An ideal Champagne to mark the transition from aperitif to the first dish of a meal. A wine held together by explosive creaminess. Hazelnuts, dried apricot and vanilla notes are dominated by light tobacco and shortbread.
Out of the 40 crus comprising Pommery Brut Royal, only 20 of the finest are selected for Pommery Brut Apanage. The Chardonnay grape has an assertive presence. Brut Apanage is left to mature in chalk cellars on the Pommery Estate for a further six months (4 years in total) to allow the subtlety and finesse of Pommery wines to slowly emerge. True to the tradition of Pommery Nature 1874, the dosage reflects the wine’s blend. It has a slightly lower dosage than Pommery Brut Royal.
This is very good value for money. A Piedmont red under $30! It has good dark fruit, some nice tannins and acid to balance although it would benefit from some more age to smooth it a bit but I liked its feistiness now.
I was happily surprised by the quality of the labels in the "mystery" case of rose wines - great value for the money I must say. Excellent drinking experience from the unfamiliar labels and happy to enjoy again the familiar ones.