Champagne for New Year's: The Last Word

In earlier blog posts, we offered quite a few suggestions for your New Year's Eve sparkling wine. Our staff, however, always seems to come back to Champagne. And our newest Champagne is the Aubry Brut NV.

This Aubry Brut is 55% from the 2010 vintage, and 45% reserve wine, with 55% of the reserve coming from a solera containing all vintages from 1998 to 2009. The blend is 45% Pinot Meunier, 25% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay, and 5% of the ancient varieties Arbanne, Petit Meslier, and Fromenteau. We take you from there to the Wine Advocate review: "If that sounds like a recipe for delivering complexity, you’re right and won’t be disappointed! Bittersweet perfume suggestive of gentian and iris mingles with intimations of fresh lime and sea breeze that in turn manifest themselves on a seductively silken palate in both juicy, vivacious exuberance and mouthwatering saliva-inducement. A scallop-like sweetly saline and mineral amalgam takes hold in a vibrant finish that leaves me caught between the urge to linger and the urge to take the next sip. This exceptional value by appellation standards is almost sure to prove worth following for several years, even if, sadly, few wine enthusiasts are likely to put that prediction to the test. 92 points."

How about a 90 point rating from Wine Spectator? "A firm Champagne, with notes of green apple, white cherry, smoky mineral and candied lemon zest. Vivacious, showing hints of toast and wax on the finish. Disgorged April 2011. Drink now through 2015."

From the IWC 91 point review: " Bright straw. Pungent aromas of Meyer lemon, pear and fig, with a gingery accent adding lift. Sappy, penetrating citrus fruit and floral flavors are given a refreshingly bitter character by notes of pear skin and peach pit, with a waxy note coming up on the back half. A smoky nuance lingers on the finish, which shows very good clarity and length."

Finally, from champagneguide.net: "Philippe Aubry works with his brother Pierre and brother-in-law Noël Poret and has been trying to give expression to Champagne's indigenous varieties such as Arbanne and Petit Meslier, as well as Pinot Gris (the local name is Fromenteau) and Pinot Blanc.

One of the most original estates in Champagne, Aubry Fils is located in the village of Jouy-lès-Reims, in the western sector of the Montagne de Reims. Of the estate’s 15 hectares of vines, 12 lie in Jouy and the nearby villages of Pargny-lès-Reims, Villedommange and Coulommes-la-Montagne, all of which are classified as premier cru; the other three hectares are located elsewhere and are sold off to the négoce."

For many people, only a true Champagne will do for New Year's. The Aubry Brut NV Champagne is available for only $34.99 in the Bottle Club® at Joe Canal's in Lawrenceville and Woodbridge.