Franck Bonville, Grand Cru, Pur Oger Blanc de Blancs

Dsg 05/2019 Nose of oyster shell, jasmine, and a hint of hazelnut. Typical palate of a Blanc de Blancs that is beginning to develop a patina. Gentle effervescence, pleasant and rich juice, supported by a beautiful acidity integrated into an ensemble where minerality largely dominates with a strong salinity. Good complexity, elegant ensemble, chalk, floral touches, walnuts, and oyster shell complete the picture. Beautiful maturity, the wine seems to be at its peak. Beautiful, lingering and mouthwatering finish. Very good …

riper style (but with low dosage), fine bubbles, seems quite heavy at first but gets more appealing with air, good length

Pineapple, ripe pears, well structured and layered. Lovely bottle.

New Year's eve, to open the dinner. No TN. Elegant and with depth and complexity. Quite serious. I enjoyed it a lot.

Dinner at Epure (cafe EPURE, Shop 403, inside Epure, Level 4, Ocean Centre, Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong) : Muted mousse. Very light hay gold colour. Nose is immediately lifted, minerals, crushed oyster shells, high piano notes, fresh. Palate is beautifully fresh elegance, really knife-edge sharp with a real zing and laser definition. Great Epsom Salts minerality, great white flowers and white peach fruit. A gorgeous acidic backbone. Wow….! Wow! So chiselled and elegant....scintillating. Wonderfully resonant and reverberant …

Disgorged November 2019, production 2500 bottles. Baked buttery brioche, candied peel, lemon curd, clean oyster. Each note is very distinct, grand cru weight. Balanced on the palate, if slightly too creamy over the fruit. Delicate, long finish. 92

DG 09/2019 The chalk in this bottle was the principal note and quite aggressively present, it needs several years to gain some balance; there was a high minerality in general with wet stones, but also a strong vegetable/herbal-like foundation with fennel and tarragon; there were citrus fruits such as lemon and lime, but the general feeling was quite clinical and austere with notes more reminiscent of a cold vintage/cold orientation of the vineyards. With more air, it developed very slowly …

Regular dinner group (@ PZ) : Some medicine and minerals in the bouquet. On the palate a firm amount of bitterness, dry and focused acidity and some sweet and nutty impressions in the finish.

More purity and better-integrated toast (not overwhelming the fruit) compared to the straight Belles Voyes bottling. Fresh and smooth on the palate, but you have to like the toasty flavors. Great for celebrating and even with seafood.

On the nose: Wet stone, mineral, licorice, exotic fruit On the palate: mineral, nice acidity, citrus and exotic fruit Medium + finish consistent note

On the nose: Wet stone, mineral, licorice, exotic fruit On the palate: mineral, nice acidity, citrus and exotic fruit Medium + finish

Citrus and grape. Hints of vanilla. Long aftertouch with lovely palatte. Still very young, needs a few more years to open up. Great promises.

Detta tycker jag är den härligaste cuvée jag testat från Bonville. Den är rund, generös, smakrik och balanserad. Där finns svag tropisk frukt och bröd i en mix där inget blir för påträngande. Jag tror det är en fullträff att matcha just den här ganska öppna årgången med låg dosage (bara 2 g). Vi dricker den till en förrätt med färskt tonfisk till en krämig puré, och det funkar himmelskt bra. Överlycklig att jag har fem flaskor till.

A Small Fraction of the Wines at K&L's Champagne Tent Tasting (San Francisco) : Slightly less intense and mineral than the Mesnil, but still good.

Needs 3-5 years to develop depth in the mid-palate, but nice balanced fruit and acidity

(Disgorged in April 2018, 100% Chardonnay from 2 parcels in Oger; Les Noyerots, Les Rumigny, dosage 2 gr/l) Light yellow colour with a small stream of bubbles. Dominated by chalk, butter and popcorn in a very pleasant and interesting way. Opens up showing fresh cut grass as well. Palate very tight showing minerals, raspberries and butter-pear in a very pleasant way and with a nice buttery smooth and long acidic finish. The saltiness on the lips feels extra energetic in …