News

News

February 22 2024 

SO MUCH CHAMPAGNE NEWS
Kaaren Palmer’s February-March 2024 Newsletter

From Stockholm to Reims, and then to Australia, then of course ‘BEST BUYS’ and so much more news from the world of Champagne…click here to read Kaaren Palmer’s December newsletter.

December 5 2023

THE CHRISTMAS BEST BUYS ISSUE
Kaaren Palmer’s December Newsletter

Everyone wants Champagne for Christmas and New Year, the best buys at your fingertips and news from Champagne…click here to read Kaaren Palmer’s December newsletter.
October 14 2023

THE HARVEST ISSUE – Kaaren Palmer’s September – October Newsletter

The harvest issue and much more including top buys for vintage Champagne…click here to read Kaaren Palmer’s September – October newsletter.
July 26 2023

CHAMPAGNE NEWS JULY – AUGUST 2023

 

Always a lot happening in the world of Champagne…click here to read Kaaren Palmer’s July – August newsletter. The world’s most favourite Champagne houses and this month’s best buys.

June 26 2023

CHAMPAGNE STUDIES

Interested in studying champagne click here to see the currently available study options.
April 2023

GREETINGS FROM CHAMPAGNE

It’s a cool, fairly dry Spring in Champagne, which is why we’ve had to be happy for a bit of drizzle in Reims. Overnight, it’s been very cold, with temperatures as low as -6 deg C in the vineyards. As the vines have started to bud, this could be dangerous, but low winds and high humidity have probably prevented serious trouble.

Meanwhile in Reims, we’ve enjoyed special treats at Le Crypto (delicious bistro food and a 10+ page champagne list) now deservedly included in the Michelin Guide.

Also in Reims, there are some cool names for some of the new bars….. read on

February 23,  2023

YOUR INTERMITTENT
CHAMPAGNE NEWS

As the year rolls over, and my birthday arrives, it’s time to review the drinking window of the champagnes now residing in their city wine room. No more trips to the cellar in the Adelaide Hills! At great expense to the management, our wine room is set at twelve degrees, but the argon-filled double glazing helps. What a handsome room it is, and how naughtily tempting to have it so close! Also no cellar stairs …….read on
January 16 2023
Champagne News January 2023
Champagne in South America As promised, a quick report from Peru, Argentina and Chile, where champagne is relatively hard to find except in the gastronomically top places – and it’s expensive. LVMH has good coverage at Lima’s famous Central Restaurante, and Astrid y Gastonwith Moët, Veuve Clicquot, Ruinart, Krug et al, enlivened at Central by a Serge Mathieu Blanc de Noirs by the glass and an older vintage of Pierre Péters Les Chétillons for hundreds of dollars. Disappointing though it was for the champagne lover, there were plenty of excellent local South American offerings in still wines. At Astrid y Gaston, we got lucky with a Louis Roederer 243, which somehow manages to be both rich and refreshing. Champagne was hard to find in Buenos Aires, …….read on
November 14 2022

Occasional Champagne News November 2022
Will there be much champagne in South America?? Well, I’m about to find out what some of the very best restaurants in South America have to offer – besides exceptional food. Expect in a month or two to hear about Central (number 2 on the San Pellegrino list) and Astrid y Gaston in Lima, Boragó in Santiago, and Chila in Buenos Aires. Expecting to also eat and drink rather well on the Seven Seas Mariner as it cruises from Callao (Port of Lima), down the coast to Cape Horn, and up to Buenos Aires.
Regular news and some ‘best buys’ are posted monthly on my website kaaren-palmer-champagne.com
Meanwhile, herewith some of the best and newest news from Champagne…….read on

10 October 2022

Here we are again, after some firm pushing from those who want more frequent news.

  • The harvest was wildly successful – ripe and plentiful, with good acidity. Beginning on the 22nd August, it was also one of the earliest harvests. With potential alcohol averaging more than 10%, the acidity is also good. Reserves that were depleted in last year’s poor harvest, will be rebuilt. When sales dropped during the pandemic, the Comité Champagne restricted the amount picked from the good harvest of 2020. But 2021 saw a huge rebound in sales, and since then, sales have improved a further 9%. This year’s picking allowance, therefore, tries to keep abreast of demand. Even our own (South) Australian Winetitles Media remarks on the beauty and abundance of the harvest click here to read more and, for a lyrical report from Deutz click here – plus a little video may be found here. Enough Said!
  • The size of the harvest in forthcoming years may be affected by new spacing rules for vines in Champagne. The rationale behind the change is that it’ll be more environmentally friendly, but as you can imagine, the move is not without its critics read more.
  • France Today has given us a piece on Champagne, which I’m including, as the recommendations are different to the usual run-of-the-mill……read more. If you’re travelling soon, find more at Haute Living.
  • Exciting news from Champagne Louis Roederer, many of whose champagnes are consumed far too early (in my opinion). Who knows if we’ll see them in Australia, but champagnes from the 1990s (late release 1990, 1995, 1996, 12997, 1999) were officially launched in Japan, along with the rosé and Brut Nature version 243!
  • Meanwhile, expect good things when we see Lanson 2012 arrive on our shores read more.
  • The Drinks Business reports on their top prestige cuvées and top vintage releases. It’s worth remembering that when these competitions are judged, not every Maison has submitted champagne for every competition. There are many wine shows, and many judging panels. It’s important, in my view, to find a judging panel whose tastes are akin to yours. Not saying that I disagree with the the Drinks Business’ results, but I tend to follow champagnesparklingwwc.co.uk because the judges are in Champagne so often, write about champagne for prestigious journals such as the The World of Fine Wine – and in the case of Essi Avellan and Tom Stephenson, they are champagne specialists.
  • Finally, our own Ken Gargett shows his love for the noble fizz as he luxuriates at a private dinner read more. Sigh!
5th of September 2022
In the middle of a wonderful, bountiful hot, dry, Summer harvest in Champagne read reports from Wine Industry advisor and La Champagne de Sophie Claeys.

The merest hint of Spring promised around Tuesday for South Australians, here are some news items for your pleasure.

  • The Thiénot family, familiar to the wine fraternity as the ones who collaborate with Penfolds, are investing a significant amount in refurbishing an almost derelict building in the heart of Reims not too far from the Town Hall and just off the Place du Forum. It’s at 3 rue du Marc. Works won’t be finished until 2025. Take a stroll past if you’re in the vicinity, and peek at the handsome facade.
    More details for readers of French  here
  • Patrick Scmitt MW (The Drinks Business) has put together a list of his favourite blanc de blancs champagnes. Clear glass bottles (beware of light taint) are a predominant feature, so make sure that your bottles are stored in a dark place away from light to ensure that the contents remain delicious. Find the list here
  • People often ask me about vintages in Champagne, with reference to the base wines which form the major part of each NV champagne, or the wines selected to be vintaged in a particular year. The Drinks Business provides us with a good rundown of the last eleven years here
  • Few of us will ever be treated to a Krug vertical tasting of the extent which Finnish champagne specialist, Essi Avellan MW, participated in thanks to a generous Swedish collector. But the report is worth a read, just to let your imagination get to work. Thanks, Essi, click here for a great report.
    Club Oenologique’s scoring system is also worth a look.
posted 9 February, 2020

Great news from
Gourmand World Cookbook Awards

Last year we had a big event in March in Paris at UNESCO .This year we are going June 3-7, 2020 to the Louvre estate.with 9000 m2 to celebrate the Best of the 25 years of the Gourmand Awards with exhibitions and conferences. Your 2016 book Champagne is in the Gourmand Awards Best of the past 25 Years at Paris Cookbook Fair in Louvre-Tuileries It represents Australia in category W1-5 French Wine Book Best wishes Edouard Cointreau

Best of the past 25 Years
category FRENCH WINE

Australia – Champagne, Kaaren Palmer (2016)
Brazil – Bordeaux e seus Grandes Crus Classes, Leonardo Liperone Baruki (2017)
China – Les Vins d’ histoire, les vingt a boire, He Nong, Preface Michel Bettane (Lijiang 2012 ) 9787540757588
France – De la vigne au vin, Pays de La Loire, Thierry Pelloquet (Revue 303 des Pays de La Loire 2015)
Netherlands – Champagne,Gert Crum (2017)
UK – Languedoc Roussillon, Paul Strang (2018)

To read the full list click here.

9th September, 2019

Sincere condolences to his family and his colleagues at Lanson follow the untimely death in a street accident of Philippe Fémel, the Director General of both Tsarine and Chanoine Frères.

The Drinks Business reports on the harvest in Champagne – reduced yields, good Pinot Noir. Read here

Where to drink champagne in Sydney according to the Good Food Guide: Bennelong in the Sydney Opera House, Fred’s in Paddington, Restaurant Hubert in the CBD, The Dolphin in Surrey Hills, Monopole in Potts Point.  And where else?

Ash Street Cellar
1 Ash Street
Sydney New South Wales 2000
t +61 2 9240 3000
www.merivale.com/ivy/ashstreetcellar
and its playmate Little Felix at 2a Ash St., – champagne from the magnum

The Bentley Restaurant and Bar
27 O’Connell St, Sydney (corner Pitt and Hunter)
t +61 2 8214 0505
www.thebentley.com.au

Bistro Moncur
116a Queen Street
Woollahra
t +61 2 9327 9713
www.onemoncur.com.au

Café Sydney
Sydney Customs House, 31 Alfred Street
Sydney
t +61 2 9251 8683
www.cafesydney.com

DeVine 
32 Market Street
cnr Clarence and Market Street
Sydney
t +61 2 9262 6906
www.devinefoodandwine.com.au

Fix Wine Bar 
111 Elizabeth Street
Sydney
t +61 2 9232 2767
www.fixwine.com.au

Glass Brasserie
488 George Street
Sydney
t +61 2 9265 6068
www.glassbrasserie.com.au

Hemmesphere
Establishment Hotel

Level 4, 252 George Street
Sydney
t +61 2 9240 3040
www.merivale.com
Check out the range of Merivale venues from their website. They include Fred’s (see above).

Icebergs
1 Notts Avenue
Bondi Beach New South Wales 2026
t+61 2 9365 9000
w www.idrb.com

Love, Tilly Devine
91 Crown Lane
Darlinghurst New South Wales 2000
t +61 2 9326 9297
www.lovetillydevine.com

AND, Sara Underdown adds, don’t forget the wonderful champagne bar at the Sofitel. Read Sara’s suggestions here.

Posted 31st August, 2019
Which marvellous champagne was served to all the leaders at the G7 summit? None other than Deutz’ 2010 Blanc de Noirs, Hommage à William Deutz.
 
Love strikes Le Figaro with a taste of Champagne Apollonis Brut Patrimony, a Meunier-dominant Brut from Michel Loriot. Serenaded with sweet music from its incarnation to bottling and ageing, the delightful Loriot family produce a range of champagnes from their property in Festigny on the Marne’s south bank. Australian enquiries should be directed to Nigel Frawley at Footprint Wines.
 
Posted 25th August 2019
 
Harvest is almost upon us. Watch Jiles Halling’s video of a typical first day just south-west of Épernay here
 
Champagne Deutz is one of my favourite houses since winemaker Michel Davesne arrived some years ago. Read Champagne luminary, Michael Edwards’, latest update on the Glass of Bubbly site here
 
Champagne Masters Asian results are available on The Drinks Business’ site here
The aforementioned Deutz’ Amour de Deutz collected the only Masters Award of the tasting. Gold medals were awarded to Canard-Duchêne on two counts – for the Charles VII Blanc de Noirs NV, and Cuvée V 2010. Champagne Palmer’s Blanc de Blancs and Deutz’ Amour de Deutz Rosé also won Gold.
 
Anne Krebiehl MW discusses the latest Krug releases, in particular the 167th multi-vintage, with charmingly earnest young gun winemaker, Jérôme Jacoillot, in The Buyer online mag here
 
Mary Ross MS (Master Sommelier) reports on the most widely distributed champagne in the world – Moët & Chandon. 2019 is the 50th anniversary of Moët’s Brut Imperial, the most popular champagne in the world. Read about it and the othger current offering’s from this famous old house here
 
Wine Enthusiast waxes enthusiastic in its Beginner’s Guide to Champagne, a succinct article on the process, the grapes, and the difference between vintage and non-vintage. Read here and find answers to your unanswered questions in Champagne – A Tasting Journey, advertised on this page. P.S. The amount of sugar added to a brut champagne is between 6 and 12 grams per litre (g/L).
 
Updated 10th June, 2019

Leaving Jacquart at the end of the month, my friend and chef de cave, Florian Eznack. While very sad to see her go, I can imagine how difficult it must have been to draw the grapes required  from the four co-operatives which own it in common. Each co-op is trying to forge its own strong identity – why should they give up their best fruit for a common cause. Nevertheless, Floriane has achieved much acclaim for her champagne since she began there. Her beauty and style, while much admired, belied the steely intelligence behind that facade. We’ve all been seduced by the vintage work – we’re currently drinking the delicious blanc de blancs 2009 – and the freshness and grace of the Jacquart Rosé. Not to mention Cuvée Alpha, the prestige offering. So, until the last harvest, 2018, you can buy in good faith. And we all wish you well on life’s crazy journey, Mlle. Eznack.

In Paris for 12th June? Le Figaro offers you their summer champagne soirée for 37 euros. Book here. On offer: Bollinger, Castelnau, Cattier, Drappier, Lanson, Joseph Perrier, Laurent-Perrier, Moutard, Mumm, Perrier-Jouet, Philipponnat, Pol Roger, Ruinart, Taittinger, Thienot, Veuve Clicquot plus cheeses  as only France can do.

Posted 1st June 2019

Decanter World Wine Awards 2019

Just announced, and the Best in Show champagnes are (fanfare, please) 2004 Charles Heidsieck Blanc de Millénaires Blanc de Blancs Brut 98 points, 2004 De St-Gall Orpale Blanc de Blancs Brut Grand Cru 97 points, 2008 Piper-Heidsieck Rare Rosé Brut. More results, please click on the link above.

Dominique Demarville is leaving Veuve Clicquot for the family House of Laurent-Perrier! Read all about it The Drinks Business

 
Posted 27 March, 2018

Bollinger has now released its Grande Année 2004 RD, and ‘bold and brilliant’ it is, according to Anna Krebiehl, reports in The Buyer http://www.the-buyer.net/tasting/wine/krebiehl-new-bold-bollinger-2004/
Ms. Krebiehl’s very interesting article reports on the effect of time on lees post secondary fermentation, and the effects of different dosages.

The Top 5 Champagne Groups of 2017, as reported in the French press

  1. LVMH comprises champagne brands Dom Pérignon, Ruinart, Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Mercier and Krug, plus many other luxury goods businesses.
  2. Pernod-Ricard comprises champagne brands Mumm and Perrier-Jouët plus businesses involving many other wines and spirits.
  3. Vranken Pommery comprises brands Vranken, Pommery, Heidsieck Monopole and Charles Lafitte besides many other wine interests outside Champagne.
  4. Lanson-BCC is 100% concentrated on champagne production with brands Lanson, Besserat de Bellefon, Boizel, de Venoge, Alexandre Bonnet, Chanoine Frères, and Philipponnat,
  5. Laurent-Perrier specialises in its own brand of champagne.

Kaaren Palmer’s Champagne News

Posted 17 March, 2018…please click here

Around the Houses

Billecart-Salmon has won a significant victory in the French courts against the below-cost online sales of its champagnes. The House, which is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year, had appealed to the Commercial Court of Bordeaux, complaining of acts of unfair competition from the online sales company Cdiscount (Casino Group).
The online sales company was accused having sold products ‘at abnormally low prices, in a commercial environment contrary to the high-end image of the house,’ reports La Revue de Vin de France of last 9 February. In order to stop ‘these unfair techniques’, the champagne house obtained permission from the commercial court for access to Casino Group’s ‘documents and invoices to identify the suppliers’.
The Bordeaux Court of Appeal confirmed the merits of the order of the President of the Commercial Court and, in January 2017, the Court of Cassation validated the judgment of the Court of Appeal of Bordeaux of June 29, 2016. In addition, Billecart-Salmon’s products were ‘sold in areas unrelated to the field of wines and spirits; they were offered in a devaluing way, without their original packaging and reconditioned in an inappropriate packaging’, according to the judgment.
The champagne company has been fighting for many years to protect the quality and upscale positioning of its champagnes and will continue to defend its interests every time they are breached, stated CEO François Roland-Billecart , in the plaintiff’s press release.

Piper-Heidsieck will be served at the 2018 Oscars. And sister House, Charles Heidsieck has released the fourth Blanc de Millénaires – 2004. The other years were 1985, 1990 and 1995. The discerning Anna Kriebehl MW reports on the House’s director, Stephen Leroux’s, visit to London for the launch. So reports The Buyer, and I can’t wait to try the champagne, as I loved the last vintage, the 1995, so very much that I still have a few last bottles in the cellar. Can’t wait to compare!

Pol Roger plans a new disgorgement and packing line, to be built over the site of a cellar collapse in 1900. Will buried bottles be found when they ensure that the ground underneath is sufficiently stable? And renowned cellar master Dominique Petit, who brought cold stabilisation to Pol, will be retiring later this year. This report is from The Drinks Business.

Moët & Chandon, Dom Pérignon, Veuve Clicquot, Ruinart, Krug and Mercier experience sales growth of 4% in an otherwise flat market. The Drinks Business reports its conversation with LVMH’s head of champagne sales, Jerome Seignon.

Barons de Rothschild will join Drappier and Laurent-Perrier in producing kosher prestige rosé champagne for the extra-strict Jewish market reports The Drinks Business. The champagne ranges of all three have been kosher for some time.

Lanson Rosé
sports a seasonal makeover of the deliciously fresh and fruity. So reports Glass of Bubbly.

Glassware

More from Anna Kriebehl MW, this time via The Wine Enthusiast, about glassware. I know that you know, but in case you require further persuasion, please click here.

How To Ruin Good Champagne

Guzzling method one, guzzling method two, over-chilling that masks aroma, flavour and texture, and using it as a mixer. Couldn’t agree more, and wish to add that using a badly shaped or poorly washed glass should be added to the list at Glass of Bubbly.

Recent floods in Champagne

While now there’s snow, and lots of it, Wine Searcher’s Caroline Henry reports on the recent flooding in Champagne. Please click here

An Update on the 2017 Harvest

 Image  © Victor Pugatschew

We’re indebted to Champagne’s L’Union’s recent online reportage for the harvest information which follows, translated from the French for your benefit.

The harvest of 2017 promised to be difficult, marked by weather-induced rotting and dilution. The sorting tables were indeed busy. Looking at the resulting still wines now, it doesn’t seem so bad, as oenologists report region by region.

Chardonnays of the Côte des Blancs suffered less from the rains. Cédric Jacopin, Cellar Manager of the Union of Champagne in Avize, notes. ‘They are more resistant to botrytis than other grape varieties. We had moderate yields, with good maturity. The Chardonnays were picked very ripe, and offer great potential.’ He adds that the wines ‘are rich, powerful but of a nice freshness’. Charlotte de Sousa, also in Avize, confirms that the whites are ‘superb and very ripe’ and that the frozen plots gave ‘rarer and more concentrated’ grapes.

Across all varieties and sectors, many have noticed a lack of vivacity. This indicates that these wines will be destined for quick rotation into non-vintage champagne. Sylvie Collas, Cellar Manager of J. de Telmont, works without malo-lactic fermentation. She finds the clear wines from Chardonnay to be less variable than other varieties.

Benoît Velut of Montgueux is rather ‘pleasantly surprised by the tension and vivacity of the wines’. In the same commune, Hélène Beaugrand, with her brother head of the most important press of the area, notes that the wines are ‘a little less on the exotic side, more on the side pulp or jelly of grapes’. Unfortunately, ‘The Pinots are a bit of a disaster because of the frosts.’

Laurent Parizot, oenologist in the Côte des Bar says that it is almost unanimous that 2017 was the year of the whites, which is difficult for vineyards very largely dedicated to Pinot Noir. For Vincent Martin, president of the Aube wine development group, Chardonnays ‘are more resilient to climate hazards’. And, he adds with humour, that in the Aube, Chardonnays are often ‘at the top of the slopes’. In other words, they suffered less from the nine consecutive days of frost in April 2017.

For Michel Drappier, second largest maker by volume in the Aube, the atypical circumstances allow him to predict that Quattuor, the white wine of four whites of the house will be ‘superb’. The reason? The old varieties that compose it, in addition to Chardonnay, Arbanne, Petit Meslier and Blanc Vrai, are late to bud. They escaped the frosts of April, and as, on the Barséquanais further south, attacks of rot were early and followed by a beautiful summer so that they reached the harvest in good condition. Which is not always the case for these varieties, which can be a little capricious.

From the Montagne de Reims, the Pinots are of very mixed quality for oenologist Dominique Leboeuf. The clear wines of the Grande Montagne present with ‘beautiful aromas’. ‘We waited for diluted wines,’ he adds, ‘but, finally, they are not so much that way’. Oenologist Laurent Parizot joins him: ‘The Pinots are a little bit of a disaster because of the frosts. But on Verzenay, Mailly and the Grande Montagne, there are really pretty thing’s. For the moment, Cédric Jacopin shares his negative impression. ‘It’s very complicated. The problem of ACF (fresh mushroom flavours) is present as an earthy sensation, and it is inherent to botrytis. It’s hard to be precise about an inventory, for the moment, but I would say that 5 to 10% of clear wines are affected and they will be difficult to incorporate into the assemblage’.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for the problem. For errant flavours, we find few examples in the Côte des Bar, estimates one broker in Champagne wines. For him, there are ‘beautiful wines’ and even ‘something to vintage’. This is a view shared by others. ‘We can say we are happy with the harvest,’ states winemaker Vincent Martin from Polisy. ‘Some would say we were lucky now, but we had no joy at the beginning of the year’. It is likely that 2017, ‘is not an exceptional year for Champagne’, but purchasers returned in good number in December, and the clear wines of the Côte des Bar were sought after..

It’s the Meuniers that have suffered
‘The grapes picked at the beginning of the harvest are doing better,’ says Sylvie Collas, of J. de Telmont. ‘They are fruity and round but do not necessarily have a lot of freshness. The grapes picked later, even if sorted, sometimes give the impression of being at the end of the race. For all the clear wines, ‘ there is a lot of variability’. Dominique Leboeuf judges the Meuniers as being ‘pretty agreeable’ even if, depending on the sector, ‘we do not have what we usually get’. In general (Chardonnays, Meuniers, Pinots), he finds a tendency for the grapes to have resulted in ‘very aromatic and ripely fruity, with notes of candied citrus fruit and stone fruit’. This is not usual for base wines in Champagne. Not very widely planted in the Aube, the Meuniers also suffered a little. ‘They are ugly but we don’t have much,’ one hears.