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2007

It is well understood that we cannot refer to this type of wine as “Champagne”. The French were correctly able to prove historical commercial usage and thwart New World wannabes from muscling in on their marketing advantage. In-house, we refer to the La Michelle as “Bubbles”, a crude and somewhat childish term but one which is also amazingly apt. It is totally mesmerizing to see the sun shining through a freshly poured glass and watch the fine beads of trapped CO2 appear from nowhere, sway to and fro as they wend their way skyward to gather in small clumps on the wines surface before shuffling in single file to the rim of the glass where they cling for a while before disappearing again.

With the release of just the second vintage of this wine we have managed to stretch the time on lees “in this bottle” out to 28 months. The nose is smooth and a little buttery with crisp white fruits, feijoa skin, an apple cider sourness and hints of flinty tinderbox.  Sweet appetising aromas of crème caramelle and cookies-and-cream ice cream are complexed by artichoke heart and a familiar waft of down-town asphalt after summer rain. The palate is immediately invigorating and attention grabbing - the sensory equivalent of 10,000 droning vuvuzelas. The creaming-soda texture envelopes the tongue and puffs out the cheeks with all the verve and gusto of an Italian striker writhing in the goal mouth. At first all eyes and ribs, the wine fattens as the fizz subsides to reveal a sinewy welterweight fleshed out with dried peach, sourdough ciabatta and a zany touch of nutmeg. The Chardonnay component, whilst only making up 30% of the blend, seems to dominate with fine structure and smooth texture while the cheese-cutter acidity focuses the wine and has it schmoozing the palate in feline appreciation. We were surprised by the excellent bottle development of the 2006 vintage after disgorgement so putting a couple of bottles away for your 5th wedding anniversary may not be a crazy idea!

We believe La Michelle is best served at approximately 8 - 9 degrees Celsius.