Lightly toasty, with a hint of grilled nut lacing the poached apple, fleur de sel and lemon pastry cream notes. Fresh and balanced, with the fine mousse carrying the flavor range on the creamy finish.
Subtle notions of toast have a lovely tinge of lemon and roasted hazelnut on the nose. Lively mousse on a tender palate bubbles with toasty, nutty autolysis. As it warms up, the mousse softens and shows a sunny roundness of yellow stone fruit that sits well with the toasty yeast notes.
The non-vintage Blanc de Blancs has always been one of the strong suits at Henriot, and the new release is no exception. The bouquet is pure, vibrant and classy, offering up scents of pear, apple, chalky soil tones, incipient notes of crème patissière and a top note of white flowers. On the palate the wine is crisp, full-bodied, focused and still youthfully zippy, with a fine core, good focus and grip, elegant mousse and a long, zesty finish.
The 2008 Henriot Brut Millésime is composed of its traditional cépages of fifty percent chardonnay and fifty percent pinot noir. It was aged eight years sur latte and finished with a dosage of six grams per liter. The wine is beautifully pure on the nose in the style of this lovely vintage, wafting from the glass in a blend of pear, delicious apple, brioche, a touch of almond pastry dough, lovely, chalky soil tones and a bit of orange zest in the upper register.
There is ample petrol character to the cool, pure and beautifully fresh nose that combines notes of citrus and yeast with those of green apple and a whiff of pain grillé. I really like the sense of tension and energy to the intense, delineated and solidly complex flavors that are supported by a firm and reasonably fine effervescence before culminating in a very dry, highly complex and superbly persistent finish. The outstanding 2008 vintage in Champagne can count another winner as this is a wine to buy and age in quantity.
An elegant version, featuring expressive ripe white peach and strawberry fruit flavors, layered with biscuit, kumquat, smoky mineral and ground ginger notes. Finely knit and creamy in texture, with vibrant acidity driving the racy finish.
A touch of vanilla-laced pastry cream sweetness accents this fresh and focused Champagne, with a fine mousse. This is wellbalanced by crunchy acidity and flavors of lemon peel, green pear and spring blossom.
The new release of Henriot’s non-vintage Brut Rosé is a blend of pinot noir and chardonnay, with the exact cépages not given, but probably about fifty-five percent pinot and forty-five percent chardonnay. The wine is quite lovely, offering up an elegant bouquet of strawberries, tangerine, chalky minerality, fresh-baked bread and a topnote of rose petals. On the palate the wine is crisp, full-bodied, focused and nicely deep at the core, with refined mousse, bright acids and lovely focus and grip on the long and complex finish. This is really quite tasty.
A touch of vanilla-laced pastry cream sweetness accents this fresh and focused Champagne, with a fine mousse. This is wellbalanced by crunchy acidity and flavors of lemon peel, green pear and spring blossom.
The new bottling in the market of Henriot “Brut Souverain” is composed of a blend of fifty percent chardonnay, forty-five percent pinot noir and five percent pinot meunier. It spent three years aging sur latte and was finished with a dosage of less than eight grams per liter. The wine offers up a vibrant and precise bouquet of apple, pear, plenty of smokiness, chalky soil tones, fresh-baked bread and a top note of dried flowers.
