K&L’s Champagne Buyer, Gary Westby, wrote about the inimitable René Collard in the June Newsletter, but didn’t have the space for detailed descriptions, so here they are! These wines have not yet arrived, but will slip out of our inventory in the blink of an eye, so click the links and get yourself on the waiting list for your favorites before they’re all gone!

—Leah Greenstein, K&L Wine Merchants’ Writer/Editor

Ageless Meunier, Part Deux

René Collard Brut Carte d’Or ($49.99) This powerful, full-flavored Champagne is composed of all meunier from the 1992 harvest, aged on its lees until this year deep in Mr. Collard’s 75-foot-deep cellar. Intense, toasty, loaded with porcini mushroom intrigue and yet very fresh, this is a very memorable Champagne and perfect for paté.

René Collard Cuvée Ultime Ultra Brut ($49.99) This Champagne is all 1995, Mr. Collard’s final harvest and has zero dosage—and certainly does not need any! It has a big, bread dough nose and plenty of exotic pear and apple flavors. The finish is crisp, long, detailed and seems to swell up after a few seconds. Try it with BBQ chicken.

1990 René Collard Cuvée Reservee Millesime ($59.99) Mr. Collard’s “current” vintage! This is one of the youngest of all the 1990s, with plenty of time in hand. This wine is composed of 90% meunier and 10% chardonnay and has a lot of flavor and complexity: white truffles, ripe melon and great length.

1985 René Collard Cuvée Reservee Millesime ($74.99) A blend of 90% meunier and 10% chardonnay Look for white truffles, brioche and pine-nuts in this spectacular! This is such a complex, elegant and completely fresh wine that it is hard to believe it is so young, and hard to believe it is so old!

1985 René Collard Cuvée Speciale Rosé Brut ($84.99) Mr. Collard only makes rosé in great vintages—so rarely that this was the only one produced in 1980s! It is composed entirely of Meunier, 88% vinified white and the rest as still red wine. I have never experienced a wine like it—the only thing that I can compare it to is Chambertin. The purity, power and grace of the meunier left me speechless at my notebook. This wine is the best argument for meunier there could be—it is better pinot noir than pinot noir is!

1975 René Collard Cuvée Reservee Millesime ($99.00) Only five cases imported. This is a blend of 90% meunier and 10% chardonnay. One of the five best Champagnes I have ever tasted. It has the freshness of a 1996 Blanc de Blancs and a level of complexity that few wines ever achieve. It has sweet fruit, potent minerality and a finish that will not quit. Young at over thirty years, I don't think that I will live to see it fade.

—Gary Westby