WTN: Doyard Champagne

Had a Champagne session with some friends yesterday, and drank many good bottles. One new producer for me was Doyard.

I really liked the NV Doyard Vendémiaire Brut (17 base), it had such firm depth and drive but also lively elegance that one wants in Champagne. The 2017 Doyard Clos de l'Abbaye Extra Brut was a bit harder to read, even with a bunch of air. Probably needs age to come together. But, nicely stacked fruit and I was inclined to give it the benefit of the doubt based on how much I enjoyed the Vendémiaire.

Anybody else here enjoy Doyard?

[David M. Bueker]

I have heard about them, but never tried it. Your comments sound encouraging.

You probably know that William Kelley is a big fan and has a lot of content on them, published and on Berserkers. He describes the wines as structured and vinous, so I wasn't sure what to expect. That definitely applied to the Clos de l'Abbaye but I thought the Vendémiaire was good fun last night. Unfortunately I had gotten the last bottle from CSW and my other favorite stores are now out, but I'm sure more will come my way at some point.

[David M. Bueker]

The wines seem to be pretty widely available per WineSearcher.

The wines seem to be pretty widely available per WineSearcher.

Yes, that's a good point.

I tend to be focused on specific retailers, trying to limit my spending in 2-3 places where I know the people. Of course they have broad and consistent selections, I'm not just buying whatever random stuff they happen to have. But I rarely go hunting for wines. Who knows if that's the best approach, but it's become my habit!

[David M. Bueker]

I do the searches to find if things are out there, but there are really only about four-six that I would ever buy from.

Should be zero these days!

Thanks. Only had a few Doyards. Always thought well-made, but never loved. Kind of like I react to Krug.
Am willing to be convinced though.

Thanks. Only had a few Doyards. Always thought well-made, but never loved. Kind of like I react to Krug.

Yes, everyone has his own preferences.

I did see your notes in the WLDG archives when I was buying this wine. They were interesting because you consistently noted high dosage in your bottles. But these were 4g/l for the Vendémiaire Brut and 2g/l for the Abbaye Extra Brut, which doesn't strike me as high. Maybe they've changed practices over the years.

It could be a style shift, or it could be poor tasting on my part. I do remember doing a double take when I saw one bottle was listed as extra brut.

It could be a style shift, or it could be poor tasting on my part. I do remember doing a double take when I saw one bottle was listed as extra brut.

Yeah I can't claim to be a clinically-perfect taster either, we can all fall victim to misdirection. There was actually some discussion on Berserkers about how to interpret the wines, as William Kelley noted they are dense and full of body but also very focused and not necessarily 'broad' in youth. Which led different tasters to emphasize different descriptors, that didn't always seem consistent.

Who knows...

[David M. Bueker]

I do remember doing a double take when I saw one bottle was listed as extra brut.

The character of the base vintage perhaps? Low acid year can make even 3 g/l seem rich.