![]() ![]() But how good? There is no lack of ambition in the Brignac pricing model, so one is entitled to ask the question…. ![]() The Cattiers, for all the limelight, are very experienced farmers good winemakers to boot, a fact that has never been in doubt. Either way, there is little recourse to the Cru system as part of the message Chigny itself is Premier Cru, and there are Grand Cru wines in the blends, but these are far from exclusive indeed one of the impressive and certainly convincing chapters in the story relates to the diversity of provenance Vitry favoured for example for the purity of its Chardonnay and an increasing percent of the Pinot Noir now sourced further south in the Aube. The Cattiers are keen to stress the differences between their eponymous brands, where most of the vineyards are owned, and the Armand labels, sourced independently yet more widely. A lot has changed, it seems, in the last three hundred years. Last year’s much hyped ‘international’ winemaker, Emilien Boutillat, has mysteriously disappeared (defecting to become chef-de-cave at Piper Heidsieck) and the process is now entirely in the hands of the Cattier family – head winemaker Alexandre Cattier – representing the thirteenth generation of his family now at the helm. The first London tasting of Blanc de Noirs A3, September 2019 What is bred in the bone, however, will out and the juxtaposition of the brand and its executors almost adds to the fascination, such is its lack of congruence!Įnough speculation, however, and onto the key question which is, unsurprisingly whether or not the wines are any good. Jean-Jacques has a suitably enigmatic smile, it has to be said. To see him now, suited and booted, towering super models on each arm, looking just a touch perplexed, is little short of surreal. Jean-Jacques Cattier, even then, struck me as an old-school winemaker, albeit one from the top drawer. When I first visited over 10 years ago, I was impressed by the quality of the wines, their carefully crafted Pinot-dominated cuv é es finely drawn, maybe a touch rustic, with primus inter pares the more polished Le Clos du Moulin, immediate forebear of the Brignac range. One could go on.įar more interesting, almost paradoxically, is the prosaic and almost humble story of the winemakers themselves, the Cattier family from the Montagne de Reims village of Chigny-les-Roses. The fabulously ostentatious metal cladding, complete with an embossed pewter ace of spades leitmotif the dubious origins, marketing-driven one infers the tall tales of nightclubs and rappers the far from completely blameless reputation of owner Shawn Carter (Jay-Z) the almost hubristic flamboyance of the 30 litre format, named, needless to say ‘Midas’. It is far too easy to be dismissive about Armand de Brignac. “A-list? A-Road? A third release in point of fact, the ‘A3’ a nod to Dom Pérignon’s ‘P’ series probably,” writes Simon Field MW. ![]()
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