Winemaker Notes
This brilliant Blanc de Blancs unfurls with notes of mandarin orange, citrus oil, pear, and fresh-baked croissant with an intense and long finish. The chalk terroir shines through in the wine's beautiful texture and saline quality.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Hailing from a 0.36-hectare walled vineyard that was planted in 1956 just behind the winery in Vertus, the 2019 Extra-Brut Premier Cru Clos de l'Abbaye was disgorged in June 2024 with two grams per liter dosage. “It’s a very chalky terroir, and it has been farmed organically since 2008,” explains Doyard. What makes the resulting wine unique is that the 2019 vintage includes approximately 15% to 20% “muscaté” selections of Chardonnay, which brings mildly musky aromatics to the wine. Soaring from the glass with a complex bouquet of peach, grapefruit zest, pear, dried white flowers and walnut, it is concentrated and deep, with considerable flavor intensity, bright acids and a persistent, saline finish. Vinified entirely in barrels, ranging from three to 15 years old, only first and second pressing juices are used, accounting for about 60% of the total juice extract. It’s a particular highlight this year, which Guillaume Doyard calls the finest vintage since he took the reins at the estate in 2017.
Rating: 94+ -
Vinous
The 2019 Extra Brut Clos de l'Abbaye is a powerful, savory Champagne that very much reflects the personality of Vertus Chardonnay. Lemon confit, white flowers and tangerine oil open first. A hint of sweet passion fruit adds an exotic touch to the chalky finish that is quite attractive. The aromatics are a bit reticent at first, so I would open this in advance if possible. Clos de l'Abbaye emerges from a tiny parcel measuring half a hectare planted in 1956. Dosage is 2 grams per liter.
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Wine Spectator
Taut acidity creates a mouthwatering frame for this abundantly aromatic Champagne, with a fragrant overtone of violet, lime blossom and garam masala accents to the flavors of pastry dough, ripe yellow peach and white cherry fruit, tangerine peel, chopped hazelnut and chalk. Distinctive. Disgorged June 2024. Drink now through 2035.
Representing the topmost expression of a Champagne house, a vintage Champagne is one made from the produce of a single, superior harvest year. Vintage Champagnes account for a mere 5% of total Champagne production and are produced about three times in a decade. Champagne is typically made as a blend of multiple years in order to preserve the house style; these will have non-vintage, or simply, NV on the label. The term, "vintage," as it applies to all wine, simply means a single harvest year.
Associated with luxury, celebration, and romance, the region, Champagne, is home to the world’s most prized sparkling wine. In order to bear the label, ‘Champagne’, a sparkling wine must originate from this northeastern region of France—called Champagne—and adhere to strict quality standards. Made up of the three towns Reims, Épernay, and Aÿ, it was here that the traditional method of sparkling wine production was both invented and perfected, birthing a winemaking technique as well as a flavor profile that is now emulated worldwide.
Well-drained, limestone and chalky soil defines much of the region, which lend a mineral component to its wines. Champagne’s cold, continental climate promotes ample acidity in its grapes but weather differences from year to year can create significant variation between vintages. While vintage Champagnes are produced in exceptional years, non-vintage cuvées are produced annually from a blend of several years in order to produce Champagnes that maintain a consistent house style.
With nearly negligible exceptions, . These can be blended together or bottled as individual varietal Champagnes, depending on the final style of wine desired. Chardonnay, the only white variety, contributes freshness, elegance, lively acidity and notes of citrus, orchard fruit and white flowers. Pinot Noir and its relative Pinot Meunier, provide the backbone to many blends, adding structure, body and supple red fruit flavors. Wines with a large proportion of Pinot Meunier will be ready to drink earlier, while Pinot Noir contributes to longevity. Whether it is white or rosé, most Champagne is made from a blend of red and white grapes—and uniquely, rosé is often produce by blending together red and white wine. A Champagne made exclusively from Chardonnay will be labeled as ‘blanc de blancs,’ while ones comprised of only red grapes are called ‘blanc de noirs.’