Champagne de Sousa: 3A and Mycorhize Grand Cru Extra Brut
These two Champagnes invariably sell out in record time. Since we first introduced them, they have developed an incredibly strong following with our clients on account of their outstanding quality and value. So, if you are yet to try the Champagnes of de Sousa, I would urge you to take up this offer of NV ‘3A’, Grand Cru Extra Brut at £215 per 6 bottle case in bond/ £235 per 3 magnum case in bond and NV ‘Mycorhize’, Grand Cru Extra Brut at £240 per 6 bottle case in bond. As Champagne critic, Peter Liem once commented; ‘It’s no accident that De Sousa is found in many of France’s best restaurants'...indeed it was at a restaurant that I was first introduced to this estate. The De Sousa family (of Portuguese descent) have been in Avize for three generations and the house of De Sousa & Fils was founded in 1986 by Erick and Michelle. The scale is modest; there are just 9.5 hectares, and production barely exceeds 6,000 cases from their 42 different vineyard parcels across the villages of Avize, Ay, Cramant, Chouilly, Le Mesnil sur Oger and Oger. The vast majority of their vines are low yielding, given they were planted more than 45 years ago, and they have cultivated their vineyards organically since 1989. In 1999, De Sousa converted to biodynamic viticulture which – if anything – has lowered yields even further. You quickly get the impression that everything at De Sousa is about quality over quantity. I am pleased to release our 2020 allocation of two Champagnes from De Sousa; firstly, the aptly-named ‘3A’, which is a blend of Grand Cru fruit from Avize, Ambonnay and Ay, and secondly, the perhaps obscurely-named, ‘Mycorhize’. This is a limited cuvée of just 1212 bottles per annum. The name relates to the fact that this cuvée is made from fruit grown biodynamically on the estate. ‘Mycorhize’ (pronounced ‘me-cor-reeze’) is a term used to describe the close, symbiotic relationship between the roots of the vine and the fungi that inhabit the area around the root zone. Proponents of biodynamic viticulture believe that their approach leads to healthier vines with deeper roots that yield higher quality fruit. Whether or not you believe or understand biodynamics, it does mean than growers have to pre-empt; they are unable to react instantaneously as they might in conventional viticulture and apply chemicals to hold a problem at bay. And it is certain that greater attentiveness undoubtedly leads to fine wines. These two Champagnes are truly exceptional and should easily displace non-vintage Grande Marques from your cellar, portfolio, Eurocaves and fridges. I struggle to understand why there is a need to pay up for a lesser Champagne, made in near industrial quantities, sourced from Premier rather than Grand Cru vineyards, when such great growers Champagnes are available...a good number of our clients have woken up to this and follow the wines of several of the growers with whom we work. NV ‘3A’, Grand Cru Extra Brut, Champagne de Sousa £215 per 6 bottle case in bond £235 per 3 magnum case in bond
First the technical bit: This aptly-named cuvée comprises a blend of 50% Grand Cru Chardonnay from Avize, raised in oak, 25% Grand Cru Pinot Noir from Ay and 25% from Ambonnay. These are three of finest terroirs in Champagne. The dosage is 3 grams per litre. The new release is based on the 2016 vintage and was disgorged on 16/11/18.
3A exemplifies the qualities associated with De Sousa. Aromas of juicy orchard fruit and hints of red berry pick up a slightly floral overlay on the nose. The hallmark of all De Sousa Champagnes is the softness of texture and understated weight, allied to an underlying raciness. As ever, a mineral backbone and a fine sense of persistence shape this impressive Champagne. It is no doubt a common comment to the tasting notes, but the purity and clarity of flavour make for an outstanding, remarkably harmonious Champagne. (SL) Drink 2020-2027. NV ‘Mycorhize’, Grand Cru Extra Brut, Champagne de Sousa £240 per 6 bottle case in bond First the technical bit: Taken from old Grand Cru plots of Chardonnay across De Sousa’s holdings, this wine is aged sur latte for three years before being disgorged. The base wine is fermented in 225-litre French oak barriques and the dosage is just 3 grams per litre. The new release is based on the 2015 vintage and was disgorged on 13/12/2018.
In contrast to the 3A, the Mycorhize offer notes of freshly-baked patisserie, white flower and discreet notes of creamy vanilla, all of which overlay the juicy pear and apple fruit. The chalky, flinty mineral notes lend complexity and race to the softly layered, ripe fruit, and there is a sense of gradually building concentration, but nothing destroys the sense of harmony. The hallmark purity that all de Sousa Champagnes show is once more striking as is the overriding sense of finesse. The Mycorhize finishes with a citrusy note to the acidity and boasts a long, lingering finish. A winner. (SL) Drink 2020-2029.
Last year these two champagnes sold out in a matter of a few hours, so please do not delay if you are interested in placing an order. All the best Simon
Top tips and conclusions from the Atlas Big Barolo Bash
After our Big Barolo Bash held at Salisbury House, EC2M, on Wednesday 4th December 2024, I thought I would share a few thoughts as it is not often that you get the chance to compare 42 different Barolo spanning vintage 2011 to 2019.The wines shown were grouped by vintage rather than by grower. The aim was to encourage an understanding of vintage characteristics. We also felt this would spare clients the significant challenge of moving from a softer, lighter vintage to a richer, more tannic one and then back again in a repeated cycle through all producers. Deciding on a tasting order is never easy, even more so with a variety like Nebbiolo, known for its bright acidity and structural tannins. Our buyer, Seb Agnello, manned the 2018 and 2019 table. These two vintages show distinctly different styles. 2018 was a more mixed vintage, still with some notable successes. It is a lighter expression of the Nebbiolo variety, but by no means a poor vintage. It has always been our view that it was a misunderstood vintage; wines from this year have shown appreciably better after a little time in bottle, having been difficult to read when very young. From the wines shown, the Barolo Prapo from Ettore Germano impressed clients with its cherry red fruit – for a Barolo from Serralunga d’Alba, a commune known for richness and power, this is an incredibly pretty example, vintage in, vintage out. Chiara Boschis’ blended Barolo, Via Nuova, drawn from various crus from the across the region, received plenty of praise from clients, too. Perhaps the wine that impressed most from this selection was Vietti’s Cerequio 2018, which showed blue fruit touches, a fine freshness and those slightly rounder tannins that are common to La Morra. The 2019s were a last-minute addition and were the two single vineyard wines of Andrea Bosco which offered an opportunity to compare a Barolo from the lighter soils of Verduno with a richer wine from La Morra; respectively, the wonderfully refined Agostino Bosco, Barolo, Neirane and the darker, brooding Agostino Bosco, Barolo, La Serra. Clients seemed interested in how these two most recent vintages would shape up in time. While the 2019s are the product of hot year, these showed how that vintage manages to show a certain classicism. They will warrant 8 to 10 years in bottle before showing in their prime. In contrast, the 2018s, with their lighter accent, are already starting to show well, even if some of the leading examples will still demand 4- or 5-years patience before really starting to sing. The 2017 table was, for me personally, one of the most fascinating. Not only were some of the region’s most notable growers featured in this line up, but it showcased a vintage that I fear has been a little overlooked. 2017 was a hot and dry vintage and in an earlier era I don’t believe the wines would have come through as well as they have. Growers have had to adapt to modern day conditions in Barolo; whatever way you cut it, this is down to climate change. As I remarked to various clients, in the 1990s there were perhaps three notable vintages which delivered ripe fruit and fine structure, other vintages in which many growers lost precision and freshness in their wines but a greater number of years in which it proved tough to ripen Nebbiolo fully. Leaf-plucking became routine to expose the fruit to the sun and allow aeration. Rolling the clock forward, between 2010 and 2020 we have not had a bad vintage. There have been challenging conditions, but we have had four great vintages - 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2019. Then there have been some more mixed years, but ones in which good growers have nevertheless excelled. Today it is more about providing some protection to the fruit, as opposed to exposing it. This is quite an incredible switch around to have occurred in just 20 years. Growers have needed to learn fast – to learn how to prepare their vineyards for the modern-day challenges of heat and drought, when not so very long ago, the challenge was inclement weather. 2017 is a successful hot vintage, particularly given there were four months in the growing season without any rain. The cooler weather at harvest really assisted in providing freshness to the aromatics and brightness to the fruit; this was notably evident in the selection of 2017s at the tasting. The two wines from Brovia were just beautiful; both the Brea ‘Vigna Ca Mia’ and the Villero were way ahead of the quality that a reading of the vintage reports might suggest possible. Instead we found pure fruit, refined tannins, glossy textures and a complex amalgam of fruit nuances and tertiary notes. Equally compelling were the duo from Poderi Oddero. In the amazingly graceful Vigna Rionda, from one of the region’s finest terroir, Oddero has crafted a genuine beauty in 2017 and I would suggest it isn’t far removed from the quality they delivered in the tremendous 2016 vintage; this should be a wine on your watch list if you a fan of the finest Barolo. The Bussia Vigna Mondoca showed in a similarly impressive manner; Bussia, in Monforte d’Alba, is a controversially large cru but when you taste wines of this calibre, there is no doubting that it has the potential to rank highly, depending on the exact location of the vines within the . Very rich, with a deep damson, plum quality to the fruit and hints of spice, this rich Barolo will demand patience, even in a year like 2017 where some wines are starting to drink. In this latter category, we would place Vietti’s reliable Castiglione blend and, surprisingly, Vajra’s 2017 Ravera, which seems to show very little of the austerity that is more typical of this cool, elevated Novello cru. The 2016 table certainly drew considerable attention, as clients were aware that this vintage is considered to be one of the all-time greats. The 2016 vintage represented the perfect growing season with no excesses or problematic weather. These wines have such appealing fruit and fine tannin that a number show that they are already approachable though even the humblest from this vintage have ageing potential. The table was manned by Atlas’ Nick Pitcher, who commented that clients were impressed by the 2016 Barolo del Comune di La Morra from Renato Corino on account of its expansive, rounded fruit. Renato has always made rich, softly textured wines and his entry level Barolo, principally made from young vines in Rocche del’ Annunziata, has always been considered by Atlas to be something of a bargain; the 2016 is no exception in this respect. Brovia’s Barolo 2016, from across their holdings, also impressed, making for an impressive showing on the night for this traditional producer when you consider how well their 2017s showed. The Brovia and Corino 2016s offer great value, a point borne out by client purchases! Parusso’s lesser known Mariondino from Castiglione Falleto also won favour with its intense fruit, with the touch of oak adding tobacco and vanillin notes, one of the few wines in the room to be aged in that manner. Nick also showed the component wines of Arnaldo Rivera’s Collector’s Case, as Nick said what a vintage for the cooperative of Terre del Barolo to launch a premium mixed case. Clients were fascinated to taste six different crus, each from one of six of the different communes of Barolo, all from the same producer, and from the same vintage. As one client commented ‘A great dinner party experience to be had tasting single cru Barolo at a bargain price!’. It is hard to argue with that. While the Arnaldo Rivera wines aren’t in the Premier League of Barolo, they are well made, approachable and provide a good introduction to understanding the single cru vineyards and the communes that make up the patchwork that is Barolo. Unsurprisingly, the lighter tannins and juicy red from on the Monvigliero impressed various tasters as did the richer, Vigna Rionda. The inclusion of the 2016 Neirane from Agostino Bosco sparked interest too, with many clients returning to the 2019 to refresh the comparison; the 2016 is just starting to drink as this vineyard possesses lighter soils with an element of sand, whereas the 2019 will need more patience. Then finally, we had a mixed table spanning the vintages from 2015 back to 2011, manned by Atlas’ Toby Herbertson. This table was a real draw as it allowed clients some insight into how Barolo ages; this was very much needed as some clients weren’t particularly familiar with the region. Some clients started tasting here, which might not have made it easier to move onto younger wines thereafter. The ability to compare wines from the same growers in 2011 and 2012 fascinated people and both vintages impressed. 2011 is one of those vintages that is starting to drink really well – it was a hot vintage, by the standards of that point in time, but it was wonderful to see how, if anything, the wines seem to have picked up a little more precision as they have aged. Both the Sandrone Cannubi Boschis 2011 and the Vietti Ravera 2011 found favour. The 2012 Sandrone, Le Vigne, shows just how well Sandrone adapt to vintage conditions. The 2013 Cappellano Pie Rupestris was very popular on the night; clients were impressed by the complexity and quality, though some struggled to spot the value in contrast to other wines shown. The conversation surrounding this table focused on when Barolo tannins start to soften and when wines come on stream for drinking. The lighter framed 2014s were up against it, sandwiched as they were between the more tannic 2013s and the bolder, richer 2015s. That said, many clients commented on the attractive nature of Vajra’s 2014 Ravera, which, like the 2017 of the same wine, showed in a forward drinking manner with a dark, glossy fruit, floral aromas and hints of spice. Indeed, all Vajra’s wines were complimented for their accessibility and the purity of the fruit. Finally, the two 2015s proved fascinating to taste. Giovanni Rosso’s Cerretta shows just why there is excitement brewing about this estate. It captured a flinty mineral note that added complexity to a rich palate of dark, slightly brooding fruit, while the tannins were finely expressed and far less obtrusive as they can be in young wines from this Serralunga d’Alba-based cru. Vietti’s inaugural Riserva also attracted plenty of attention; the extra ageing having softened and rounded out the tannins.All in all, the evening was a great success and we have received many positive comments on the venue and the format. We will certainly be running another event at this venue in the New Year.My final thoughts concern the way in which things have evolved in Piemonte. Climate change has meant that Barolo vintages face few of the pitfalls they once did. Instead, there are different challenges, more often than not related to heat and drought. In rapid time, growers have adapted in both the vineyard and cellar to meet these challenges, and today, I would argue, Barolo is one of the most consistent wine regions in Europe. There is just so much to explore, different crus with different altitudes, exposures and soils, as well as producers who employ different techniques. Without doubt, Nebbiolo is a sensitive grape variety that reveals different nuances in different conditions; it rivals Pinot Noir in this respect. Putting on a tasting like this allowed us to share our fascination with the wines and the region. Frankly there has never been a better time to buy Barolo – perhaps you could argue it is the last bastion of great value for finely nuanced reds In Europe. Certainly, £300 per case doesn’t get you far in Burgundy or Bordeaux, but it can get you an impeccably crafted, single vineyard Barolo. That point came across loud and clear to our audience on Wednesday night.
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Atlas Fine Wines' Simon Larkin MW reviews 12 Saint-Julien 2005 Châteaux
Learn about the wines of one of Bordeaux’s most consistent communes in our latest YouTube video.
Join Simon as he shares his insights following an extensive tasting of all 11 Classified Growth Châteaux of Bordeaux’s Saint Julien appellation, plus one outlier. All the wines tasted were from the 2005 vintage – "one of the greatest vintages Bordeaux has ever produced." As Simon suggests, Saint-Julien may lack a First Growth Château but, tasting wines such as Léoville-Las Cases and Ducru-Beaucaillou in such a great vintage, it is hard to argue that they are not of First Growth quality.
See below for Simon's tasting notes.
