"Remember gentlemen, it's not just France we are fighting for, it's Champagne!"
Winston Churchill

Eva Schubert, Michel Forget et moi

Fine Champagne is a wonderful thing and it doesn’t get much better than the superb range of bubbly produced by Champagne Forget-Brimont. Michel Forget is the sixth generation Forget to follow the family’s wine-making tradition. Louis Forget created his vineyard at the beginning of the nineteenth century and Eugène established the family label in 1920 (with a production of only a hundred bottles).

No question about it, the Forget-Brimont champagnes are all terrific. As well they should be. First, all the grapes come from premier and grand cru (the top and the best of the top) vineyards. Then, Michel Forget personally oversees absolutely every aspect of the creation of these meticulously crafted champagnes. Our good friend Eva Schubert runs the sales and marketing functions for the winery and makes sure our wine club orders are handled with utmost care. And, she has fabulous news … she has recently given birth to her first child, daughter Capucine.

The Champagnes on Offer

We are thrilled to bring back the very popular Champagne Forget-Brimont 1er Cru Rosé Brut that has sold about twenty-thousand bottles at the SAQ in Québec (currently $48.25 the bottle and eighteen-hundred bottles here at Vintages last year). Your wine club price is only $47.

We also have five other delicious Champagnes available along with the ever-popular ‘Champagne Sampler’ that includes a bottle of all six. All of them contain 12.0 percent alcohol by volume and come in convenient six-bottle cases. The four Premier Cru Champagnes contain more than twenty-five percent Grand Cru grapes while the other two contain only Grand Cru fruit. While drinking very well now, they will develop additional depth and character with an additional year or two in the cellar.  

The prices below include a one dollar handling fee. We will be taking your orders to the LCBO on Friday, August 26^th to ensure they arrive well before year’s end.

Champagne Forget-Brimont 1er Cru Brut - $44/264 case of 6
Believe me, this is a great wine for a great price. The grape composition is 60% Pinot Noir, 20% Pinot Meunier and 20% Chardonnay (all Premier and Grand Cru). It is a pale golden colour with a delicate nose of green apples, white flowers and hazelnuts. It has a very fresh, deep structure and is well-balanced and has good length. It is a great way to start any party and is a wonderful accompaniment for white meats.

And, it costs much less than you would pay for regular mass-marketed Champagne. Here are some examples of the prices of regular Champagne currently available at the LCBO – not a 1er Cru in the lot:

Latch on to this most enjoyable wine now.

Champagne Forget-Brimont 1er Cru Extra Brut - $47/$282 case of 6
This is really excellent Apéritif Champagne in a delicate and refreshing style. Comprised of 60% Pinot Noir, 20% Pinot Meunier and 20% Chardonnay, (all Premier and Grand Cru grapes!) this crystal-clear Champagne possesses delightfully persistent tiny bubbles.  Aromas of white flowers, citrus, pears and honeysuckle carry through in the mouth. It is beautifully fresh and lively with a long finish and would be a special treat with oysters or caviar. This lovely fizz has earned a Five Star rating from Decanter magazine. Click here to order.

Champagne Forget-Brimont 2002 Millesime 1er Cru Brut - $55/$330 case of 6
This is the Champagne for those most festive occasions. It is also an ideal apéritif. The grape composition (all from the 2002 harvest) is 50% Pinot Noir and 50% Chardonnay (1er and Grand Cru grapes only!). In the glass, the beautiful luminous golden colour provides an ideal backdrop for its steady stream of tiny bubbles. It has a complex nose of stewed fruits, toasted bread, hazelnuts, almonds and vanilla. A wonderfully mature, round wine with a silky finish it would be perfect with chicken, foie gras or sweetbreads with morels. At least $25 cheaper than anything comparable at the LCBO, it is a big hit with our Members.  Order some of this spectacular wine now.

Champagne Forget-Brimont 1er Cru Rosé Brut - $47/282 case of 6
This is the Champagne for those most festive occasions. It is also an ideal apéritif. Its rosé colour comes from adding red wine from Brouzy to the Forget-Brimont reserve cuvée. The grape composition is 60% Pinot Noir, 20% Pinot Meunier and 20% Chardonnay (Premier and Grand Cru grapes only!). In the glass, the beautiful light orange, pink colour provides an ideal backdrop for its steady stream of tiny bubbles. At least $25 cheaper than anything comparable at the LCBO, it is a big hit with our Members. Click here to order.

Champagne Forget-Brimont Grand Cru Grand Réserve Blanc de Blancs  (Chardonnay) - $57/$342 case of 6
The most delicate Chardonnays (Avize, Mesnil-sur-Oger and Oger) are blended in this cuvee. A lemon yellow colour, it has fine and persistent bubbles. The aromas are of honeysuckle and other white flowers, grapefruit and honey. It is beautifully balanced with a lingering taste of citrus fruit and warm brioche. It is drinking sublimely now and will develop even more complexity if cellared for a year or two. The winery says it is perfect as an apéritif or an accompaniment for crayfish and baked oysters. We had it with a fruit flan for desert – sheer ambrosia! Click here to order.

Champagne Forget-Brimont Grand Cru Rosé - $58/$348 case of 6
It doesn't get any more festive or refined! This Grand Cru Rosé is made from 76% Pinot Noir and 24% Chardonnay. As one would expect from such classy Champagne, the bubbles are tiny and explosive. It is a beautiful salmon pink colour with a nose of strawberries, apples and raspberries. In the mouth these flavours persist and are joined by notes of black and red currants and citrus fruits. The finish is fresh and elegant. There is a perfect harmony between the richness of the Pinot Noir and the finesse of the Chardonnay. The Grand Cru Rosé Champagne goes well with many, many things, but is best by itself at the start of a serious party. Order your festive potion now.

Champagne Forget-Brimont Mixed Sampler Case - $52/ $312 case of 6
Response to Michel Forget's mixed six-bottle case of Champagne was so positive in the past that he has decided to offer us another – one bottle each of the all the above wines. This is a great way to try his wonderful bubbly and to decide which ones you like best for your next order. It would also make a great gift for the Champagne fancier. Click here to order.

Terms used on champagne labels to indicate the sweetness (or dryness) are very subjective – one person’s sweet may be another’s dry. However, the following with the limits of the residual sugar in grams per litre when the dosage (the mixture of wine and, usually, cane sugar used to top up the bottle after removing the sediment produced by the second fermentation in the bottle) has been added is a guide:

Extra-Brut: very dry indeed, 0 - 6g/l.
Brut: very dry, 0 -15g/l.
Extra Dry: dry, 12 - 20g/l.
Sec: slightly sweet, 17 -35g/l.
Demi-Sec: sweet, 33 - 50g/l.
Doux: very sweet, more than 50g/l.

Source -  ‘Champagne, Le Guide de l’Amateur’, Eric Glatre, 1999.

Know any Champagne fanciers? If you do, please pass this note on to them.

Many thanks and cheers,

Jim & Hélène
jaswalker@arthurseller.com
hbuisson@ofrance.ca
www.arthursellers.com
www.ofrance.ca