“This stuff is stunning. Can you get more?” 
“This is like Krug”
“This is like Bollinger RD”
“This is like Salon”
“This is as perfect a Champagne as I’ve ever had.”
NV Perseval Farge Jean Baptiste Brut 1er Cru
– Perseval Farge’s Best and Rarest Wine
– Krug-Like Blend of Old Vintages
– Incredibly Rare
– First Offer in 1 year
– 120 Cases. That’s It!
– Brilliant Nose
– Salon-Like Pure Decadent Richness
– Hints of Rich Fresh Caramel
– Dense But Light and Yeasty
– Some Citrus Flower
– Gorgeous Minerals
– So Beautiful
– Palate: So Rich, So Juicy
– Incredible Complexity
– A “Holy Crap I Can’t Believe This Wine”
– Crazy Juxtaposition of Density, Freshness and Lightness
– The Finish Is a 10
– So Long and Rich
I Don’t Care Who You Are
– This Will Be One of the Best Wines You Drink All Year
The Emperor’s Underwear 
I don’t want to use the phrase “The Emperor has no clothes” to describe the top wines of Champagne. These are very well made wines. But given their reputations, consumers are paying 75% for the name and 25% for the quality. Think of an Emperor in boxer shorts. Not entirely nude but not wearing the finery that you’d expect.
I’ve recently been tasting a lot of highly rated cult Champagnes that have huge scores from critics and the secondary market prices to match. Most times when I do this I am hugely disappointed. And this recent time was revelatory. I had several “Emperors” bac
- 2017 Ulysse Collin ‘Les Pierrieres Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut “48 months.” – 97 William Kelley from the Wine Advocate ($400-$800) a bottle.
- 2018 Jerome Prevost La Closerie Fac-Simile Extra Brut Rose ($745-$1,000 a bottle) – 96 William Kelley
I gave the Ulysee Colin a 9.5. It was good but the bubbles were not as fine as today’s wine and it didn’t impress me with its texture or depth.
I gave the Prevost a 9.7 It has a fine mousse, super vivid cherry flavors has nice depth.
It was very impressive but even though it goes for $745-$1,000, I prefer today’s wine.
These are both excellent wines.
And perfectly good values …
…at $150 a bottle.
Today’s wine is better than both of the above. And it’s 10%-25% of the price.
4 Champagnes of the Apocalypse
The wines of Perseval Farge 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.
The Wine
Today I have one of the top two horseman which is the NV Perseval Farge Jean Baptiste 1er Cru Chamery for $96.99 a bottle on a 3-pack.
This is one of the most unique of the four horsemen as it is Brut (5.5 grams of sugar) and a complex multi vintage blend. This is 34% Pinot Noir, 8% Meunier, 53% Chardonnay, and 5% Arbanne/Petit Meslier/Pinot Gris. It was bottled in 2014. It’s 23% 2018, 58% 2012, 10% 2011, 2%2= 2010 and 2% different years. It is vinified in stainless steel tanks and 42% of the black grape vareites are aged in barrels. Its gone through partial malolactic fermentation and 50% without ML. This wine, along with La Pucelle is at the top top. Both I scored 9.9 on my recent visit and both can go toe to toe with any wine in Champagne. Full stop. It has also the longest finish of any wine on the trip. It beat out the Ledru by at least a minute. It just kept going into new gears every time you thought it was finished. And my goodness was the mousse so fine. The finest maybe of the trip?
I researched my notes and saw I gave it a 10 on Delectable and also that is was my Sparkling wine of the year 4 years ago.
I’ve had this wine with tons of industry people and they’ve all been blown away with mouths agape. Even my most jaded and picky palates (who I love) love this wine. The guy who hates everything loves this wine.
The way this was described by Isabelle Perseval is perfect.
“The art of touching up like a painter is what comes to mind when discovering this cuvée. A long and carefully measured aging brings to this bottle an expression respectful of the wine and its natural identity.”
Isabelle Perseval
The nose is class and complexity at the same time. Brioche, minerals, and so yeasty. Gorgeous smoke and iodine aromas. Huge aroma with yeast and brioche just wafting from the glass. Stunning. Nutty, hint of oxidized. Super detailed. Meyer lemon extract as well. It is such a crazy perfumed nose it is almost too much. Mega vanilla extract and spice and I mean so much spice and so many non fruit aromas. One of those noses that you can stand on your chair and have the glass on the table 5 feet below you and you can still smell it. What a nose with air now!. Bready, brioche, minerals galore, slight old library wood and so much more. A wine whose aromas keeps changing and changing. So clean and mesmerizing. And incredible toastiness.
The Palate. It has that aged youth thing that sometimes great Champagne has, yet it is still brilliantly youthful on the palate with the finest mousse I tasted during my time in Champagne. The finest mousse. What an electric palate this latest batch has as there is more young wine in it this time. Amazing mousse and bubble and so long and so concentrated. The finish is endless and timeless. It’s like every sip takes you out of the space-time continuum. They’re no hard edges. This is an easy 9.9. So sappy and concentrated and so much energy, so much toastiness but the finish is really what it’s all about. Wow this is so long. The palate is sap city and the wine just clings to your palate like nothing else. So juicy and elegant. This just slides down your palate and has laser-like focus and delineation. So elegant and a super fine super elite mousse and so dry on the backend but juicy and engaging. The finish never lets on and never gives up. Outrageous complexity. So nimble and fine. This is as delicate a Champagne as I have had. Complex and so, so fine. Refined and juicy with superb minerality and toastiness. Outrageous. So sappy with incredible finesse. It is so deep with so much deep fruit and a whiplash of citrus acidity. One of the juiciest Champagnes I’ve ever had. As I look back on my note, the wine almost rushed back onto my palate. The finesse and wonderful toasty/brioche quality backed by the terrific minerality that frames it all. The acid makes your face smile. It can’t help it. There is power, concentration and so much sap. The balance is extraordinary. Outrageous structure and purity. The brioche and breadiness extends on the palate. This is a masterpiece
A finish that is long and beautifully elegant. It just dissipates on the palate but leaves something as well. Just such classy and sophisticated bubbles. Classy and sophisticated are descriptors that are kept almost exclusively when describing great Champagne. Of course there is real depth here. Real chewy depth and I think it is the best one I’ve had yet. It’s so deep and caressing. Almost sensual. Truly a great great wine that has much more to reveal.
I am all about drinking Champagne on special occasions but also not pigeonholing it as a beverage for just special occasions. But this wine is that special. It will add so much to
Please do not think of this as a $99 Champagne . It would cost $175 or more through three tier and at that price, it is an absolute steal.
Henri in Charge – Very Brisset-like
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.
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.
It’s All About the Mousse
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.
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.
NV Perseval Farge Jean Baptiste Brut 1er Cru Chamery – $98.99 ($290.97 3-pack) (VERY LIMITED)
This Offer is Not Available to Retailers, Wholesalers or Restaurants
Shipping will be charged when wine ships.
These will be shipped in the Spring of 2024
Previous Offers Still Open
2020 Achim Durr Pinot Noir Hard 225 – $41.99
($159.96 4-pack)
2020 Achim Durr Sauvignon Blanc Vom Keuper – $34.99 ($131.96 4-pack)
2022 Paul Weltner Hoheleite Sylvaner Grosses Gewachs – $54.99 ($211.96 4-Pack, $599.88 12 bottle case {$49.99})
2022 Paul Weltner Riesling Grosses Gewachs – $54.99 ($211.96 4-Pack, $599.88 12 bottle case {$49.99})