"...deep, full-bodied and stunningly precise, with a great core, excellent mineral undertow and cut, refined mousse and a great length and grip..."
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| “We walk up to his vineyards along the dirt road just above the village, past some of the best Pinot Noir land in Champagne: Les Longues Violles, Les Hautes Chèvres, Le Clos. While many of his neighbors’ vines display the compacted, naked dirt that’s manifest in Champagne — soils are often biological wastelands, dosed with herbicides and left as long as 20 years or more without being plowed or tended — [Georges] Laval’s plantings are a picture of health. Deep grass and wildflowers burst between the rows. ‘All of Champagne could be like this,’ he tells me, wistfully. ‘And the wines could be better, complex, respecting of the diversity of their terroir.’
Take heart, Monsieur Laval. Champagne today is closer to your vision than it has ever been. For years, I’ve been writing about a shifting balance of power in the region. But what’s happening now is beyond the shift that’s been talked about for the past 20 years — a decline of large, corporate producers and rise of small grower-producers — although it has something to do with it. The changes are far broader and deeper. Artisanship, an overused word many other places, is finally being accepted as Champagne’s future. So is a legitimate acknowledgement of precise differences in terroir — the latter a dramatic shift in an enormous region (it stretches more than 100 miles, with more than 33,500 hectares under vine) that has, for most of the past century, showed little interest in the specificity of its dirt. This spring, I went there looking for new signs of change and found an ebullient revolution instead. Today, the region’s best producers operate by a different set of rules — about how they farm, how they make wine and, crucially, how they think and talk about their land. They are behaving, really, in a way that pays more homage to Burgundy than to their own Champenois traditions, which typically value image over terroir. And yet, while it’s tempting to lump Champagne’s revolution with those happening elsewhere — like the Loire — it’s not quite the same. Champagne is still Champagne. It’s not out to upend all its traditions. Rather, it’s engaging in some long-needed soul-searching to figure out how to become a more honest, interesting version of itself.
Jon Bonné, Punch
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| | | AGRAPART
BLANC DE BLANCS TERROIRS EXTRA BRUT NV
"Light greenish-yellow, with silver highlights; a lively, fine, flinty mousse. Nuances of ripe, yellow tropical fruit, a hint of apple, and pineapple is underpinned by a pleasant minerality and gently roasted hazelnuts. Taut, fresh, well-structured, tight-knit palate dominated by citrus fruits - very seductive and easy to drink, with a salty-limestone finish. One of the best non-vintages at a top price-performance ratio."
95
Peter Moser, Falstaff Magazin
$69 → Buy
BENOÎT MARGUET
SAPIENCE BRUT NATURE 2011
"The 2011 Marguet Sapience is a brilliant young wine .... the 2011 Sapience, which is utterly stunning. The cépages is fifty percent chardonnay and twenty-five percent each of pinot noir and pinot meunier, with the wine having been disgorged in July of 2021 after nine years aging sur latte. The bouquet is simply beautiful, offering up an exotic blend of passion fruit, fresh apricot, patissière, a touch of toasted almond, a gorgeous base of soil tones, dried flowers and a very gentle framing of buttery oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and stunningly precise, with a great core, excellent mineral undertow and cut, refined mousse and a great length and grip on the poised, perfectly balanced and very complex finish. This is stunning juice.”
95
John Gilman, View From The Cellar
$185 → Buy
GUILLAUME SERGENT
BLANC DE NOIRS CHEMIN DES CHAPPES EXTRA BRUT NV
"… Fabulous. A blend of equal parts Pinot Noir and Meunier, the 2014 exudes power, depth and intensity. The low dosage of just three grams per liter keeps things brisk yet the structure of the red grapes comes through all the same. This is compelling juice. Dosage is 3 grams per liter …. I was deeply impressed with Guillaume Sergent's Champagnes. Sergent's 1.5 hectares in the villages of Vrigny and Coulommes, both in the Montagne de Reims, give birth to these two tiny-production cuvées. The wines are fermented and aged in barrel, and bottled with no dosage.”
94
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
$59 → Buy
HUGUES GODMÉ
FINS BOIS EXTRA BRUT NV
"Subtle nuances of floral and yeast add breadth to the cool and pure green apple and lemon peel-inflected aromas. There is excellent vibrancy and freshness to the still very youthful flavors that are supported by a firm but fine effervescence on the bone dry but not austere finish. This is a complete baby and while it could be enjoyed now I would be strongly inclined to buy this and lay it away …”
93
Allen Meadows, Burghound
$67 → Buy
LAHERTE FRÈRES
BLANC DE NOIRS LES LONGUES VOYES EXTRA BRUT 2017
"The 2017 Extra Brut Blanc de Noirs Les Longues Voyes 1er Cru, 100% Pinot Noir, is the most impressive and complete of the three lieu-dit selections from Laherte this year. Silky and aromatic, with lovely mid-weight presence, the Longues Voyes is all class. Sweet red cherry, red plum, dried flowers and chamomile all grace this exquisite, beautifully polished Blanc de Noirs. The 2017 is a real success, especially for the vintage. Dosage is 4 grams per liter."
94
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
$69 → Buy
LAHERTE FRÈRES
BLANC DE BLANCS LES GRANDES CRAYÈRES EXTRA BRUT 2017
"Taken from two parcels in Chavot planted in 1953 and 1978, Laherte's 2017 Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Les Grandes Crayères 1er Cru is a wine of subtlety and nuance. There is a feeling of translucence here that is so appealing. The 2017 doesn't quite have the resonance of last year's release but it is very fine nonetheless. Pretty floral notes linger. Dosage is 2-4 grams per liter. Disgorged: January, 2021."
94
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
$69 → Buy
LAHERTE FRÈRES
LES 7 EXTRA BRUT NV
"... Bright, precise and bursting with energy. This blend of seven varieties, co-planted and co-fermented, mixed with a perpetual reserve that goes back to 2005 for 40% of the wine, yields a Champagne of tremendous harmony. Classy and polished to the core, Les 7 is an absolute delight and one of the real stars in this range. At its essence, the traditions of Champagne are all based on blending. This wine shows just how well those principles work. Bottled with no dosage."
94
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
$98 → Buy
R.H. COUTIER
BLANC DE BLANCS LA PIERRE AUX LARRONS BRUT NATURE 2015
"A new wine in this range, the 2015 Brut Nature Pierre Aux Larrons Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru emerges from Coutier's oldest Chardonnay in Ambonnay, planted in 1948. The Brut Nature emphasizes the power of Chardonnay. I imagine a touch of dosage might have softened the wine a bit, but no matter, the 2015 is simply stunning. There is a feeling of translucent energy and starkness that I find especially compelling. Chalk, white flowers, mint, white pepper and lemon peel linger. What a wine."
94
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
$105 → Buy
TARLANT
BAM BRUT NATURE NV
"The NV Brut Nature BAM!, Tarlant’s Pinot Blanc, Arbanne and Petit Meslier blend, is terrific. It offers notable energy and tension, with lovely complexity from the perpetual reserve that is used to complement the base vintage .... Lemon confit, marzipan, dried flowers, tangerine oil and lightly honeyed notes linger nicely, with a whole range of bright saline accents that lend further energy and focus. This release is terrific."
94
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
$180 → Buy
VEUVE FOURNY
ROSÉ BRUT NV
"The NV Brut Rosé Premier Cru is fabulous. Rich, ample and beautifully resonant in the glass, the Premier Cru dazzles from the very first taste. Unlike the Blanc Premier Crus in this range, the Rosé has more body and textural intensity, all of which make for an absolutely compelling wine. I love the vinous intensity here. Orange peel, raspberry and kirsch linger on the Pinot-driven finish. In a word: sublime."
94
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
$57 → Buy |
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