Michel Turgy

I totally fell in love with the wines from Michel Turgy when I first had them. To me they represent a perfect expression of an unmolested Mesnil sur Oger. Refined awesome minerality, lovely green apple and grassy notes on the mid-palate and a crisp end note that draws you perfectly in for another glass. Six hectares are managed by Jean-Michel Turgy, Catherine and their son Thibault. A traditional coquard press is used and all wines are vinified in steel vats undergoing malolactic fermentation. No oak is used. Their reserve selection is always a touch young on release, showing green notes that soften beautifully with a year or so in the bottle (or magnum if you choose!). Surprisingly for a house with only Chardonnay holdings their Rose is cracking. Keeping the tight green apple drive on the mid-palate with a lovely redcurrant and blackberry end-note. A superb example of how adding a touch of Pinot noir can bring so much to a wine. A huge step up in quality and precision is their Vieilles Vignes. A staggeringly beautiful wine that, and I have checked all my notes for this, is one of the MOST drinkable Champagnes I have ever had. I can’t get enough! Their Millesime is always a touch more fleshy although, with the release of the 2008, we were given something quite special and very different. The first release of a Millesime with no sugar. Superb minerality with a surprising saline grip to the mid-palate. It is brutally dry and I will be fascinated to see how this matures. I have been fortunate to taste a number of older bottles direct from the cellars going back to the 90’s. Safe to say that in the good years (2002, 1996, 1990), Michel Turgy turns out some great wines, however I have been somewhat unimpressed with the level of consistency of the wines from lesser years like 2000, 1999 and 1997 which haven’t held up well. Needless to say there is plenty of 2008 in my cellar to fill the gap in my glass if I find a slightly off bottle!