Comments on: Terry Theise and his merry band of small growers http://www.drvino.com/2006/12/14/terry-theise-and-his-merry-band-of/ wine talk that goes down easy Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:01:23 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc By: Dr Vino’s wine blog » Blog Archive » Tasting sized pours - Dr. Vino edition http://www.drvino.com/2006/12/14/terry-theise-and-his-merry-band-of/#comment-6478 Dr Vino’s wine blog » Blog Archive » Tasting sized pours - Dr. Vino edition Sat, 07 Apr 2007 02:01:06 +0000 http://70.103.16.189/~drvinoco/wordpress/2006/12/terry-theise-and-his-merry-band-of/#comment-6478 [...] Grower champagnes: a lunch with importer Terry Theise [...] [...] Grower champagnes: a lunch with importer Terry Theise [...]

]]> By: grazza http://www.drvino.com/2006/12/14/terry-theise-and-his-merry-band-of/#comment-754 grazza Fri, 26 Jan 2007 12:13:00 +0000 http://70.103.16.189/~drvinoco/wordpress/2006/12/terry-theise-and-his-merry-band-of/#comment-754 As a sommelier, I jumped on the grower bandwagon in search of something a bit out of the ordinary, something a little bit more special. Having done several tastings (some blind, some partially blind, others open) the grower fizz stands out head and shoulders above the grande marque stuff. It has more definition, more character, there is more nuance to the aromas and flavours. It is more typical to the region. Champagne is the only region in france that has a nifty get out clause allowing them to blend the product of many different vintages to create a consistent product. The key word there is consistent. When the big boys are producing somewhere between two and seven million bottles a year, what they are creating is a homegenised product. One bottle is exactly the same as the next (it was interesting to read the results of the chemical analysis. I was aware that wines are treated differently depending on where they are to be shipped, obviously wine travelling halfway around the world needs a different dose of SO2 than one travelling twenty clicks down the road, but I never really appreciated that the champagnes would get different dosages depending on which market they get sent to.).Grower champagnes, by their very limited production tend to have more variation in batch to batch, they may be subtle, they may be more obvious, but there are differences, which also adds to their appeal. This I think explains why many grower/producers tend to name the date of disgorgement on their bottles - Selosse, Egly-Ouriet, Aubry etc all practice this,very welcome additional information.<BR/>They are lesser known because they lack the immense marketing budgets of the big brands, but if you think about it, who is paying for all that sponsorship of sporting events, glossy page advertising in premium publications, big brand presence in retailers etc. Thats right, Joe Punter pays for it all when he buys a bottle. I would be happier knowing that the £20 I spend on a bottle of champagne is going to the grower (after the retailers profit obviously!) rather than being parceled off to marketing departments, accountants etc etc, with what little remains going back to the grapes. So give it another shot and let the wines do the talking. If at the end you prefer Bollinger to Selosse, Pol Roger to Aubry, Veuve Clicquot to Jacquesson then thats fine, thats the beauty of wines, its all horses for courses. As a sommelier, I jumped on the grower bandwagon in search of something a bit out of the ordinary, something a little bit more special. Having done several tastings (some blind, some partially blind, others open) the grower fizz stands out head and shoulders above the grande marque stuff. It has more definition, more character, there is more nuance to the aromas and flavours. It is more typical to the region. Champagne is the only region in france that has a nifty get out clause allowing them to blend the product of many different vintages to create a consistent product. The key word there is consistent. When the big boys are producing somewhere between two and seven million bottles a year, what they are creating is a homegenised product. One bottle is exactly the same as the next (it was interesting to read the results of the chemical analysis. I was aware that wines are treated differently depending on where they are to be shipped, obviously wine travelling halfway around the world needs a different dose of SO2 than one travelling twenty clicks down the road, but I never really appreciated that the champagnes would get different dosages depending on which market they get sent to.).Grower champagnes, by their very limited production tend to have more variation in batch to batch, they may be subtle, they may be more obvious, but there are differences, which also adds to their appeal. This I think explains why many grower/producers tend to name the date of disgorgement on their bottles - Selosse, Egly-Ouriet, Aubry etc all practice this,very welcome additional information.
They are lesser known because they lack the immense marketing budgets of the big brands, but if you think about it, who is paying for all that sponsorship of sporting events, glossy page advertising in premium publications, big brand presence in retailers etc. Thats right, Joe Punter pays for it all when he buys a bottle. I would be happier knowing that the £20 I spend on a bottle of champagne is going to the grower (after the retailers profit obviously!) rather than being parceled off to marketing departments, accountants etc etc, with what little remains going back to the grapes. So give it another shot and let the wines do the talking. If at the end you prefer Bollinger to Selosse, Pol Roger to Aubry, Veuve Clicquot to Jacquesson then thats fine, thats the beauty of wines, its all horses for courses.

]]> By: rachel http://www.drvino.com/2006/12/14/terry-theise-and-his-merry-band-of/#comment-755 rachel Fri, 22 Dec 2006 10:20:00 +0000 http://70.103.16.189/~drvinoco/wordpress/2006/12/terry-theise-and-his-merry-band-of/#comment-755 I am very surprised that there was not a blind tasting involved in this talk. While I have not had the opportunity to attend a lecture by Thesie himself, I have met his counter-part, Michael Skurnik of NY. In discussing these small growers, we did a blind tasting, and as another blogger said, the difference is disgustingly apparent. I use that word in particular; the unnamed large house Champagne was almost undrinkable in comparison.<BR/><BR/>Mind you, I still feel there's a place for the big houses (one of my favorites will probably always be Bolligner--action films or not), but it'd be nice to know that educated wine drinkers are also educated on what's happening in Champagne (many are not). I am very surprised that there was not a blind tasting involved in this talk. While I have not had the opportunity to attend a lecture by Thesie himself, I have met his counter-part, Michael Skurnik of NY. In discussing these small growers, we did a blind tasting, and as another blogger said, the difference is disgustingly apparent. I use that word in particular; the unnamed large house Champagne was almost undrinkable in comparison.

Mind you, I still feel there’s a place for the big houses (one of my favorites will probably always be Bolligner–action films or not), but it’d be nice to know that educated wine drinkers are also educated on what’s happening in Champagne (many are not).

]]> By: Dr. Vino http://www.drvino.com/2006/12/14/terry-theise-and-his-merry-band-of/#comment-756 Dr. Vino Mon, 18 Dec 2006 17:26:00 +0000 http://70.103.16.189/~drvinoco/wordpress/2006/12/terry-theise-and-his-merry-band-of/#comment-756 Actually, Steve, Bollinger is going to sponsor my next action film so that's why I don't want to say anything bad about them...Just kidding!<BR/><BR/>I wish that we had had one of the grandes marques there for comparison. Esp interesting, I imagine, would be the vintage - NV comparison you suggest.<BR/><BR/>Cheers, Actually, Steve, Bollinger is going to sponsor my next action film so that’s why I don’t want to say anything bad about them…Just kidding!

I wish that we had had one of the grandes marques there for comparison. Esp interesting, I imagine, would be the vintage - NV comparison you suggest.

Cheers,

]]> By: steve http://www.drvino.com/2006/12/14/terry-theise-and-his-merry-band-of/#comment-757 steve Mon, 18 Dec 2006 16:58:00 +0000 http://70.103.16.189/~drvinoco/wordpress/2006/12/terry-theise-and-his-merry-band-of/#comment-757 Hi Tyler,<BR/><BR/>As for being disappointed in Grower Champagne, you may have just had an off day. Or perhaps you're up for a Lanson award and don't want to put off any of the Grande Marques. . .<BR/><BR/>I would give it another shot, Farmer Fizz side by side with a NV Moet or Clicquot - the difference is absolutely unbelievable. A 1999 Gimonnet Fleurons vs a NV Veuve Clicquot each cost about 40 bucks but even a newbie will be overwhelmingly convinced. Hi Tyler,

As for being disappointed in Grower Champagne, you may have just had an off day. Or perhaps you’re up for a Lanson award and don’t want to put off any of the Grande Marques. . .

I would give it another shot, Farmer Fizz side by side with a NV Moet or Clicquot - the difference is absolutely unbelievable. A 1999 Gimonnet Fleurons vs a NV Veuve Clicquot each cost about 40 bucks but even a newbie will be overwhelmingly convinced.

]]> By: Alex Manoni http://www.drvino.com/2006/12/14/terry-theise-and-his-merry-band-of/#comment-758 Alex Manoni Fri, 15 Dec 2006 13:14:00 +0000 http://70.103.16.189/~drvinoco/wordpress/2006/12/terry-theise-and-his-merry-band-of/#comment-758 These wines are more rare and should have more cachet than the grandes marques, given comparable quality. Moet is available at any grocery store; these Theise wines are not. Besides the sensory experience of drinking wine, one of the attractions is the people, places, and stories that are represented by the label on a bottle. Surely that is greater for a small producer than a large corporation. All the vitriol against multinationals is tiresome and unnecessary. These wines are more rare and should have more cachet than the grandes marques, given comparable quality. Moet is available at any grocery store; these Theise wines are not. Besides the sensory experience of drinking wine, one of the attractions is the people, places, and stories that are represented by the label on a bottle. Surely that is greater for a small producer than a large corporation. All the vitriol against multinationals is tiresome and unnecessary.

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