Champagne Raymond Boulard Champagne Petraea XCVII-MMVII

Dsg 02/2012 Last year I drank a bottle of this batch whose nose had bothered me a little. This was not the case here. Very clean nose, vinous, candied fig in hazelnut. Beautiful mouth, with the effervescence still very much alive. Rich juice, touch of oxidation, delicious vinosity with this fig which dominates in a delicate way, nuts, walnuts and rancio complete this picture of a wine seized at full maturity. The acidity and the touch of chardonnay bring balance …

dsg 03/2012 Nose of pastry cream and rancio, with a cheese crust side. It's very special. The bubble remains lively and the robe remains pale. On the other hand, the mouth is rich and superbly lively. It is still very lively, barely evolved and devoid of oxidation. I guess the solera with the few tertiary notes in the mouth with the undergrowth and the mushrooms. It remains diffuse and the trailing chardonnay counterbalances everything with a nice freshness. Excellent balance. …

Fully resolved. Touch oxidative. Good but not rushing out to age another bottle (this was July 2012 disgorgement).

Yellow, minimal mousse. Solera system wine, just a weird mash up of oxidized aromas and dry flavors.

Deep, lovely color. Gorgeous nose, deep honey apricot mineral aromas. Tight at first. Bubbles fades a bit too quickly, but after an hour in open bottle it settles down and has developed into a pure beauty. Great.

Fizz & Fish @ Master's (Master's Super Fish, Waterloo) : Quite mellow with some gentle spice. Broad. Would go nicely with cold goose.a little flat and lifeless after a while. Good but lacking cf some older versions of this. ***

Excellent. Better day 2.

Seems closed at this point in time. I really enjoyed the Murgiers, but this special bottling was not that impressive. We drank this rather quickly and moved on. Perhaps it will blossom with time.

Great bubble. Deep in fruit and lots and lots of bread and lovely fruit. Very fresh considering this is a Brut Nature.