2010 Caillez-Lemaire Cuvee Jadis Extra-Brut
– Always Brilliant and Pleasurable
– Never a Bottle or Vintage That Is Less Than Great
– Only a Few Cases Left
– Nose: Crazy Concentration and Complexity
– Deep Toasty Brioche
– Very Fine
– White Cherries, Apricot, Green Apple, Lemon
– Brioche
– Minerals, Nuts
– Awesome Spice
– So Airy and Clean
– Palate is So Elegant and Sappy
– Beautiful Purity of Fruit
– Apples, Citrus
– Fine Mousse
– Wonderful Opulence
– Incredible Salty Finish
The Happy Family
2023 was quite a year. I somehow feel that if R.E.M. re recorded “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine),” 2023 could cover the entire song with just its events (AI, Ukraine, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Hunter Biden, Israel, etc.). It was an unending year of tumult. But somehow, I feel hopeful that things will be getting back to normal in 2024. We’re all sick of being stuck by the negative and its time to get back to normal.
I decided to mention the painting “The Happy Family” by 17th century painter Jan Steen because I think that it’s especially important in years like 2023. We are constantly bombarded by negativity by the news and social media. We need to remember what’s important. Family and friends and good times. The Happy Family is a reminder of that. It’s just family sitting around a table in a simple room enjoying each others’ company and drinking a good amount of wine with some ham and bread. I’m not saying that we should ignore the ills of the world. I am saying that we should not let them dominate our thinking.
When I want a no doubt, 100% make me happy bottle of bubbles, I always go for Jadis. Part of it is that I love the people at Caillze Lemaire. I always have dinner there when I visit and it’s basically The Happy Family. Great food. Great wine. Great people. It reminds me what life is all about. But this is also a wine that is consistently great every year. Yes, it’s delicious but it’s also always interesting and complex in a different way in every vintage.
So I’m selling it on New Year’s Eve. Buy a case if you can. And enjoy it starting next year.
On to 2024! Happy New Year!
The Wine
The 2010 Caillez-Lemaire Cuvee Jadis Extra Brut can be had for $62.99 a bottle on a 4-pack and It’s a brilliant wine from a brilliant vintage that we’ve sold before. There are a few cases left for those of you who want to restock.
I usually don’t remark on color but the color of the 10 Jadis is truly remarkable. Like a golden wheat. Blonde and very nuanced. The beads of the effervescence catch the light in such a unique way that a great photographer would have ample opportunity to create a memorable image. This color shows that this will is mature or entering maturity at almost 14 years old.
The nose, right off the bat let’s you know this is an elite bottle of grower Champagne. It is amazing “young” and I can attest to that as I drank almost a whole bottle by myself. It changed almost 40 times in 30 minutes. It’s that level of complexity which really isn’t complexity as something complex needs to be stable and not changing over and over and over again. This is just packed. It unravels like the tail of a peacock. The wine is one of those wines that you can smell colors and taste smells. It’s just on another level. The nose is very aromatic. Wafting. Very deep with so many different nuances developing as it interacts with air .
The nose is very aromatic and open. Possibly the most open of the young Jadis’ I’ve ever had. While Jadis is always open young as that is one of the calling cards of the cuvee this one is striking for how open it is. Baked fruits, candied quince and the purest honey you’ve ever smelled. Toasted almond and melted elite butter. Michelin three star butter. This gives away the barrel aging but is so inviting and subtle at the same time. After air we get bergamot, apricot and caramel. It is so complex only after 15+ minutes. It’s got fruit, maturity, wood and yeast. That’s the hallmarks of aromatic complexity. So much aroma. Wafting and it keeps revealing itself yet it also has so much more to reveal even as you think it can’t reveal anymore. The wine is an enigma. But in a good way. It unravels like a tightly wound up poster you unravel for the first time. There is a vividness and crystalline quality to the aromas that comes only in top vintages.
The palate. Then you sip it and the attack is super fresh and expands on the tactile delicacy of the vintage. It has a lovely consistency that is very fluid. It’s got insane structured acidity from the initial attack to the finish. The mousse is so well integrated and creates a gorgeous silken texture. It also has luscious, ripe and soft tannins. It leaves your mouth filled with baked fruit, grilled almonds and honey. The finish is so long and lingers for 45 seconds. It’s super fresh, super pure and super chalky. Also the salinity on the finish is no joke! On the tail end of the finish is roasted pineapple and damp chalk. Total masterpiece. It’s explosive and dense yet also so light and elegant like only Champagne can be. It is just beautiful. Breathtaking. A work of art. It’s rich, yet so complex, opulent, yet sizzling with acids that get at every nook and cranny, mineral like nothing else, but also there is clearly defined fruit. It is all there. This wine is just a knockout. It does not end. It finishes with saline and is so salty. What an amazing delicate and fine mousse as well. This wines finish doesn’t finish, it just lingers. That salinity! Only way to explain it. It cannot be missed. I’ll be grabbing a case of this one. It can be aged for 2-4 more years and then really go into overdrive.
It is 60% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir and 10% Pinot Meunièr. 100% fermentation in barrel gives it the richness. It is aged on its fine lees, which also contributes to the opulence. The grapes come from Cumieres and Hautvillers with no malolactic fermentation no filtration (on the lees) and alcoholic fermentation is in bottles with cork closures and not sealed with crown caps. This is a trend in Champagne as they believe it is qualitatively better.
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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