Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Based on 2021, with the addition of 40% reserve from the previous two vintages, the NV Champagne Petit Meslier Extra Brut is from the estate’s one hectare of Petit Meslier. A brilliant yellow color, the mousse is creamy, but the wine is straight and vertical. Medium-bodied, it's bright with notes of white pineapple, white grapefruit, crystalline saltiness, pithy citrus, a refined, chalky texture, and savory, mouthwatering freshness. It exhibits vertical tension and high acidity intensity. I am very much into this wine, which continues to improve, and it will be interesting to see how it develops as a wine.
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James Suckling
Grapefruit, chamomile, dried lemons and salted pineapple on the nose of this very fresh, zesty Champagne. It’s medium-bodied with an attractive yellow fruit profile and sharp acidity. Bracing and refreshing. 100% petit meslier. Based on 2021, with 40% reserve wine.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Based on the 2018 vintage, with some 40% reserve wines from 2017, the NV Extra-Brut Petit Meslier comes from young vines in Chavot. Offering up generous aromas of pear, honeyed orchard fruit, buttered toast and nuts, it's medium to full-bodied, with an impressively satiny attack for this variety and an unsurprisingly racy spine of acidity. It's more than just a curio.
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.’