Marie Noelle Ledru, Extra Brut Grand Cru

Pronounced nose intensity with notes of brioche, toast, biscuit. High acidity.

Wine dinner at Zern's : My contribution, finally had a chance to share this generous gift from Phil a year ago. Under Mytik so unsurprisingly this was rather austere and lean to begin with, but with air it put on weight and the broad, slightly oxidative red-fruited notes that I got from the Cuvée du Goulté from previous experiences began to show. Would say that this wine is about more about the story and the singularity.

I’ve had this since 2017 so I presume a c. 2015 disgorgement - this is in the secondary stage of development, lovely smoky nose with pear, lime and red apple. Nice line and length on the palate, it is round and full in the mouth, nice sweetness on the hit but the acidity follows up to make this a lovely refreshing drink. Probably a decade away from the deeper tertiary stage but well worth drinking now.

16x Grower Champagne : I usually gravitate toward the grandes marques and value the role dosage plays in rounding out a Champagne. Hence, this tasting was a great chance to explore the world of grower Champagnes and their wide stylistic range. A few observations: 1) The stylistic diversity is striking, with something for nearly every palate. That breadth is one of the growers’ key strengths. 2) Many wines showed real complexity, often amplified by the absence of dosage. 3) As …

Grower Champagne dinner : Oxidative yet composed, with bruised apple, walnut, and pine resin. Broad across the palate; rich, earthy, and slightly rustic.

Part of a Grower Champagne blind tasting. A decidedly lactic aroma profile with a strawberry gelato touch, becoming more cheesy, Camembert-like. Also honey, fir cone and oxidative notes of Sherry and a touch of caramel fudge. The palate is fresher, decently structured but pretty unimpressive overall. This is a pretty character-driven wine, distinct but not necessarily to my liking.

Notes of brownish apple, licorice, some ripe yellow fruit, honey, also some bouillon cube kind of aging note. Medium-full bodied, slightly rustic, with high acidity and good length. Older degorgement, time to drink up.

Winzerchampagner - WineLens (Zurich - Chez Smith) : Plumpere Nase im Vergleich zu den anderen Weinen im Flight, etwas angefaulter Apfel, am Gaumen auch eher breit und kurz, für mich etwas zu spitze Säure, fällt im Vergleich deutlich ab.

Couldn't find the disgorgement but we all think this is 10-15 years post disgorgement. Similar notes as Paul Lin below - mature notes of yellow orchard fruit, pastry, nougat, dried acacia wood, toasted sesame. Still lively with fine bead. Fantastic!

Improved on second day. Apricot, oxidative note but feels still too young and unfinished.

not blind

Not blind Remarkable fresh. 92

not blind

not blind Lovely fresh with a great drinking flow, more like a BdB. 93

Meh, not nearly as good as I might have hoped. Will see what the rose and vintage have in store. Some almond and Marzipan on the nose. Lots of apple cider and Kind of bitter and pithy, perhaps not as ripe as the other no-dose producers I love. I have another bottle that might be better.

Not blind

Purchased in 2010, so this bottle is at least 15 years old. Golden yellow color. Kaleidoscopic notes of yellow apples, candied pineapple, brown bread, unsalted butter, kiwi, nectarines, and crushed minerals. Absolutely terrific.

A lovely wine, the mousse is so soft, there’s lovely red fruits here and a gorgeously vinous finish

not blind Stunningly fresh and balanced. You want a second bottle. 92-93

Young ginger, pine, and spice — initially a little austere, but with air and temperature comes richness, white tea, saline, and minerality. In retrospect decanting might have been beneficial. Not sure of the base year but it felt a little young.

not blind fresh and clean as a BdB from the Cote de Blanc. It is in fact an EB. 92-93

Ginger and lemon curd with berry undertones. Orchard fruit and ginger on the palate. Fine bead. Bright. Delightful. (Fut)

Fut brought this bottle from Japan. Notes of lemon and ginger. Beautiful wine.

Piemonte: Truffles instead of Turkey; 11/23/2023-12/2/2023 (Barolo, Barbaresco, Alto Piemonte and of course Alba) : The last bottle at More e Macine and a bit of a unicorn but a fantastic find. While I always enjoy Ledru wines at times they feel almost a bit overpriced for what they are (probably because there’s a limited supply now and so the pricing has gone up so extensively). This was right in the sweet spot though where a bit more reasonable and …

not blind base 2017

Dinner with Andrew of CellarTracker fame (Chicago, IL) : Besides the story, I really don't understand the allure of Ledru. Austere, thin, and highly acidic, this lacks palate weight and depth.

not blind Lovely austere and fresh as always

Based on 2017. This showed best many hours after opening, and honestly, maybe best on day two, when it harmonized and showed focus and balance, and still all of the salty, gingery, chalky goodness.

not blind, at the winery this time I preferred the regular brut (4g/l) instead of the zero dosage EB, fresh but powerful, hinting to the warmer vintage. You feel the 85% PN. 91

2015 vintage

A private dinner (Hotel Les Avisés (Jacques Selosse), Avize, France) : Half bottle. Richly textured, fluffy fruit, spiced red apple, (hazel)nutty depth, excellent minerally drive and energy, supple and welcoming, silky mousse and texture, precise lemony acidity, noticeable grippy bitters, very good resonance and length.

Delish. Yellow, fruit, brioche, complex, long. Yum.

not blind As always razorsharp acidity, precise, salivating, more like a BdB. A friend of mine drinking it blind guessed BdN and from Ambonnay. Respect. 93

What an amazing bottle of Champagne. I wish I could get more of these but they have become so difficult to acquire.

Delicious.

Not blind Perfectly fresh, fantastic easy to drink. You think it a BdB. Better than Ledru Millesime 2010 I opened later. 94

No firm idea what the disgorgement date is on this, but I would guess 2018-19. Still super young and tense on the palate. It seems like it will be excellent but feels like it needs at least 2-3 years to settle down and integrate.

Green apple backed by an ample amount of acidity and minerality. Opened much better with air that made the lemony nuttiness pop a bit more. A crushed rock minerality brings in a nice, clean finish. Enjoyable and easy to drink with food.

This was a relatively recent release as it had a Ledru branded plaque; according to CT I purchased it from Crush in 2017 and took delivery in 2018. Very rigid, rock-hard Diam Mytik cork. Was a lovely bottle in an early but wonderful place for drinking. Beautiful balance of fresh, bright fruit and gentle developed richness, rather generous for an extra brut.

Good pop on opening, and a reasonable lemon-yellow color in the glass. Some subtle maderised notes on the nose, also possible hints of moldy TCA. The palate is nice and fresh, if a bit muted - consistent with the possibility of this being slightly tainted. With additional time in the glass, it becomes clear this is indeed corked. Aside: This was a 2018 purchase from SommPicks, and it has a QR code on the foil which I haven't noticed before …

Bottle bought in 2018 so not sure about base year. This was quite lovely especially for the first hr when the fruit and acidity were balanced. Nice touch of spice. Revisited at end of dinner 3 hrs later the wine had definitely thinned out and gotten sharper. Good to drink now

Exceptional bottle.

Blind tasting lunch. Lightly oxidative nose with nuts, cooked apples. Precise and reserved on teh palate. Could be a bit more charming. No indication of base year or DG on the bottle.

Still Ledru, still great. Bready, full, acid, lovely.

Tasted blind. Fine, slightly oxidative style with a pretty restrained fruit. Not overly intense, but elegant. The palate was a bit simpler with a slightly bitter aftertaste as the only drawback.

Half bottle to finish off the night Tart acid, green apple, citrus peel

Bought in early 2020, no info on the make up of the bottle. Little lighter in color than I remember the last bottle being. Absolutely full of green apple, almond, some quince. Fortunate to have a stash to follow for awhile. Very few NV champagnes hit like this.

Super ! Very winey. Great nose . Very precise . Good length . Fantastic from Magnum . Love this producer

Rikelig kalkmineralitet og autolyse, frukten mot Jura-toner. Litt på grensa

New Years Day: Vrai Champagne, Fifth Annual Edition (Brad & Marcia's Place, St. Paul, MN) : Pale gold color. Tasting pour x 2. This bottle had been cellared for an additional 5 years from release. The minerality here is fantastic, stone and chalk, layered and chiseled. The minerality steers the ship here. Ultra crisp this begs for some oysters or shellfish. Despite the preponderance of Pinot Noir, the red fruits are much more nuanced and it is the white fruits …

Super pure Extra Brut Pinot. Don't know if it REALLY bows up to the street buzz, but it is tasty. Very well made. Nice and dry. Extra Brut

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Marie Noelle Ledru, Extra Brut Grand Cru

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