Description
Champagne Vincent Couche, “Sensation” Dégorgement Tardif
After learning that New Year’s Eve fell on a Friday, I knew I couldn’t close the curtain on 2021 until hunting down one final Champagne rarity. And so, with a Cheshire-like grin, I’m thrilled to present Vincent Couche’s “newest” insanely long-aged white whale: the limited release of his 2000 “Sensation” Dégorgement Tardif. If you’ve yet to experience these stunning biodynamic beauties, I should either welcome you to SommSelect and/or offer my condolences for missing the boat on the previous three sellouts. Tonight, though, the slate is clean, as this is the first time in history consumers are laying eyes on Couche’s spectacular turn-of-the-century release.
Here’s how this vinous magic was created: Either a man of calculated genius or insanity (the jury is still out), the truly singular Vincent Couche blended together naturally farmed Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the year 2000, vinified it in old French barrels, and then let it mature for 20 years in bottle before disgorgement in April of 2021. Just 50 cases were produced, less than 25 made it into America, and we secured about a third of that. Anyone who considers themselves a legitimate connoisseur of fine-and-rare Champagne cannot miss this mature masterpiece. Although we should ration out our parcel a bit more tightly, we’re allowing up to six bottles per person. Hurry—a sellout before the stroke of midnight is all but guaranteed!
It was Vincent Couche’s mother who inspired his passion for vineyard work, and especially, for maintaining a natural, chemical-free ecosystem. As such, he has spent every waking hour over the past two decades ensuring his wines are free of additives. Because he refuses unnatural methods at every step of the process—from eschewing “-cides” to banning chaptalization or sulfur during fermentation to only using gravity to move the wine—Vincent Couche is leading the charge in both the organic and grower Champagne movements. Furthermore, his importer tells us Couche was the first producer in Champagne to be Certified Biodynamic in both the vineyard and cellar.
Couche only produces “Sensation” in vintages he deems worthy and 2000 was one of those standout seasons. His fruit comes from two choice villages: Buxeuil (Pinot Noir) and Montgueux (Chardonnay). Vines in Montgueux, made famous by Champagne icon Jacques Lassaigne, are perched on an expansive chalky rise that looks down at the farmland below. It’s predominantly planted to Chardonnay, and the wonderfully ripe grapes grown here add immense texture and vibrancy in the final wine. Back at Vincent’s cellar in Buxeuil, a fermentation born of ambient yeasts was carried out in French oak barrels, without any sulfur, and the final blend was bottled in the first months of 2001. This batch was then cellared for just over 20 years before Vincent finally decided it was “the right time” in April of 2021. Upon disgorgement, it was topped off with approximately 4-5 grams of sugar.
I know many of you have now had three chances to purchase various disgorgements of Couche’s 1999 “Sensation,” and while that remains one of the finest <$150 late-disgorgement bottlings I’ve ever tasted, tonight’s 2000 is also an epicure’s dream. It’s also a vastly different wine in the best possible way: This is not dense and mellow but rather a poised and astoundingly energetic 21-year-old champagne—serve this blind and I’d wager nobody’s going to come close to its age. The palate is brimming with high tones of honeysuckle, white peach, green apple, pineapple core, Rainier cherry, and acacia alongside crackling notes of toasted nuts and candied lemon/lime peel. Still, stay with it for a few more moments, and a savory earth and mineral show begins: wild herbs, lees, smoke, crushed white stones, button mushroom, fino sherry, cheese rind, nougat. The palate is a touch over medium-bodied and loaded with buoyant layers of acidity that highlight the wine’s beautiful citrus- and orchard-fruit flavors. All the while, a churning core of minerals and creamy nuttiness make it a dynamic sensory experience that seems to shapeshift every 15 minutes. It’s a mind-blowing wine to be enjoyed now and over the next 5-8 years. Happy Holidays!
