Pommery Brut Royal Apanage

This is a pretty old bottle, bought in 2001 for my graduation by mum and dad. The Pretty Lady and I finally got around to drinking it, but not on the Heath for our picnic as we had hoped. The weather was dire, so we had it in our living room instead.

The image shows the new packaging. We took so long over this one that the company had revamped the box and the colour scheme. We thought that the champagne might have suffered from the long storage, but we weren't going to improve matters by continuing to leave the bottle on the shelf. So what the heck - sometimes you get a dud bottle, and you deal with it.

But it wasn't a dud at all - 7 years of bottle aging didn't seem to have hurt it much. Still quite tasty, thank goodness.

Pommery Brut Royal Apanage
Champagne
France (Champagne)
45% Chardonnay, 35% Pinot Noir, 20% Pinot Meunier

Nosing: Papaya, toast, hints of white grape.
Mouthfeel: Slightly syrupy, a little flatter than I thought it would be. Must be the long storage time.
Tasting: Bitter sweet with honey notes. Peach, white pepper, slight tonic water-like bitterness.

Pommery is one of the premier champagne brands. It started out as Dubois-Gosset in 1836, but was taken over by one Louis Alexandre Pommery, who died and left his widow in charge. Madame Pommery laid the foundations for today's modern champagne house - she streamlined production, expanded the facilities and sorted out the succession planning.

In addition to the flagship Cuvee Louise, they make Brut Royal (non-vintage), Brut Royal Apanage (non-vintage, 1 step up) and Brut Rose. There are a number of other expressions sourced from specific vineyards, notably Brut Millésime, sourced from 7 Grand Cru vineyards.