Hey Everyone,
Today I'm trying a bottle of champagne from what one might call an obscure producer. Philippe Martin, a small grower in the hills outside of Bouzy, produces a range of wines from premier cru vineyards around the village of Cumières, from a basic cuvée on up to a vintage blanc des blancs as well as an interesting Cumières Rouge. The Champagnes from the range tended to be overly acidic and brashly lemon flavoured, but I was pleased with the Cuvée Spéciale, so I decided to bring a bottle home.
The wine poured in quite a lively manner. While I'm usually quite good at opening a bottle of champagne without the cork popping too loudly, but this one went off the second I twisted the the cork. The bubbles filled the glass with even the most careful of pouring, but once it calmed down, the wine itself seemed somewhat neutral in the glass. The nose is mostly defined by sweet apple pulp, with hints of pear drops and lemon drops. The palate is quite full on with the acid dominating and the bubbles disappearing almost as soon as the wine is poured.
Even so, as far as Champagnes go, Philippe Martin is a nice, affordable and easy to drink wine. A colleague refered to it, appropriately I think, as a session Champagne. True enough, if I were hosting a party or meal, I'd be happy to buy a few bottles of this to serve around, especially for the price tag. I paid 10 euros for this bottle cellar door and, though it would likely sell in Britain for about 20 pounds, I think that it is indeed worth the money. Especially compared to other Champagnes available in that price range, such as the Forget-Brimont or the Jacquart, it is a perfectly respectable wine.
I think it even throws a few punches above its weight. Discussing with another colleague, we decided that Joseph Perrier offers little, if anything more and comes with a much higher price tag. Figure in branding and packaging and the wine is about the same quality but with a higher price. If we consider the Philippe Martin as a 20 pound Champagne, then the only wines around that price I'd go for instead would be something like Delamotte and Guy de Chassey.
I hope that this wine and others like it become more readily available in Britain, and with such low prices, I see no reason why they should not. Imagine a world in which our default choice for Champagne was a small production grower's wine that changed each week! What a wonderful world it would be. Then we'd be drinking like the champenois!
Much Love,
G
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