Geoffroy Brut Cuvee Expression
Champagne Geoffroy Expression Brut – Premier Cru | 12.5% | Disgorged February 2013 | 50% Meunier, 40% Pinot Noir and 10% Chardonnay | 9g/l | Alright. Now that we’ve covered the devil in the details which numerically paint for us the topographical map of this Champagne de la Valley de la Marne let’s get on with how inviting and invigorating this is: between its lively effervescence and penetrating fragrance, this is awash in orchard fruit ranging from every complexion of apple along with those tart and firm but headily ripened red plums and pluots of which no one ever really seems to get their fill before the season snaps its fingers and we’re onto the next seasonal fruit celèbre. To this imagine a chalky chewable vitamin rich in minerals both tart and textural. What lends even more dimension is a savory nuance I typically find from this house and other Champagnes with a good dose of Pinot Meunier: a rye note akin to rising pumpernickel dough venturing toward dry seared shiitake mushrooms. Few Champagnes are more appetizing or versatile at the table with richer fare and even fleshy steak. An absolute marvel to enjoy right out of the gates, this made for a superlative luncheon wine but was humming all the more 3 ½ hours later –which with its generous Geoffroy sparkle might beg the question: are some Champagnes made even better by decanting? Some swear by this and I must say I’d like to try it with this here Champagne…
Wine review by Nicholas Livingston, August 25th 2014 (Fruit)
Sustainably Organic (more on this further into this note) | From the southeasterly calcareous soils of sandstone and clay in 1er Cru Cumières within the Vallée de la Marne, Geoffroy’s Cuvee Expression is an ideal sparkling expression of this idyllic terroir known for a larger and fruitier dollop of Pinot Munier in the blends in this case comprising. Jean-Baptiste Geoffroy’s diligent viticulture is a mindful practice of lutte raisonée (reasoned struggle) and he’s joined a group called Ampelos whose members follow a formalized set practices that Terry Theise describes as “just a baby step short of certifiably organic” and these protocols are enforced with random inspections. In the glass it is Vallée de la Marne beyond a doubt: with hints of rye read, shitake mushrooms, a wisp sweet mown hay and then a cascade of plums of every complexion. These flow like a lively cool mountain rill over a palate and over a cool stone minerality and yet for all their fruit and zip this taste of the Vallée de la Marne impresses with its very own flex –a flex that’s less a demonstration of force and more akin to a genuine hug that even the best seldom deliver or too few daresay receive but that is an affable embrace one cannot help but savor when experienced and associate thereafter in memory.
This non-vintage is a blend of a few earlier vintages - 70% `09 and 30% `08 – still the same assemblage as last year as Terry notes but he goes on to explain how “this later disgorgement is drier than last year’s. The Champagne is like sweet straw in liquid form, with a delicate creaminess and a hint of porcini. A perfect by-the-glass for an Italian fine-dining place. `09 really knows how to enjoy itself in a wine like this one.”
Notes on the bottling disgorged in April 2012 and weighing in at 12.5% | What fragrance! Rye and mushroom dashi aromas make for an appetizing first impression mixed with lemon peels, the freshly squeezed juice of yellow grapefruits, and punchy red plums each lending their top-of-the-morning snap to this.
Wine review Nicholas Livingston, September 2013
The ‘Expression’ Brut is a blend of 43% Pinot Meunier, 32% Pinot Noir, and 25% Chardonnay from Premier Cru sites in Cumieres and Hautvillers.. The wine did not undergo malolactic fermentation, and spent 30 months sur latte.
Creamy top notes of rising brioche dough beneath crystalline flowers make for a nice backdrop before this bright and buoyant sparkler. This is a lively and perspicacious beauty whose charms are as witty as they are gorgeous. Gum lickingly tasty Champers this is! 12% alcohol by volume.
Wine review by Nicholas D. Livingston, November 2011
