Dhondt-Grellet Champagne Roc Solare

Some can be wonderful, this was simply pleasant, such is bottle variation

I’ve had this wine 4 times now, and fully understand the divergent commentary on how good this can be. When it’s on, it’s really on. Tonight’s bottle was firing on all cylinders. Explosive nose of lime, grilled nuts, fresh bread, bruised apple, orange rind. Palate is dense yet light on its feet. Finishes long and lingering with high acidity yet with enough fruit presence to work. Superb tonight. 94+

I would agree with those offering more tepid praise. This wine was very good, with a nice expanse of bread crust, grilled lemon and green apple skin. And there was a certain harmony to the profile (lots of matching notes). But the wine doesn’t have the density or length of many of the other Dhondt Grellet bottlings I’ve drank. Its quality is similar to the cremant and less than Les Nogers. I think a few years in bottle will be …

Très beau encore une fois, fin et frais, touche vineuse mais à peine, beau crémeux, très bien pour le prix.

Count me with Mr. Montrachet about not getting the raving reviews on this particular bottle. Interesting, classy nose enhanced by the expected and not-overdone oxidative notes (far less than the Laherte Ultradition extra brut served with it). This is a subtle wine...too subtle in the mouth, lacking concentration and presence, to my taste. Giving this the benefit of the doubt, this came across as potentially at an awkward stage of development, and needing time. Deg 9/2024.

Grilled lemon, lees, and elegant oxidized notes. Medium plus acid with a concentrated midpalate/finish that mirrors the nose. As a previously noted sucker for oxidative champagne, this is right up my alley. There’s also an iron fist/velvet glove thing going on I really dig.

Good, but cannot understand the raving reviews here. The nose is indeed very complete and gorgeous. But in the mouth there is a bit of shortage and a slightly bitter note and bruised apple. This was the September 2024 disgorgement. I guess this is just way too young for the Chardonnay to bring out more complexity and length.

Degorgement Dec 2023 Notes on day two, a half bottle left over from the night before. So complete, well rounded with energy in spades. The finish dances on the tongue forever. 95

Pear, brioche, almond, white flower, and Christmas spices. The wine clearly shows some oxidative nuance, but what stands out most is its piercing, persistent freshness on the palate. A well-balanced Champagne that marries complexity with tension. Great value at 60 euros.

Brief notes from a social event. Intense with layered autolytic, yeasty complexity, varied fruit of stone fruit, pear and bruised apple. Slightly salty mineral base. A densely packed, fresh and structured palate.

2021 base; disg. Dec. 2023 Method: pop and pour; cellar temp; Glasvin Champagne glass Look: medium gold; many steady fine bubbles Nose: brioche, French toast, vanilla, ripe pear, ripe browned apple, nougat, baking spice, mineral Palate: ripe pear, yellow apple, brioche, nugat; long finish mineral/chalk; dry; medium body; medium+ pinpoint bubbles; medium+ acidity Overall thoughts: Wow, it's matured so much since I had it almost a year ago. This bottle is much richer (on the nose and palate) and seems …

Another shot at the later disgorged 2021 base Roc Solare. As before, more honeyed, red apple fleshy, and a bit less nervy than the earlier disgorgement. I like both, but gravitate to the earlier disgorgement, as I’m more drawn to the electricity and tingling spine with that bottling. I’ll try aging both versions, but this 2024 disgorgement is certainly in a nice window now. 70% 2021 vintage. 30% perpetual reserve (going back to 1986). Disgorged September 2024 (almost a year …

On first opening, all linear and harshly precise, leaving me wondering if I’d made a mistake with buying an extra brut. With an hour air in a decanter, and then overnight under a Coravin, the wines richness inexorably seeps through, with light oak aging a phenolic ripe fruit melding to make the wine deceptively sweet on entry. A beautiful light golden hue in the glass, brimming with bubbly vivacious fizz in the glass and light floral with some ripe apple …

This is my first stab at the later disgorgement version of the 2021 base Roc Solare, also with .5g/L dosage less than previous bottles (see specs below). Notably more honeyed and serious when compared to the earlier disgorgement batch, this bottle carries beautifully balanced poached pear, apple pie filling (not sweet), spice, grilled lemon, limestone, and yuzu flavors; palate-coating, with a finish that is aptly dry and holds keen focus. Not as much overt “silex” zing and zip as the …

Quite tame on the nose. Good, high concentration the palate. Grilled lemon, pear, orange zest, sourdough and with a finish of grapefruit and salty sea breeze. Slightly oxidized with tones of well-cleaned cellar. Very oaked style with fantastic balance and stable and controlled mousse. One of the best wines of the year. Crazy high QPR.

See previous note. Lemon, some stemmy herbs, elegant finish, lovely wine and great value for money!

This inched out a Krug 171 and 2016 Leclerc Briant Blanc de Meuniers. It was all close, and the Krug and Dhondt’s profiles were extremely similar, but the group agreed the Dhondt carried a bit more freshness and verve. The Krug exhibited a hair more depth, but it was also slightly heavier with a bit of oxidized funk. I thought they were all solid. 70% 2021 vintage. 30% perpetual reserve (going back to 1986). Disgorged December 2023. 3g/L dosage. 90% …

The first whiff carries toast and caramel notes, followed by bruised pear and apple fruit, cool and smoky and chalky minerality. The intensity builds with aeration. A crisp palate with a touch of almond. Great length. But aromatic expression lacks on the palate and there’s an austere touch to the nose.

Badly corked (and I brought it to a restaurant with no backup bottle) :(

Like a Krug Cuvee at half the price. Salt, torched orange zest, olive oil, and caramel notes provide perfect seasoning to the grilled citrus and poached pear flavors. Fresh, precise, and lively while simultaneously unctuous and alluring. I’ve written a lot on these wines, but they just keep getting better and better. One of my top QPR Champagnes of the year. Best bottle so far here. Drink or hold. 70% 2021 vintage. 30% perpetual reserve (going back to 1986). Disgorged …

During a Paulée, no detailed tasting notes. 94+

This Champagne still Rocs (see what I did there…? Lame, right?!). It presents as young and vibrant, and even a bit linear, but then some of its oxidative notes allow yuzu and umami characteristics to blossom, elevating the whole experience. Grilled lemon, limestone, yellow pear, yellow apple, orange zest, and quince. Brilliant acidity. Great QPR at $85. Worth holding if possible, but good luck with that. Dhondt is on the Cedric Bouchard/Ulysse Colllin trajectory, so pricing might be a problem …

Nicolas Faure lunch (Restaurant De Matroos & Het Meisje, Rotterdam, NL) : From the Côteaux du Sézannais (Barbonne-Fayel, Fontaine-Denis), galets on silex, a blend of 90% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Noir, 45 year old vines, vinified in steel and barriques, full malo, base vintage 2021 (70%), 30% réserve perpetuelle (since 1986), bottled August 2022, disgorged September 2024, dosage 2.5 gr/l. Rich and rounded style, complex vinosity from the réserve perpetuelle, bracing acidity, vibrant mousse, intense minerality, long and energetic finish.

Reims Weekend; 5/23/2025-5/24/2025 (Reims, France) : [Restaurant purchase] At restaurant Sacre Burger, Reims FR. No detailed notes. Great champagne, tasted next to Brisefer by DeHours. 90% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Noir. Vines 45 years old. 70% 2021 vintage, 30% reserve perpetuelle since 1986. Degorgement January 2024. Dosage: 3 g/l. 100% malo

This is great value for money, and held its own in a lineup of much more expensive wine. A touch of oak, long finish, toast, yeast, pretty intense. Great stuff.

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Dhondt-Grellet Champagne Roc Solare

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