Pommery Cuvee Louise 2004
-
Suckling
James -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert - Decanter
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The Cuvee Louise 2004 is an elegant yellow with subtle green touches. On the nose, it is rich and balanced, offering notes of biscuit. The first sip is an extension of the nose, enhancing olfactory sensations with all notes in perfect harmony. Vivid flavors of hazelnut butter and almond paste greet the palate.
Blend: 60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
A very fine-textured Champagne with lovely density and finesse. The bubbles roll off the palate. Full body. Extremely creamy and flavorful. Shows wonderful finesse and a lovely, chalky, lemon-curd and brioche aftertaste. Drink now.
-
Wine Enthusiast
Pommery's prestige Champagne is named after one of the great Champagne widows of the 19th century who took over when her husband, Alexandre Pommery, died. It is a rich, mature wine, with toast and almond flavors as much as fruit. Full of mineral Chardonnay (60% of the blend), this ripe wine is very ready to drink.
-
Wine Spectator
Bright and minerally, featuring smoke and pastry dough notes layered with lemon curd and pureed black currant details, riding the lively bead. Offers a creamy finish, with a lightly floral overtone. Drink now through 2024.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2004 Brut Cuvée Louise offers up delicate aromas of honeyed orchard fruit, flowers and caramel, followed by a medium to full-bodied palate that's crisp and incisive, with a tight-knit core, a pinpoint mousse and a moderately persistent finish. While the wine needs a little bottle age to open up, I was hoping for more concentration and mid-palate presence. Rating: 90+
-
Decanter
This is excellent, with a subtle nuance and dimension on the palate. A layered combination of figs, white chocolate and orchard fruits.
Other Vintages
2005-
Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine -
Spirits
Wine &
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spectator
Wine
-
Spirits
Wine & -
Spectator
Wine -
Enthusiast
Wine
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spectator
Wine
-
Spectator
Wine
Representing the topmost expression of a Champagne house, a vintage Champagne is one made from the produce of a single, superior harvest year. Vintage Champagnes account for a mere 5% of total Champagne production and are produced about three times in a decade. Champagne is typically made as a blend of multiple years in order to preserve the house style; these will have non-vintage, or simply, NV on the label. The term, "vintage," as it applies to all wine, simply means a single harvest year.
Associated with luxury, celebration, and romance, the region, Champagne, is home to the world’s most prized sparkling wine. In order to bear the label, ‘Champagne’, a sparkling wine must originate from this northeastern region of France—called Champagne—and adhere to strict quality standards. Made up of the three towns Reims, Épernay, and Aÿ, it was here that the traditional method of sparkling wine production was both invented and perfected, birthing a winemaking technique as well as a flavor profile that is now emulated worldwide.
Well-drained, limestone and chalky soil defines much of the region, which lend a mineral component to its wines. Champagne’s cold, continental climate promotes ample acidity in its grapes but weather differences from year to year can create significant variation between vintages. While vintage Champagnes are produced in exceptional years, non-vintage cuvées are produced annually from a blend of several years in order to produce Champagnes that maintain a consistent house style.
With nearly negligible exceptions, . These can be blended together or bottled as individual varietal Champagnes, depending on the final style of wine desired. Chardonnay, the only white variety, contributes freshness, elegance, lively acidity and notes of citrus, orchard fruit and white flowers. Pinot Noir and its relative Pinot Meunier, provide the backbone to many blends, adding structure, body and supple red fruit flavors. Wines with a large proportion of Pinot Meunier will be ready to drink earlier, while Pinot Noir contributes to longevity. Whether it is white or rosé, most Champagne is made from a blend of red and white grapes—and uniquely, rosé is often produce by blending together red and white wine. A Champagne made exclusively from Chardonnay will be labeled as ‘blanc de blancs,’ while ones comprised of only red grapes are called ‘blanc de noirs.’