Negociants Australia Champagne Masterclass With Pol Roger

Me, with Laurent d'Harcourt of
Pol Roger

I don't go in for Justin Bieber, Rhianna or Lada Gaga. The rock stars of my world are very different to all of that.

They are the people behind the bubbly stuff; the crafts men and women (growers and wine makers), poets (wine writers), ambassadors and enthusiasts (the unsung heros) of the champagne world. They are the stars that rock the champagne world. 

Earlier in the week I was privileged to have front row seats at my very own champagne concert; a champagne masterclass orchestrated by Negociants Australia in Adelaide. The stars of the show were Laurent d'Harcourt (Export Manager and Member of the Board of Directors for one of my favourite houses Pol Roger), Nick Ryan (wine writer for Gourmet Traveller and Men's Style magazines), Tyson Stelzer (of The Champagne Guide fame), Natalie Fryer (wine maker at Jansz) and David Brookes (contributing writer to Wine Companion magazine). Many thanks to Nick Ryan and Tim Evans (from Negociants Australia) for organising my invitation.

For five and a half hours the thirty-odd attendees were taken through an in-depth flight of champagne tastings and panel discussions. It was exactly what I needed. Armed with a little black book of questions, I was fully prepared to embrace the opportunity of having expert panellists at my fingertips. During the day, every one of my questions was answered, without my needing to probe - so I ticked those off my list.

I also came wanting to understand more about terroir -  that illusive and champagne-definining characteristic that somehow gets captured at a moment in time, sealed in a bottle and delivered around the world.

We were led hand-in-hand from the basics in tasting to comparing and contrasting with Australian sparkling wines and then onto the emerging world of grower producers and the very best of the Grandes Marques. What a day. My notes follow.

Tasting One - The Building Blocks

Here we examined the 'foundations of fizz' or the 'building blocks' of what will become  champagne. These lean and mean base wines from Pol Roger's 2011 harvest gave us all an insight into champagne in its embryonic form in order to understand the basic qualities each grape variety brings to a blend.



Me, with Tyson Stelzer,
author of The Champagne Guide

The exercise allowed us to understand what to look for when first assessing a wine; firstly structure and secondly expression (of terroir). The following is my assessment of the basic profiles of these building blocks.

Chardonnay - Heralding typically from the Côte des Blancs, its structure is represented in linear acidity of lime and lemon. Its expression is one of chalky minerality and finesse.

Pinot meunier - A structure that is fruity and lively as well as fleshy (like a luscious ripe plum).  It tends to be very soft on the middle of the palate. Typically from the Vallée de la Marne, pinot meunier opens up and gives its expression early and therefore does not generally age well, making it ideal for non-vintages. It is also more robust than pinot noir with regard to growth, ripeness and expression.

Pinot noir - Its structure is represented by intensity, complexity and length driven by powerful and structured red and black fruit. Typically from the Montagne de Reims, it often displays spice and a curvaceousness. With some ageing, it can display gamey and vegetal notes.

Sampling each individually, allowed me to understand how they came together in perfect harmony to produce a wonderfully balanced champagne.

Tasting Two - Sparkling New Frontiers

Whilst clearly not champagne, these sparkling wines from Britain and Tasmania were an important exercise in once again re-affirming the important role terroir plays in champagne. Despite the high quality of these sparkling wines, and the fact some of them use methode champenoise, none of them could replicate those champagne-defining textural and flavour profiles. We tried:

Coates and Seely Blanc de Blancs Non-Vintage
2006 Jansz Vintage Cuvee
2004 Jansz Late Disgorged Premium Cuvée
2001 Freycinet Radenti Sparkling
2000 Arras EJ Carr Late Disgorged

We engaged in an interesting discussion around the effect that time on lees versus time on cork played in the flavour profile of sparkling wine and champagne, comparing the 2001 Radenti Freycinet and the 2000 Arras EJ Carr.

The Arras was considerably fresher given it had spent longer time on lees. The Radenti was disgorged early and spent around six months on cork, producing a more oaked taste. Both were excellent and the room was divided on their preference. Ultimately, as with most things, it's a subjective decision.

For me, the Arras EJ Carr was a winner.

Tasting Three - Pol Roger; The Story Of A Great House

There is so much to be impressed with when drinking Pol Roger. Not only are they fine champagnes to drink, they set a very high standard in the region for their meticulous approach to production and their vintage champagnes are often used as a benchmark for that year.

As Tyson Stelzer put it, their distinction is in highly technical and process-driven production methods, their ability to inspire finesse through the deepness and coolest of their cellars, and their double debourbage cold settling process that refines and purifies their cuvées.

For those of you who follow my blog, you will know how much of a fan I am of Pol Roger. In previous blogs, I have detailed their meticulous processes which might be worth a re-read to refresh your memory.

On the day, we tasted the following Pol Roger champagnes:

Non-Vintage Brut
Non-Vintage Pure
2002 Brut Vintage
2002 Brut Vintage Rosé
2000 Brut Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs

It was my first time tasting the Non-Vintage Pure. With zero dosage, people either love it or hate it. For me, I was somewhere in the middle. The 'Diet Coke' of Pol Roger (as Nick Ryan humourously put it) isn't meant to be taken on its own. With no sugar, its highly floral and fruit aromas are more pronounced than in their Non-Vintage Brut. The palate is incredibly dry with depth of minerality, making it best served with food.

I enjoyed all the tastings however the star, for me, was the 2000 Brut Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs. This champagne is so elegant, creamy and lively with finesse.

Tasting Four - The Grower Revolution

Tasting this diverse group of grower-producers was the second highlight of the day outside of the Grandes Marques. What it highlighted was the important role terroir plays in making good and interesting champagne. Our tastings included:

Non-Vintage Larmandier-Bernier Brut Blanc de Blancs Vertus 1er Cru
Non-Vintage Pierre Peters Blanc de Blancs
Non-Vintage De Sousa Brut Reserve Grand Cru
2005 Agrapart L'Avizoise Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut Grand Cru
Non-Vintage Egly Ouriet Grand Cru Brut Tradtion

Every one of the five champagnes is a good expression of terroir, with grapes taken from several villages in the Côte des Blancs to form each champagne, with the exception of the Egly Ouriet which is sourced from Ambonnay, Bouzy and Verzenay (in the Vallee de la Marne).

Whilst flavours ranged widely (including honey, pear, smoke, white and wild flowers, lemon and lime, orange, shale, nuttiness, creaminess and creme brulée) the common thread of terroir was undoubtedly there; expressed beautifully in texture, minerality, chalkiness, finesse and concentration. 

Whilst these were excellent, quality examples of grower-producers, Laurent d'Harcourt cautioned against purchasing some due to the lack of control they sometimes have over export channels. Those we tasted were fine examples of grower-producers that have invested in sophisticated transport processes and can therefore guarantee quality upon arrival.

Laurent also provided an analogy that grower-producers are like 'small boats' whereas the larger champagne houses (negociants) are like 'big ships' when it comes to being able to adapt to changing conditions. This often accounts for the grower-producer's ability to express terroir moreso than large champagne houses.

Tasting Five - Les Grandes Marques

Well, they say the best is often left until last and this was certainly the case with our tasting of the prestige cuvées produced by some of the very best houses in Champagne.  We tasted:

2004 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame
2004 Louis Roederer Cristal Brut
2003 Moet and Chandon Cuvée Dom Perignon
2002 Bollinger la Grande Annee
1999 Sir Winston Churchill Cuvée

Perhaps it's no surprise that Louis Roederer's Cristal was my favourite. It was closely followed by Sir Winston Churchill and then La Grande Dame. Cristal is simply so devine that words cannot do it justice. It's actually a textural experience more than anything else. Characterised with soft fleshy yellow fruits and field flowers, it got my attention with refined, chalky minerality that morphed into something so pure it made me feel like I was sliding between two satin sheets.

Sir Winston Churchill displayed the hallmark traits of the house, full-bodied, powerful but with excellent finesse, elegance and complexity - oh so Churchill. There is also a touch of saltiness and butter, making it beautifully rounded and mouth-coating. According to Laurent d'Harcourt, Sir Winston Churchill possesses more finesse now than ever thanks to their new Chef de Cave who has evolved the champagne's style.

I was also pleased to try the newly released 2004 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame. Its true beauty is in the light brioche drizzled with honey flavour profile. The pinot noir gives richness and breadth whilst the chardonnay ensures minerality and elegance - just lovely. 

It was a wonderful day and a privilege to be invited. Many thanks again to the panel and all the hard-working people behind the scenes at Negociants Australia. I look forward to attending future champagne masterclasses with you.