Ratings & Tasting Notes:
Wine Enthusiast, December 2016
Fashionably pale in colour, with crisp acidity. Red-currant fruit and bright acidity give a wine that is lively but light in character. Ready to drink.
Wine Enthusiast, December 2005
Dry and spicy, with aromatic notes of spiced ham and dried fruit. Berry and peach flavours are solid and fresh, with just enough breadth on the finish. Shows a modicum of complexity on a forward, easy foundation.
Cult Wines International Notes:
Paul-François Vranken founded his house in Reims in 1976, an outsider to Champagne who set about changing what the region tasted like. He stripped out the heavy, spirituous character then common and built his wines around the freshness and lightness of Chardonnay. In 1985 he bought the Château des Castaignes at Montmort, a few kilometres from Épernay, built on a site known as La Demoiselle. Demoiselle is the French word for the dragonflies that filled the château’s park, and the dragonfly was an emblem of the Art Nouveau movement and of René Lalique in particular. From that came both the name and the bottle: the sculpted flacon is a deliberate tribute to Art Nouveau, and one of the most recognisable shapes in Champagne. Vranken has since grown into one of the region’s largest groups, owning Pommery and Heidsieck & Co Monopole among others, but Demoiselle remains the cuvée that carries his own name.
The rosé is drawn from the same Chardonnay-led house style, with Pinot bringing colour and red fruit. The producer describes a brilliant apricot hue shot through with copper reflections and a fine, steady bead. The nose runs to white currant and citrus, with a touch of fresh bay leaf for lift, and the palate is balanced, light and lively, round and notably fruity. It is built as an aperitif Champagne — easy, charming, and better suited to a celebration than to contemplation. Serve well chilled.
Bottle Size:
750 mL
Storage History:
Always stored on its side in a climate-controlled cellar.
Condition:
Please note: The bottle shown is the exact bottle being sold.
This is not a new release. The bottle is 20-30 years old.
Outstanding condition.
