Cru Grand Cellier is beautiful. A gorgeous, crystalline wine, the Grand Cellier offers up peaches, smoke, minerals and subtle notes of oak that add complexity. An elegant, refreshing finish rounds out this exceptional and totally precise Champagne. The Grand Cellier is 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Noir from organically farmed vineyards in Rilly.......Proprietor Laurent Champs makes some of the most elegant, refined wines in Champagne. All of the wines are aged in oak ranging from large, neutral casks to small barriques, some of which are new for the top selections. Few producers have been able to find such impeccable balance using oak. A hint of Ramonet here, a suggestion of Leflaive there....simply put, these are majestic wines that no one who loves fine Champagne will want to be without."
Rated 90/100 The Wine Advocate


Gaston Chiquet Cuvee Reserve....$56.99 "Firm and yeasty, with toast and malt accents, this is a vinous style, showing nut, roasted grain and spice flavors, with woodsy notes. It's more about the fermentation and aging elements than the fruit. Fine length. Drink now through 2012. –BS"
Rated 92/100 The Wine Spectator



Pierre Peters Blanc de Blanc Brut....$52.99
Cuvee de Reserve Grand Cru Le Mesnil
"Generous, expansive and complex. Puts it all together with ripe fruit flavors, toasty, buttery nuances and a velvety texture."
Rated 90/100 The Wine Spectator


Pierre Gimonnet Crus 1er Cru.....$47.99
"Pale gold with a frothy mousse. Highly aromatic bouquet of tangerine, pear, minerals, sweet butter and lees; smells like a Puligny-Montrachet. Fine, focused and pure, offering spicy citrus and orchard fruit flavors and a strong mineral bite. The minerality gains strength on the finish, which is spicy and strikingly energetic. This pure, graceful Champagne would be perfect with oysters. All of Gimonnet's wines go through malolactic fermentation."
Rated 92/100 Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar





Jean Milan Blanc de Blanc Millenaire....$53.99
"Light yellow with a strong bead. Waxy citrus and pit fruit aromas are complemented by notes of white flowers and smoky minerals. Becomes more pungent with air, offering concentrated pear and nectarine flavors. The finish repeats the waxy note and lingers with very good grip, lift and smoky persistence."
Rated 90/100 Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar

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