pommery cuvée louise 2005

"in 1857, when the wool trade was going through a crisis, monsieur pommery turned to the champagne wine trade to secure his daughter’s future. he died a year later in february 1858. the rest is known: his young widow took the reins of the house and led the house to success and glory. louise pommery married guy de polignac in 1875. this branch of the polignac family remained the owner of the house until the end of the 1980s, when the house passed into the hands of various groups and now ends up with the vranken group. a superb staircase of 116 steps leads 30 meters underground to a real underground cathedral: the pommery cellars built on ancient crayères dug by the gallo-romans 2000 years ago. each of the cellars is named by madame pommery in homage to her customers around the world. the cellars now house 20 million bottles, including the house’s oldest cuvées, extremely rare vintages, preserved in the wine library. pommery park was created in 1910 and edouard redont was the landscape architect to give light to the huge cellars. the 2005 harvest took place with cool, dry and sunny weather, ideal climatological qualities for a great vintage. the most beautiful grapes were selected during the harvest and brought back to the press for an immediate press and thus obtain the quintessence of the first press. it is a champagne blend from the vineyards of ay, avize and cramant, all classified grands crus classés at the top of the qualitative hierarchy of champagnes. the dress is brilliant gold and of exceptional clarity. spicy notes of vanilla and toasted hazelnuts add complexity to this delicate nose. fresh on the palate with a nice minerality in perfect harmony with the nose."