Winemaker Notes
The wine displays a golden color with light green hues and fine bubbles. Its nose opens with aromatic notes of grapefruit, almond, biscuit, and pear, followed by mineral, peppery, and spicy hints. On the palate, it is sharp and tense with great vibrancy, driven by precise acidity, and finishes long with chalky sensations and a mineral-to-salty character typical of the terroir.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A very mineral style full of chalk and lemon peel, coconut and butter. Fine bubbles with light to medium body, zesty acidity and slightly honeyed flavors. Tense, stony finish. Almost austere yet polished.
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Vinous
The NV Extra-Brut Eloquence Grand Cru is another impressive wine in this range from Vergnon. The low dosage of three grams per liter brings out freshness and energy. Lemon peel, mint, white flowers and crushed rocks build effortlessly in the glass. This release, based on 2017 with 20% reserve wines, is gorgeous. Give this a good bit of air, as it opens very nicely over time.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The NV Champagne Grand Cru Eloquence Extra Brut is 80% from the 2017 vintage with the remainder reserve wines. It has a toastier feel aromatically, with smoke, pastry cream, and ripe pear. The palate is zippy, with lime, and I enjoy the tension this wine provides. With chalky texture and a fine mousse, it feels more energetic in its application. Drink over the next 15 or more years. Best after 2022.
A term typically reserved for Champagne and Sparkling Wines, non-vintage or simply “NV” on a label indicates a blend of finished wines from different vintages (years of harvest). To make non-vintage Champagne, typically the current year’s harvest (in other words, the current vintage) forms the base of the blend. Finished wines from previous years, called “vins de reserve” are blended in at approximately 10-50% of the total volume in order to achieve the flavor, complexity, body and acidity for the desired house style. A tiny proportion of Champagnes are made from a single vintage.
There are also some very large production still wines that may not claim one particular vintage. This would be at the discretion of the winemaker’s goals for character of the final wine.
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.’