Hello everybody and welcome to Wine Library Tv. I am your host Gary Vaynerchuk. And this my friends is the thunder show, AKA the internet’s most passionate wine program. You know Mott, when we started here, there were like beautiful snowflakes, but now, it’s like ice up in here. We’re getting caught to little ice palates here. Bit snowstorm has hit New Jersey. Horrible for business that’s why a lot of you got a bunch of emails. But definitely, a fun opportunity because I and Mott like to get out and play in the snow when we can and that’s what we’re doing for you today.
Now, a little explanation, three full days without a thunder show. Mott, a record for us going back to June of ’06. I was under the weather, it has been a little crazy with the holiday season. So being a little sick, how do we come back? Come outside and be in the huge storm. Why not? And, we are going to focus on bubbles today because we’re getting closer to New Year and a lot of people talk about champagne. We’ve done the sparkling show with the Klikos and the Motts before. Mott, link that up right below if you want to watch last year’s show with the non-vintage stuff, some of the brands that you see in the supermarket. We got a couple more of them today to focus on and I’m really excited about that. I’m also extremely excited for the secret pack, the Christmas secret pack. If you are in the east coast, you can still get it before actual Christmas. So New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, Mott, link that up. And if you’re not and you want to grab it and watch it after Christmas, you can do that as well. We’ve sold a boat load. So we’re looking forward to being in your home Christmas Eve. Around 2:00 or 3:00, it will be posted because I know a lot of people do it early and we want to be out and about. So a lot of people have been asking about that.
Also, it’s a great time to sign up for the thunder cruise. This weather makes me thing of the cruise when we’re talking a lot about the details of the thunder cruise. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, mid April, a cruise with me and a bunch of wine, Mott, link that up. I’ve been away a little while. I want to link up stuff. And so, we’ll get into more details about that with a great gift or for yourself.
Right now, thunder cruise, let’s get right into it. It’s a very big brand. One of the hottest selling champagnes in the store, the Nicolas Feuillate nonvintage brut champagne monster. Zoom in. US$27. Let’s get into it and let’s see what’s going on. I mean, this is just—this is really—I mean, you know, we’re just like playing in the snow. I mean this is like a ball or city up here, pretty cool. Let’s see what going on with this little brut blend here from Nicolas Feuillate. Anybody who knows me really seriously in the wine world knows all that bubbles. Desert island wine for me? Bubbles, my friend, bubbles. I’m all about the bubs and I’m a big fan of champagne. I taste a lot of it. I really feel like my palate is strong in this category. Maybe the strongest category for me, period. So definitely something that I’m pretty proud of. A category I really enjoy and I think that I can really break this down for you, really subtly, especially if we’re in this winter fest. I feel like my senses are even more on point. Let’s give it a sniffy sniff. I get a really nice little apple component coming through right off the back. Speaking of which, this cold air is a little bit—kind of spidey sensing me up a little bit because I’m really smelling this. I get a little cinnamon toast crunch component as well. My hands are starting to freeze. Let’s give this a whirl.
Good acid on the mid palate on this Nicolas Feuillatte, good roundness on the palate. It reminds me a little bit of the Vouv Cliquot. So if you’re a yellow label fan and you’re looking to go into something a little bit different and try something new, this definitely would be an alternative because it’s got the creamy bubble component thing going. A little bit more of the normal. Good stuff, good fruit, not bad at all for a nonvintage kind of a generic brand thing. It lacks a little bit of the complexity you look for in some of the bigger and more serious stuff out there. But still, a very solid bona fide under $30 sparkling wine as the Moet and Cliqout go. I think the Feuillatte shares a little bit more complexity. The ice is starting to bounce. A little bit more of complexity in those. I’m going to score this wine 88+ points. I think it’s solid. And for a brand that you can find out there, this may definitely be the one that you might want to steer towards. Also, I want to mention that I will be doing a value sparkling show next week.
Let’s move on. Let’s go right into the Mumm Brut. This is a very famous classic brand, one that a lot of people will enjoy quite a bit, US$ 33. Let’s give a big shout out to Patrick Hewing. Anytime, we can see the 33, that’s exciting. It comes in a little bit higher than Nicolas Feuillate, 33 bones. Mumm is a really big named brand. Again, wherever you are in the world, Helsinki, Cyprus, Costa Rica, all the fans that watch the thunder show around the world, you’ll be able to find this brand. It’s one of the core brands that has been walking since 1827. This is not a come around the way kind of thing. Let’s give it a sniffy sniff. Now, this has a lot more baked wood kind of going on on it. Almost like a burnt potato skin composed on the nose which I like a little bit. Here, there is definitely a little bit more woody action going on. I also get a peach component on this champagne which I think is very serviceable and solid. Let’s give it a whirl. Good ripeness, there’s a lot more acid in this wine but it’s a little bit more disjointed, believe it or not. Now, it is creamy as the last champagne but loaded with really nice apple peel which I think is darn solid. Nobody hates apple peel. Really solid. I like the smokiness. If you’re looking for a little bit of more smoky or woody kind of action in your bubs, then this is definitely a champagne that brings a little bit of that thunder. That being said, I also find it a little bit unfocused and not as high in the acid category as maybe I’d like to see in the creaminess factor that is almost completely nullified. So if you’re not going to have a lot of complexity and you’re not going to have a lot of creaminess, then really, I’m a little bit worried because people get tricked by the creaminess that’s why they like the Cliqout, the Dampi, the Crystal. And I really love the bubs. I’m looking for that real high acid complexity. This show is neither in spades which makes it sound a little bit unexciting for me. I’m going to score this one 85 points because it still had some solid things going for it. But that being said, it’s not completely dominating me and that’s a little bit of a problem, because I want to be dominated.
Anyway, let’s give it a little rinse. Let’s move on to the third one. What you’re looking at here is the Varnier-fanniere Champagne, this rolls in at US$35, 91 points wine spectator. It is 100% chardonnay. It is grand cru brut. It’s a blanc to blanc. When you see blanc to blanc, that means that it’s 100% chardonnay action, that’s what you’re looking for if you like the chard. Right here, you’ll see Terry Theise. Terry Theise is a great importer. A really small production sparkling wines and I’m a big fan of a lot of the stuff that he’s bringing into the US. Now, let’s give this a sniffy sniff. Tight nose in these conditions. I’m getting a little bit of like a neat kind of thing going on. I’m also getting apple peel on this one as well. Most are giving a little bit of an apple component coming through which is quite nice. Let’s give it a whirl. I’ve not drank a lot of wine on the thunder show but this caught me right around half time. It kind of flipped the switched to only like the Jets do to the Seattle sucky Seahawks this weekend. Really gorgeous baked apples. So it’s kind of combining some of the things that we’ve seen in other wines. And like a gorgeous white flower components and get sugar cane on the mid palate which is just gorgeous. But I get a little bit of like a cauliflower component on the back end that’s almost sweet. If you’ve never had sugared up cauliflower, you’re just not living. And I’m telling you right now, it’s a beautiful pairing. This is a marvelous effort. Great complexity, great fruit and I’m blown away. I think the spectator actually underrated this wine. This one really caught my attention. 91 points spectator, I’m going to go 93 points on this champagne. Great length, it has great complexity, it does a lot of things that I love than $50 sparklers do and it’s doing at 35 and I can’t be upset about that. Great longevity on its baked apple flavor, just gorgeousness coming through, solid stuff, whipping stuff. Varnier lift it my friends. If you want to have a good party, VF it tonight because this one brings serious thunder. Write this name down, go and find it. This dominates most $40 to $50 sparkling out wines and I’m completely blown away. It is head and shoulders above the last two. And considering that the Mumm is only 2 bones less, you’re comparing a major league player to a high school bench warmer. Great stuff.
And finally, I’m dying to try this. A lot of hype. One of the most respected sevignes in New York City who I think has a gorgeous palate for bubbles totally to bring this in. I’ve not tried it yet. This is the RL Legras Champagne grand crew blanc to blanc. Again, this wine rolls at US$40, 100% chardonnay, 92 points Steven Tanser. And if you know anything about the wine world, he’s one tough SOB my friends. So he’s scoring 92 points. You know, that’s really quite a high score for Tanser. 40 bones so it’s a little bit more expensive. It is pushing the top price point of this tasting. Let’s give it a sniffy sniff. Great color on this one. You can already see right off the back, the nose is by far the most complex of the bunch we’ve had so far. I almost get like a rotten bread component coming through which doesn’t sound so exciting but trust me, it is. A hint layer of mustard coming through for me now. I’m really getting into this.
There is a little bit of smokiness, a little wood action coming through which is quite neat and great apple core coming through. Just apples, again, pears as well. Very complex nose. What we really relegate to the hundred dollar special cuvette on nose complexity, that is what this Legras is showing. So right off the back, our nose, no comparison, not even to the VF that we just had, the Varnier-fannierre. This is really showing the Legras the complexity on the nose like a density. Really, right on just our nose, I can tell you that this wine would last the longest of the bunch. Let’s give it a whirl.
Right off top by far the biggest bubble action. So if you like the fizz in your mouth, this is going to be the champagne you want the most. Let me give it one more shot. We talked about high acid in champagne. If you’re a high acid fan, then this is for you. For example, if you’ve been a fan of Silan, the really luxury cuvette, or if you’ve ever had a krug nonvintage. When you really get that really high acid more than normal than you really know what I’m talking about, this absolutely slices through any food by the way. In my mind set, what I want to pair this with is lobster, believe it or not, if you’re a lobster fan. On New Year, if you’re popping some lobsters, maybe the recession is not hitting yet, you got some lobsters and caviar and you’re bubbing some bubbles, this is really a great play. If you’re looking to save against let’s say a Crystal or a Dampi this holiday, this has the chops. I think it tends to really score it well at 92 points. I like it a little bit better than the Varnier, so I’m going to score it 93+ points. It is a very different wine. It’s higher in acid. It’s not as cooling and covering in the palate. It’s a little bit more of a focused champagne but it really serves a tremendous purpose. I like this a whole lot. It’s got great mouth feel. This is really dominated by Granny Smith apple candy flavors, but very focused high acid ripping through. Very much the most food friendly of the four champagnes and definitely the one you could put away because it brings serious thunder for the next five to seven years. Lobster is the pairing here or sushi. I can see this being an amazing pair up.
Pretty impressive, this Nicolas Feuillate for like a standard brand. But boy! Can you see the difference when you go back and forth. Anyway get me back to the hot seat—oh! Maybe I should call it the cold seat. I missed you guys so much. Thank you so much for leaving more comments the last time we talked about it Monday. People stood up but it sat there for a little while too. For that being said, I wish you nothing but the greatest holidays of your life. A lot of people are complaining about business and the economy out there. But you know what, if you have your health and your family, you don’t need anything else. I hope you enjoyed this show. It was a crap little fun to do. I love to bring the thunder on gloomy days. And more importantly, I hope you go out and try new kinds of champagnes because what you’re paying for Crystal, or Dampi, or Kliko will perish away when you order imperial, whatever they call it out. And you could buy stuff like this, unknown stuff under the radar, grower stuff, real stuff for a dollar or two more or sometimes less. It boggles my mind. It is completely stupendous out there if you do a little homework on bubbles. This holiday, this New Year, you’re a Vayniac, you watch the thunder show. Make me a promise. Go out there and try new bubbles. Don’t buy the same old boulenger tatten, Nicolas Feuillate, mix it up.
Question of the day. What is the best bubbles you’ve every put in your mouth? It could be Sanserbot. You with a little bit of me, we are changing the wine world.
Transcription by:
Scribe4you Transcription Services