Perseval Farge Cuvee La Pucelle Brut Nature 1er Cru
– Refined, Sophisticated, Complex and Cerebral
Equal to 2013 Marie Noelle Ledru “Cuvee de Goulte” ($425-$699)
– Better than 2010 Cedric Bouchard Roses de Jeanne Blanc de Noirs “Cote de Bechalin” ($254)
– Better than SO Many of the “Hip Instagram Bubblies” – This Blew Me Away. 9.9 on Delectable
The Only Bottle I Hand Carried Back From France As I Needed To Drink It As Soon As I Got Home
– Nose: Almost Lemony, A Hint of Richness
– A Hint of Toast
– That Gorgeous Balance that Great Wines Have
– Stunning Lemon Flower Perfume
– Incredible Palate Vivacity – So Much Going on
– Incredible Clean Fruit, Minerality, Acidity, So Juicy
– Stunning Precision
– Gorgeous Internal Aromatics: Fruit, Yeast, Brioche
– Gorgeous Meyer Lemon Fruit (But in a Dry Way)
– Simply Amazing – The Whole Package
– That Special Place Where You Can’t Believe You’re Drinking Something So Good For Under $90 On Case
What a visit I had with Perseval Farge. These wines are the Brisset of the Champagne portfolio. I like to call the top 4 wines there (yes there is a 4th now!) the 4 champagnes of the apocalypse because if the apocalypse is going to happen I am drinking these 4 wines. But in a lesser non apocalyptic situation these Champagnes can go toe to toe with any elite Champagne out there. I had 2010 Cedric Bouchard Roses de Jeanne “Coteaux de Bechalin,” 2013 Marie Noelle Ledru Cuvee le Goulte and Jacques Selosse Brut Initial and the top cuvées from Perseval Farge can go toe to toe with those wines and in my mind are equal to them, for obviously the killer Fass Selections pricing.
At Perseval Farge now, the son Henri is in charge and the wines are better than ever. They are the closest wines I’ve had in Champagne to Brisset. They blew me away. I was speechless. For me the key to elite Champagne is to have the finest mousse (bubbles) one can achieve. So many Champagnes fall short of getting that elite mousse and they come across as broad and clumsy. The 2010 Cedric Bouchard I referenced earlier had that issue. There is a seamlessness that the elite mousse creates where you have the uniqueness of the bubbles but they are not so invasive that it creates a harsh sensation on the palate. The harmony and mouthfeel one gets when the bubbles are small, silky and fine is one of the greatest feelings your mouth will ever experience. It feels elite and classy. Combine that with a sense of place, exquisite fruit and fine minerality and you have the recipe for elite bubbles. I tasted and drank a lot of Champagne on this recent trip to France and there are so few Champagnes that get to this level. It’s like Burgundy in this way in that there are so few wines that have that “thing” that makes one chase Burgundy. I feel I learned more about Champagne on this trip than I have on all my trips combined.
The Brisset Comparison
What makes the Perseval Farge wines, in particular the Four Horseman bottlings, comparable to Brisset? Brisset exudes class. In every bottle from the Bourgogne (red and white) to the Echezeaux there is a seamlessness and classiness that comes from elite elegance, restraint and a silken texture that is to die for. These Perseval Farge wines are the same. It was striking how similar they were to the top Brisset bottlings.
The Wine (And Case Pricing)
The NV Perseval Farge Cuvee La Pucelle Brut Nature 1er Cru can be had for $92.99 a bottle on the 3-pack and $89.99 on a 12 bottle case. I never offer case pricing on high end wines but The La Pucelle hits differently and to have a luxury Champagne like this to drink often enough is something I know people on this list will be into. I have access to a lot of wine but I drink this Champage more than any other high end wine we sell.
I am so utterly excited to offer this bubbly. It’s been a chore trying to get another allocation of this epic Champagne but I finally have. The La Pucelle from Perseval-Farge is an extraordinary wine in every way shape and form. Refined, sophisticated, complex and cerebral beyond anything I offer. The latest version that I tasted on my recent trip to France was another level. Just perfect. Gave it a 9.9. The mousse (bubbles) were extraordinary. The harmony on this wine and sheer class make it my favorite of the four horsemen. It is ridiculous and is also the most balanced no dosage wine I’ve ever had. It just floats on the palate and the texture and mouthfeel are second to none. Imagine the softest and sexiest satin transformed into a liquid and you are close. There is amazing fruit and a creamy texture but this does not lack sizzle. It’s got the sizzle and the steak. This is one of those “palate vivacity” wines. The wine is almost alive on the palate. This is a life affirming wine. It’s so good and so perfect that you are just happy to be alive and drinking it in the moment.
This is from 100% Pinot Noir planted in 1985 and was bottled in 2015, Its 32% from 2014 and 68% from 2012. 31% of the wine is aged in barrels. It goes through partial Malolactic Fermentation and 67% is without MLF.
The nose is just one of the clearest expressions of bubbly Pinot Noir one can imagine. Insanely clear berries and cherries with vivid brioche, yeast and unreal iodine and salinity. It’s so so clean. Ultra clean and precise. It’s like you smell the atomic makeup of the cherries, berries and iodine and they smell better than actual cherries and berries. There are some green apple skins and also some red apple skins and an expression of chalk that has to be smelled to be be believed. But I will spend more time on the palate because that’s where this wine is perfection.
There is so much going on at the same time on the palate, it’s crazy. It has terrific fruit and at the same time top notch minerality but also this sense of being alive because of the bright but integrated acidity.. Red cherries, red berries, so expansive and silky and refined. So aromatic. So juicy and lots of brioche and so so fiFine and sappyne. So seamless and perfect. Gorgeous purity and so so balanced between bubbles, vinous quality and salinity, amazing wine. An easy 9.9. What a showing. Concentrated beyond belief and so much fruit and mineral. Almost perfect. Unreal. Maybe a 10.0. Finish is endless and seamless. The finish lasts and last and has maybe 5 parts. Once you think it’s over it keeps going. There is a serenity to this wine that transfers to the drinker. Once you have a few sips you slip into a zen-like state as you know this is yours for the next few hours and that nothing will be bad in the world during that time because you are drinking this wine.
This is clear like nothing else. Terrific internal aromatics of fruit, yeast and brioche. It is so elegant, so long, so pure, and so much better than many of the hip growers that everyone is drinking. The depth and flavor intensity are world class as are the power, concentration and finesse. Just top top class. This is Brut nature, but not a screecher, like some can be. It’s all from Chamery, a 1er Cru village in Montagne de Reims, and is 100% Pinot Noir. Aged 30% barrel and 70% Inox. It is also their smallest production wine by far and needs the most time open and could use 2-4 years in the cellar, but make no mistake, this is a knockout.
If you normally spend $80-$150 on champagne, buy as much of this as you can and bathe in it. If you splurge once a year on a great bottle, this should be it. It will give you an entree into the normally unaffordable world of top tier Grower Champagne. Granted the price has gone up since I first offered it, it still is a value and a stunning Champagne This was one of the 4-5 wines I gave a 10 on Delectable on the trip where I tasted it (another on a recent trip was 2010 Raveneau Les Clos – yes it’s in that league). I can see this aging gracefully for 10+ years. I had this recently and it is insanely delicious. After 7-8 hours it got to that special place where you can’t believe that you are drinking something so good. To that place where it’s so good you don’t want to ever swallow it and let the experience of tasting it end.
Midjourney
As you know, we believe that strict recitations of tasting notes is only part of the story of a wine. We’ve always tried to include metaphors to try to give our readers a better understanding of how wines impact us. These metaphors have included architecture, painting, music and poetry.
We’re trying something new to help create visual metaphors using Midjourney, a generative artificial intelligence program that is by far the best image gneratour out there. I’ve messed around with a bunch and this is by far the best. We look forward to hearing your feedback.
Please call Cheryl at 949 378 5251 after emailing with your order if you are a first time customer (we prefer not to receive credit card numbers over E-Mail).
OFFICE HOURS 4-7 PM
I love drinking and selecting wines – but my passion for teaching people about wine is almost as big. I’m happy to announce a block of time each day where people can call me just to chat about wine in general. These blocks are NOT intended to sell wine (I do that all day). This is to talk to me about wine pairings or great producers or how long to age wines or styles of wine making or the latest wine controversy. My goal is to help people learn more about wine and enjoy it more. Call me at 917-912-4355 from 4-7EST Monday – Friday.
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