From: Verzenay, Montagne de Reims, Champagne, France
Varietals: 60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay
Tasting Notes: Dousset’s Champagne ‘Original’ Brut Nature is a fantastic example of all of Dousset's house terroirs (Verzenay, Mailly-Champagne, Verzy, and Sillery) in one bottling, in both cepage (grape blend), aroma and taste. From Verzenay, the wine takes its taut, fresh-yet-structured Pinot nature. You’ll notice a note of “distinct gaminess” right smack dab on the mid-palate of the first glass, integrated seamlessly–though you wouldn’t think it the first time you take note of that quality. Upon our first taste, it made my senses quite alert and had to put the area and style into consideration. Of course, after doing so, I found the champagne quite lovely, and the iron-y quality of the mid-palate found its way into so many inspirations for pairing. (That quirky combination may also be from the Sillery terroir, as mentioned above, but as I’ve never had champagne from Sillery, I can’t say for sure. )
Finally, fresh as a daisy, north-facing fruit from Mailly-Champagne lends to all those soft citrus, mirabelle plum, quince, and white flower top-notes on the nose that firm up quite nicely and harmonize together with the champagne’s mid-palate as the wine opens up. I’d suggest opening this champagne & instead of putting a stopper in the neck of the bottle right away, leave it open for about 20 minutes on your table. That exposure to climate and oxygen will help to meld aromas and flavors, much in the same way a still wine does, to give you the most harmonious experience. That said, it’s delicious either way and if you don’t want to do so, you’ll still have a ball of a time with this bubbly.
Pairing: There are a lot of pairings that come to mind when thinking about this wine. You could easily do any sort of grilled seafood, grilled vegetables, shellfish usuals, but this champagne was calling to me personally to pair alongside food with some sort of umami essence. Something with an equally dense base of earthy goodness.
