Description
The Wine Advocate
RP 93
Reviewed by:
Stephan Reinhardt
Drink Date:
2018 – 2030
Tasted from magnum (the 750-milliliter bottle costs $285), the NV Brut (Gold) opens with lovely matured brioche, toast and ripe fruit flavors. Fresh, pure and elegant on the palate, with beautifully matured flavors and an elegant creaminess I don’t find in the other cuvées, the “Gold” is a blend of 40% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Meunier as well as the vintages of 2009, 2010 and 2012. The wine reveals good grip and mineral tension and drinks well as an aperitif or with seafood and fish. Tasted from L09B8, April 2018.
Since November 2014, Armand de Brignac has been the Champagne brand of rapper and music producer JAY-Z. The five non-vintage cuvées, which are sold in opaque metallic bottles and at absolutely crazy prices, are produced by father and son Jean-Jacques and Alexandre Cattier from Champagne Cattier who started releasing de Brignac in 2006. The fruit—Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay—comes from vineyards owned by the Cattier family and from growers in selected villages across the region. For Armand de Brignac, colloquially known as “Ace of Spades,” only the tête de cuvée of the press is used, so the very finest part. Each cuvée assembles three vintages and is dosed with matured wines aged in oak barrels. Aged for several years on the second lees, the wines are intense, powerful, well-structured and of excellent quality. The brand’s first bottling, Armand de Brignac Brut Gold, is still the finest cuvée due to its richness and ripeness. The Blanc de Blancs, released in 2015 for the first time, is also a highly expressive NV with a chalky-mineral character that needs more time in the bottle to show its true class. The second assemblage of the prestigious Blanc de Noir, a rare Pinot Noir (2,333 bottles), was rather disappointing when tasted in April but will be tasted again soon.
Published: Jun 29, 2018
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