Autour de Minuit Clos Sainte-Sophie Jacques Lassaigne
Emmanuel Lassaigne has run this 4.7-hectare organic estate in Montgueux, a chalk hill near Troyes nicknamed the Montrachet of Champagne, since 1999. Chardonnay from old vines, fermented in barrels that once held Jura vin jaune, and disgorged by hand. Made with no added sulphur.
This single vineyard sits on pure chalk, with old-vine Chardonnay farmed organically by Emmanuel Lassaigne, whose family has grown vines in Montgueux for generations. Fermented in old vin jaune barrels and aged about three years on lees before disgorgement.
Blanc de Noirs Les Ursules Roses de Jeanne Cedric Bouchard
Cédric Bouchard launched his label in 2000 in the Côte des Bar, then Champagne`s smallest producer, naming it for his grandmother. This 0.9-hectare north-facing plot beside his parents` house was planted in 1974 on Kimmeridgian limestone: one grape, one vineyard, one vintage. William Kelley gave a 2010-based release 95 points.
Lassaigne`s 4.7 hectares at Montgueux, near Troyes, are almost all Chardonnay on chalk topped with thin clay and flint, with a little Pinot Noir. Organic, fermented with native yeasts and disgorged by hand by Emmanuel himself. His father Jacques began bottling under the family name in the early 1990s.
`The NV Brut Réserve (base 2022) is fabulous. The influence of the larger format bottle and aging on cork is palpable. Rich and explosive, the 2022 impresses with its textural exuberance and dynamic energy. Pear, dried flowers, apricot and mint are some of the many notes that build in the glass. Bracing mineral notes explode on the intense, palate-staining finish. Readers who can find the Brut Réserve in magnum should not hesitate. The 2022 edition is especially fine.` 94 Points Antonio Galloni
Champagne Premier Cru Brut Nature Les Chênes Georges Laval
The Laval family has lived in Cumières since 1694. Georges Laval turned organic in 1971 after reading that farm chemicals had turned up in Arctic ice, and his son Vincent has run the estate since 1996. This is Chardonnay on pure, south-facing chalk, pressed in a tiny traditional press.
Champagne Premier Cru Brut Nature Les Chênes Georges Laval
Vincent Laval farms just 2.5 hectares, with seven Cumières plots and half a hectare of Meunier at Chambrecy, and ploughs with a horse. This taut, mineral Chardonnay on chalk ages on its lees for 18 to 48 months depending on the vintage, without fining or filtration.
Champagne Premier Cru Les Hautes Chevres Georges Laval
A tiny hillside parcel of ancient Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir, planted around 1930 and ploughed by horse. Vincent Laval, who took over from his father Georges in 1996, farms the family`s 2.5 hectares organically. Round, concentrated Meunier fruit and very small production.
Champagne Rousseaux-Batteux Verzenay Grand Cru Les Potences""
Rousseaux-Batteux is a family grower at Verzenay, a Grand Cru village in the Montagne de Reims, known for Pinot Noir. This single-site Champagne comes from a lieu-dit there.
Ruppert-Leroy is a biodynamic estate at Essoyes in the Aube, run by Fanny Ruppert-Leroy and her husband. Pinot Noir-led Champagne from a named lieu-dit.
A walled vineyard of 40-year-plus Chardonnay vines in the centre of Montgueux. Emperor Meiji sent two Japanese students here in 1876 to study viticulture, and the vines they took home to Japan were its first vinifera. Now owned by the Valton family, farmed and vinified by Emmanuel Lassaigne.
Cumieres 1er Brut Nature Rose George Laval (Deg. 2022)
`The NV Brut Cuvée Ste.-Anne is one of the best Champagnes readers will find in its price range, or any price range, for that matter. Bright and beautifully focused, the Ste.-Anne has so much to offer. The purity of the flavors is just remarkable. If anything, it needs more time on the cork to soften, as it is quite reticent at this stage. This release is based on 2017, with reserve wines from 2016 and 2015. The blend is 40% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay and 20% Meunier, with the Chardonnay very much in evidence at this stage. Dosage is 5.15 grams/liter. Disgorged: February, 2020.` 92 Points Antonio Galloni
One of the favourie Champagnes of Jerome Prevost - Alexandre Lamblot is part of a new wave of ambitious young vignerons making tiny quantites of exhilerating Champagne.
Dissonance is 70% Meunier and 30% Chardonnay and comes from Vrigny. Usually around 700 bottles produced. `The NV (2017) Brut Nature Dissonance is a 70% Meunier/30% Chardonnay blend from vines in Vrigny. It is one of the richer, more textured wines in this range. Like all the Lamblot Champagnes, the Dissonance is quite ample in feel, with notable textural resonance that grows over time. Tangerine peel, dried flowers, pear and lightly oxidative overtones linger. Production is a miniscule 700 bottles. Disgorged: February 7, 2022.` 94 Points Antonio Galloni
Still Chardonnay from the chalky soils of Avize, fermented in oak barrels. Étienne Calsac, who took over his grandparents` 2.8 hectares in 2010 and farms without chemicals, uses it to explore Champagne`s still-wine tradition.
A still, 100% Chardonnay from the chalky soils of Avize, vinified in oak barrels. Étienne Calsac took over his grandparents` vineyards in 2010 and now farms about three hectares across Avize, Grauves and Bisseuil, moving towards organic certification.
Fosse Grely was where Bénédicte’s father first planted vines back in the 1980s. Surrounded by forest where fauna and flora thrive, the vines here are on a S/SW facing slope in a thin layer (40cm) of red clay with lots of little stones and thick compacted limestone beneath. Aged for nine months in fûts and demi-muids, and then for 20 months `sur lattes`
Emmanuel Lassaigne`s family has grown Chardonnay on Montgueux`s chalk, near Troyes, for generations, and he has estate-bottled since 1999 from 4.7 organic hectares. Decanter named a late-disgorged 2008 among the ten Lassaigne wines to try.
From Biaunes, a south-facing, Kimmeridgian-limestone vineyard of Chardonnay planted in 2000, the same geology as Chablis. Bertrand Gautherot has farmed biodynamically at Buxières-sur-Arce since 1998 and makes this Champagne like a white Burgundy, without dosage.
