Champagne Rosé Dame-Jane NV 75cl

Beginning with the striking, pale copper color, this is very unconventional rosé champagne. Wonderful fruit aromas that range from cherry and wild strawberry to persimmon and candied orange with a touch of sushi ginger. Then comes the mouth-filling and well-structured palate that has an amazing grainy-chalky feel to it, unlike anything else in this category. Very long, saline finish. A cuvée of pinot noir with a small amount of chardonnay that was vinified in amphoras. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold. <br/>

The NV Dame-Jane Rosé Brut is replacing the Esprit Rosé. Its base wine is the Hommage, blended with 6% red Aÿ Grand Cru Pinot Noir from 70-year-old vines. The red wine is fermented and aged in Dame-Jane (amphora/demi-john). The wine has a beautiful color that oscillates between salmon pink and onion skins. The bouquet is very fine and vinous, displaying delicate fruit along with floral and fascinating herbal aromas (oregano, basil). Very elegant and perfectly round on the palate, this is a highly delicate and quite truly vinous Rosé with a long, well-structured, pure and slightly salty finish. The fruit and mousse are remarkably fine, and it's really hard to resist the charm of this exciting Rosé, which was disgorged after two years on the lees in March 2017. Tasted in April 2018, which is obviously the perfect moment for this blend of 70% Pinot Noir with 30% Chardonnay. I find it really stunning how much the wine gains (finesse and roundness) with the addition of Pinot Noir. Total production: 20.000 bottles.<br/>Henri Giraud is one of the smallest Champagne houses and is fully family owned. The boutique winery in Aÿ (Marne Valley) is led by CEO Claude Giraud, who combines "science and experience with passion and expertise,” and thus is highly innovative and handcrafts Champagnes in a unique style under the direction of Chef du Cave Sébastien Le Golvet. Many of the cuvées (always with a large percentage of Pinot Noir, except for the newer Blanc de Craie, which is a pure Chardonnay) are fermented and aged on the full lees for six to 12 months in Argonne oak barrels before the aging in bottles that takes two to eight years. The alternative to oak? Terracotta amphorae shaped like eggs! Since November 2016, there is no stainless steel vat in the "New Generation Cellar" in Aÿ. Oak and terracotta vats not only allow the wines to breathe, but their small sizes also "boost the interaction between the wine and its entire sediment that contains antioxidants and aromatic precursors,” Claude Giraud explained during the opening of the new cellar one and a half years ago. As a result of the long aging of the vins clairs on the full lees and the partly excessive use of new oak, the cuvées from Henri Giraud have a very particular style whose oak influence is prominent rather than the expression of fruit and terroir. Here, the Argonne Forest seems to be the terroir, and it's up to you if you like the full-bodied, intense, structured, rather vinous style or not. Although I have never tasted really matured wines after disgorgement, I suppose the best will age very, very well and will always be great wines with food. Also, compared to the wines I tasted some years ago, the oak influence has been reduced a bit. The wines have become purer, finer and fresher, at least that's my impression without having tasted the styles side by side. There are some less-oaky cuvées produced here as well. Just try the impressive Dame-Jane Rosé, the charming and finessed Esprit Nature or the delicious Hommage à François Hémart. At the end of last year, the 2008 Argonne Brut was released. It's a rare and spectacular cuvée that comes in equally spectacular packaging that was designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban. Giraud called the box, which looks like a stylized tree, "the epitome of purity." If you can't (or don't want to) afford the fabulously expensive wine or simply can't find it the store, you should at least Google it! Getting it out of the box is an adventure for itself.

here's a plush creaminess to this rich and balanced rosé, as well as a pleasing juiciness that enlivens the flavors of plumped cherry, grilled nut and tangerine peel, with a tangy hint of fleur de sel. Lingers on the well-cut finish. Drink now through 2024.