SommSelect and Champagne François Lecompte are like old friends from college: We don’t see each other that often, but when we do, the rapport is effortless and intimate. Everything this small ‘grower-producer’ releases is so impeccably made we don’t wonder “if” we’ll offer it, just “when.”
Headquartered in the Premier Cru village of Rilly-la-Montagne, in the Montagne de Reims sub-zone of Champagne, Lecompte counts récoltant-manipulant (grower-producer) benchmark Vilmart among its neighbors, and very much belongs in their company: Lecompte’s meticulously farmed, hand-crafted Champagnes are always eagerly awaited around here, and this latest release of their non-vintage Brut Rosé is one of the most exotic, complex, genuinely thrilling rosé Champagnes we’ve tasted in quite some time. A big component in this assessment is price: Champagne lovers know that rosé versions are usually more expensive by nature, so to find one of such exceptional quality at a sub-$50 price point is worth celebrating—loudly. I’m certain you will be as entranced by this rosé as we were, and at this price you can afford to both enjoy some now and lay some down. If you love to drink great Champagne, you do not want to miss this one!
Lecompte’s entire range, including this rosé, is subjected to exceptionally long lees aging before disgorgement and release; leaving the wines in contact with their spent yeasts cells for so long lends them exceptionally silky textures and greater aromatic complexity, and a quality many Champagne producers call ‘vinosity.’ As I’ve noted before, Champagne is wine, so of course it’s ‘vinous’—but as anyone who drinks a lot of Champagne knows, some are clearly more vinous than others, so much so that they’re almost more profound and enjoyable after their effervescence has dissipated somewhat. We have offered Lecompte’s rosé in the past, but this latest release takes it to another level—which I wouldn’t have thought possible, but here we are.
Founded in 1876 by the Lecompte family and based entirely in Rilly-la-Montagne, Lecompte is the ultimate example of “grower-produced” Champagne: proprietor François Lecompte works in a cellar dug by his grandfather and in vineyards all classified as Premier Cru, producing a trickle of bottles in comparison to the grandes marques, or “great houses.” There are more than 15,000 grape growers in the Champagne region, a majority of whom sell their grapes either to local cooperatives or to one of the 40 or so larger “houses,” who represent more than two-thirds of all Champagne produced. In pitting their little-guy grower Champagnes against the big boys, many of our importer/distributor friends frame it in good-versus-evil, big-equals-bad terms, which isn’t our objective here: there’s plenty of fantastic Champagne made by the grandes marques, there just also happens to be a steady stream of “new” grower-producers coming to our shores with a compelling story to tell. François Lecompte has proved as compelling as any, and this rosé, aged 32 months on its lees and comprised of 40% Chardonnay and 30% each Pinot Noir and Meunier, is a perfect introduction to this jewel box of a property.
In the glass, Lecompte’s rosé is a pale salmon-pink with hints of copper at the rim—a textbook rosé Champagne appearance that introduces a wine that is as beguilingly aromatic as it is visually appealing: Aromas of red currant, cherry blossoms, and orange peel are layered with more savory notes of dried mushroom, raw hazelnut, rose petals, brown spices, and crushed stones. Champagne writer Peter Liem’s “Burgundy with bubbles” description seems especially apt here, especially as this exotically aromatic wine takes on air. Medium-bodied and beautifully textured, there’s a lot of depth here but also electrifying energy—it would work equally well as an apéritif or a ‘main course’ wine, and as always, I recommend enjoying it in larger wine stems (not flutes) at a slightly warmer (50 degrees) temperature than is typically recommended. This will bring out that ‘vinosity’ we all love so much. The last time we offered this rosé I paired it with Thomas Keller’s salmon “cornets,” which I suddenly have a serious hankering for. Don’t miss this wine, or this combination—it’s one you will never forget. Cheers!
