“It was a meeting of the minds that was bound to produce something extraordinary: a friendship between two hedonists, two men steeped in the Art of Wine making, two men with a profound attachment to their vineyards. Between them, they created Champagne Valentin Leflaive.”
After an introduction like that, do I really even need to tell you how exquisitely delicious this amazingly unique rosé champagne was?!
Created by @olivierleflaive with vineyards in the heart of la Côte de Beaune in partnership with Erick de Sousa @erick_desousa of Champagne de Sousa in Avize, this bubbly is created from Champagne grapes aged in Burgundy barrels (!!!).
I guess those are the kinds of things that happen when you put 2 hedonist together to make wine…{wink}
Something else that makes this champagne unique is it’s label: while it may look like some random letters and numbers, they’re actually clever clues about what inside the bottle.
The “BA” represent the 1st letters of the two places of grape origin: Bouzy (90% of the grapes) and Ambonnay (10%). The cool thing is that if you’re familiar with these two villages and know what grapes they’re known for, you may now automatically know that this is a 100% Pinot Noir wine!
The number “14” stands for the reserve wine year that the base wine was created from—in this case, 2014.
Lastly, the 70 at the end tells you what the dosage is, which is 7.0 g/L for this bottle.
I’m kind of *wine geeking* over the labeling because it really kind of acts as a mini wine tech sheet. I love it because it provides clues and info on the wine which builds tantalizing anticipation about what my tasting experience might be like!
Speaking of which, let’s get to those tasting experiences notes, shall we?
This 100% Pinot Noir champagne is aged for 27 months (for 7 months in stainless-steel vats + 20 months in the cellar) and made with reserve wine aged in burgundy barrels used to make Olivier Leflaive’s grand cru wines.
AROMA: gorgeously, intoxicatingly perfumed! Deeply fragrant of lychee, wedding cake white frosting; the sweet smell of a freshly bathed baby (I swear this is true, lol); ripe stone fruit; and fresh red berries.
PALATE: fresh Nectarines, sweet lime, violet candy, stewed apples, fresh raspberries, and strawberry hard candy rounded out with hibiscus tea {weird maybe, but hella accurate} red plums, and frisky minerality.
Medium+ body that teeters on full and acidity that plunges head-first into fullness, which gives it a wonderful, rich mouthfeel.
This is a plush, vibrant, and entertaining champagne. If you don’t believe me know that I just ordered 3 more bottles of it (lol).
This champagne was so special and spectacular that I had to bring back my fun, original tasting notes called #IfThisWineWasAPerson, a hashtag I created back in 2018! Ready? Leggo!
If This Wine Was a Person, it would easily be @regejean’s Duke of Hastings {of Bridgerton fame—swipe!}: self-assuredly sexy, confident, and deliciously enticing, with a bit of charming mischievousness designed to feel dangerously alluring.
You can’t help but be drawn to it, even though you know it might be a pleasure taken from you far too soon… WHEW, lol.
Y’all. If you didn’t get the message in my post a couple of days ago, hear me unequivocally now: YOU NEED THIS CHAMPAGNE! $68.00 #Getchusome
This champagne was SO GOOD that I was shedding a tear over it because I didn’t buy more than one bottle, and now it’s no longer in stock anywhere where I live. I’ve dried my eyes now though, because I found a way to order three bottles. WOOT!
This champagne is SUPER #BubbleistaApproved—cheers, y’all!