Champagne Castelnau Brut Reserve is a cooperative made champagne whose “house” is based in Reims, Champagne. It is a brand under Castelnau Wine Agencies umbrella, a London, UK based worldwide wine distribution group.
Despite being part of a large international entity, the wine in question is produced in Champagne within the rules of the appellation by Chef de Cave Elisabeth Sarcelet. She has access to 900 hectares of vines on 155 crus, and has crafted Castelnau’s mainstay champagne; the Brut Non-Vintage, from a composition of both Pinots and Chardonnay. Full assemblage details are not known, but for the price range this champagne sits in the aging time of 5 years on lees (second fermenting yeast) is exceptionally long. For a relatively young brand, this is a very dedicated move to sell high-quality champagnes when you consider one of the highest costs in Champagne production is storage.
All of these moves factor into a wine that has become very well awarded in its short existence. And I am interested in giving it a try; I managed to find a bottle in an obscure part of my local Dan Murphy’s, away from the main champagne stock.
This champagne is labelled by Castelnau as Vegetarian and Vegan friendly.
Details:
From: Reims, Champagne, France
Code: CM-835-012
Cost & Source: $60 a bottle available from Dan Murphy’s
Blend Ratio (%): Pinot Noir/Chardonnay/Pinot Meunier (Unknown) with N/A g/l dosage.
Aging: 5 Years
Disgorged: N/A
Sipped: Jan 2021
Vegan Friendly: Yes
Notes:
Look: Soft gold with Mid bead
Smell: Sour citrus light honey
Taste: Dry introduction. Tart citrus run with sweet tone. Good strength in flavour that runs quite long. A bit Coffee bitter in the middle. Consistent
Score & Verdict:
6.25/10
At $60 I feel it is pretty decent value for the quality.
Let me know if you’ve also tried this champagne and your thoughts.
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