Champagne Camille Saves

This was the only producer with whom we had booked a tasting for a specific time... unusually go-with-the-flow for my wine tasting holidays! You really don't need to book at most places in Bouzy - at least for this time of year. Having said that, the tasting here was excellent and very generous. Also, the wines were excellent. So glad we went here.

1. Carte Blanche 1er Cru
75% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay. 9g of sugar / litre. Made from a blend of 2008 and 2009 wines.

Definite pinot noir style nose. Good mouthfilling stuff. Crisp, appley acid dominates. Honeyed notes on the finish. Quite long, with a sour yet pleasant finish.

2. Carte d'Or
Again a 75-25 blend. Made from a blend of 2008 and 2007 wines.

Quite an intense nose. Cooked apple, honey. Lots of yeast autolysis notes. Crisp apple acid. Quite refined but powerful too. Really serious stuff.

3. Brut Cuvee Prestige
Didn't note down the cepage. Mixture of 2006, 2007 wines.

This sample feels like it's been open too long. Very good though despite this. Intense palate, more so than previous one. Great length. However, in the end there's not quite enough to justify paying more for this than for the previous wine.

4. Cuvee Extra Brut
Blend of 2007 and 2008 wines. This is not quite zero dosage (4g of sugar/litre). However, it has the usual problem I find with all zero dosage wines... just lacks the body that comes with a small amount of dosage - feels like a waste of a wine. This was the only one I didn't like from this producer.

5. 2007 Vintage
80% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay. 7g of sugar / litre.

Very fine bubbles. Refined nose. Rich biscuity notes. Towards the English taste. Lots of yeast autolysis notes. Very good.

6. Cuvee Anais Jolicoeur 2008
90% Pinot Noir, 10% Chardonnay.

Very fine bubbles. Very elegant, but still with plenty of oomph. Base wine aged in barrique - some new, some old. Really pleasant wine.

7. Rose
60% Chardonnay, 28% Pinot Noir, 12% Bouzy Rouge

Very crisp acidity... presumably from the high Chardonnay content. Delicate red fruit. Some tannin noticeable. Well balanced - I liked this quite a lot.