Henriot Champagne Advice

Sean Hardon said:
Thoroughly decent tipple. If I had to criticise it in anyway, wee touch too much fruit.

Interesting what Steven said about maturity, the code ended with 19 so guessing a new release. But it did have a mature feel to it.
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Interesting Sean, thanks for the feedback. Doesn't quite square with Steve's observation that the dosage will take time to blend in - unless it's over-dosed for the age of the underlying wine?
 
As with most things vinous it comes down to personal taste and preference. I probably drink Champagne seldom enough to properly notice the difference dosage causes between bottles. I also believe the bubbles prevents me from analysing a Champagne as forensically as I would a still wine. The other thing would be what went into the blend and, with the Souverain it is 50% Chardonnay and 45% PN and 5% PM. I find PN adds a richness to a champagne, especially when compared to a BdeB. Could that be mistaken as extra dosage or is it much easier to tell where the richness/sweetness comes from?
However, I see the Souverain has a dosage of 'less than' 8g/l, which is the same as the multi-variety Champagnes I'm used to drinking from Gaston Chiquet, so I'd be surprised if I found the Henriot a tad sweet. However, on checking, even Gaston Chiquet's BdeB has 6g/l and I find that very dry (but not as dry as some of Francis Boulard's zero dosage Champagnes).
 
Paul Anderson said:
As with most things vinous it comes down to personal taste and preference. I probably drink Champagne seldom enough to properly notice the difference dosage causes between bottles. I also believe the bubbles prevents me from analysing a Champagne as forensically as I would a still wine. The other thing would be what went into the blend and, with the Souverain it is 50% Chardonnay and 45% PN and 5% PM. I find PN adds a richness to a champagne, especially when compared to a BdeB. Could that be mistaken as extra dosage or is it much easier to tell where the richness/sweetness comes from?
However, I see the Souverain has a dosage of 'less than' 8g/l, which is the same as the multi-variety Champagnes I'm used to drinking from Gaston Chiquet, so I'd be surprised if I found the Henriot a tad sweet. However, on checking, even Gaston Chiquet's BdeB has 6g/l and I find that very dry (but not as dry as some of Francis Boulard's zero dosage Champagnes).
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IMO, the dosage is all about the balance. If the winemaker can balance the final cuvee with lesser amount of sugar, that might tell a few important things which I tend to appreciate.
- Picking the grapes at the optimal maturity (acidity, sugar, phenolics). Too acidic wines might ask for more sugar to compensate.
- Longer aging sur lee, as often the tendency is to put less dosage on late disgorged cuvees. For example Bollinger R.D. is extra brut vs Le Grande Anne which receives a more generous dosage, even that's the same wine. Also Vazart-Coquart with Brut - Extra Brut - Brut Zero, all same wines with only difference in aging sur lee.
- Sugar masks imperfections. Less sugar, less the winemaker can hide.
 
Agreed Stas, balance is so important! But don't that perception of dosage is not linear, sometimes 4g/l can taste sweeter than 8g/l in the same Champagne, and older wines with a more oxidative nature are likely to receive a higher dosage (if the producer does not wish an oxidative style).
 
Steven Pritchard said:
Agreed Stas, balance is so important! But don't that perception of dosage is not linear, sometimes 4g/l can taste sweeter than 8g/l in the same Champagne, and older wines with a more oxidative nature are likely to receive a higher dosage (if the producer does not wish an oxidative style).
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I believe that the perception of dosage is individual and I agree it might not be linear.
I often get stump with RDJ. Cedrics wines are always brut nature, but some feel even off-dry.
 
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That's it arrived today - not bad considering I ordered it on Monday. Unfortunately the delivery man arrived just as Mrs A got home from work, so I had to 'fess up :eek:

Can anyone decipher the code? Does 1908 indicate a disgorgement date of August 2019?

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Paul Anderson said:
That's it arrived today - not bad considering I ordered it on Monday. Unfortunately the delivery man arrived just as Mrs A got home from work, so I had to 'fess up :eek:

Can anyone decipher the code? Does 1908 indicate a disgorgement date of August 2019?

View attachment 15920
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Paul, many producers use the first two digits as the year of shipping and the next three digits as the day of the year.
This looks as though it may be a 2015/6 based wine.
Update
Tyson Stelzer says that for Henriot the last 4 digits of the lot code are the month and year of dg.
So Nov 2018 in this case which would tie up with shipping and labelling early 2019
 
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Thanks Ray. So more like a Julian date for the shipping, which would be around the end of March 2019. Does the 'L' have any meaning? Short for "Livraison", perhaps?
 
Paul Anderson said:
Thanks Tom - can get a 6 pack for £142.75 (£23.79/bottle).
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Just to re-iterate how crazy Champagne prices can be, I got this from Vivino less than a month ago. They have just emailed me today with a "Save up to 33% on New Year's Fizz" offer. This Champagne was one of a few being offered. Now reduced from £41.65 to £27.99. You'd think their marketing dept. would check customer's previous purchases before sending out an off I can easily refuse.
 
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