Laguna Cellar Wine of the Month - January 2023

Something Special for the Dry Month of the New Year

If the traditional pattern of New Year celebration held for 2023, millions of bottles of champagne were just popped again.  Lots of bubbles!

Champagne gets the bubbles from the secondary fermentation that happens after bottling.   The bottling sets champagne apart from other wine, with conditions created for further fermentation in the bottle with the yeast consuming the residual sugar in the wine, converting glucose and fructose into carbon dioxide and ethanol.  CO2 dissolves into the wine in the fortified bottle (the reason champagne bottle is always heavier and thicker than the regular wine bottle).  Upon opening, CO2 is released and forms bubbles.

What few people know is that more often than not, the sugar in champagne is added during the bottling process.  If one pays close attention, the labeling on a bottle of champagne usually discloses the dosage (a measure of how much sugar is added).  In addition, most champagne sold on the market is designated NV, as in non vintage, blended from a mix of multiple years of production to smooth out the taste and maintain consistency.  Only in exceptional years, the champagne houses produce vintage champagne, made from a single year's harvest and usually aged for 6-8 years at a minimum before release.  To see how rare it is, vintage champagne represents less than 5% of all the champagne produced.

In our Wine of the Month Selection for January 2023, we present a 2009 vintage champagne labeled Brut Nature, produced by Esterlin, an artisan producer in Épernay, Champagne.  The brut nature designation indicates no sugar was added in the bottle, as the 2009 vintage crop matured to perfection with plenty of natural sugar left in the wine at the time of bottling.  Here is your chance to determine if a vintage all natural champagne tastes better.  Next time when you pick up a bottle of champagne, you may find it natural to see if the label indicates the level of dosage (how many grams of sugar have been added).

The other name in this month's selection worth highlighting is Château La Tour Figeac.  Château La Tour Figeac is a property that has some truly exceptional terroir.  It was once part of the second-to-none Saint-Émilion Premiere Grand Cru Classé A property, Château Figeac.  Situated in the graves portion of this Right Bank appellation with some top-notch neighbors like Château Cheval Blanc, it's of no surprise Château La Tour Figeac is beginning to have it moment.

Another wine featured this month is Château Haut-Batailley.  This used to be a sleeper wine of Pauillac, the appellation made famous by estates such as Lafite Rothschild, Mouton Rothschild, and Latour.  Pauillac is a truly wonderful small village, from which not only 3 of the 5 First Growths hail, but also top-rated Second Growths such as Pichon Baron and Pichon Lalande.  Another widely recognized and followed estate in Pauillac is Château Lynch Bages, which would be ranked a Second Growth today if a reranking of the 1855 Classification is something the French authorities would contemplate, as was postulated by Robert Parker Jr.  A reranking is out of the question, could never happen.  But serious wine buyers know Château Lynch Bages is among the best wine of Pauillac.  Long story short, the owners of Château Lynch Bages bought Château Haut-Batailley in recent years and are busy bringing out the best this well-situated property has to offer.

Château Grand Mayne 2016 - "The 2016 Grand-Mayne is a very different wine from those of old when sometimes it could be pushed too much in the winery. Certainly, the addition of Louis Mitjavile, François's son, has had a positive impact upon Grand-Mayne in the last two or three years. This is very elegant and refined, displaying more terroir characteristics with a gorgeous herbal lift, almost as if owner Jean-Antoine Nony had used some stems! The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, crisp acidity, almost Pomerol-like in style with more mineralité and refinement on the finish. This is a new style of Grand-Mayne, and frankly, it is one of the best I have tasted from this Saint Emilion estate." - Neal Martin, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (4/28/2017, Issue 230) Ratings: 94-96, Drink: 2022-2045

Château Haut-Batailley 2015 - "The 2015 Haut Batailley is a blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon and 28% Merlot, matured in 60% new oak. It was picked between 21 September until 2 October. It is a level up from the 2015 Lacoste Borie with much more fruit intensity: blackberry, boysenberry, tobacco and cedar aromas. It gathers momentum in the glass and develops a subtle mint accent. The palate is medium-bodied with supple, lithe tannin, very well balanced with just a slight tinniness that will disappear by the time in bottle. I love the pencil shaving sprinkled over the aftertaste here. With very good substance and impressive length, this is a classic Pauillac that I suspect will offer 25 or 30 years of pleasure." - Neal Martin, The Wine Advocate (4/27/2016, Issue 224) Ratings: 92-94, Drink from: 2025-2050

Château La Tour Figeac 2019 - "The deep garnet-purple colored 2019 La Tour Figeac sails out of the glass with exuberant notes of fresh blueberries, black raspberries and Morello cherries plus suggestions of allspice, cinnamon toast, sandalwood and dusty soil. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers thirst-quenching freshness with a pinch of spicy opulence, framed by plush and approachable tannins, finishing with great length." Lisa Perotti-Brown, The Wine Advocate (6/17/2020) Ratings: 91-93+