Before the ‘grower’ Champagne craze caught fire, we were conditioned to think of Champagne wines in terms of blends, and brands. But of course, the vineyards of Champagne, in true French fashion, have a quality hierarchy much like that of Burgundy.
In Champagne’s case, Grand and Premier Cru designations are bestowed on entire winegrowing villages. There are now 17 Grand Cru villages scattered across the Champagne region, and for this New Year’s 4-pack we’ve picked our favorite grower-producers to illustrate what Grand Cru really means. Every example is a pure, inimitable snapshot of its place of origin, crafted on an artisan scale—our way of saying Thank You for an incredible year for SommSelect!
No Champagne sampler is complete without a benchmark Blanc de Blancs, and Saint-Chamant’s 2006 Grand Cru Cuvée de Chardonnay, from the Côte de Blancs village of Chouilly, is pound-for-pound one of the finest vintage Champagnes on the market. A perennial SommSelect favorite, Christian Coquillette epitomizes what farm-to-table ‘grower’ Champagne is all about, down to the manual riddling and beautiful labels that are still applied entirely by the grand old man’s hands. The sustainably farmed vineyards of 100% Chardonnay lie over “roche mère,’ or mother rock, of limestone, where the old vines are hand-harvested each year. This decade-old beauty is traditionally crafted and undergoes long lees aging; it is disgorged just before it leaves Saint-Chamant’s 19th century, mile-long maze of cellars for its trip to our shores. It encapsulates everything I love about grower Champagne both in taste and tradition. If you’re still not sold, take a look at the film “A Year in Champagne, , ” and your heart will be Monsieur Coquillette’s forever. With mature aromas of yellow apple, lemon curd, rising brioche, lees, puréed hazelnuts and white mushrooms, this wine invigorates the palate with its limestone minerality and penetrating freshness.From first scent, it is evident that this is a Pinot Noir-driven Champagne. Produced as an Extra Brut (which is a drier, lower-dosage style relative to Brut), it has a red-fruited intensity that speaks to its origins in Bouzy—although it is actually just 60% Pinot Noir with 40% Chardonnay. For eight generations, the Paillard family have nurtured their ancient, tertiary chalk soils in Bouzy since 1768. Their sustainably farmed grapes are fermented with natural yeasts and this cuvée was aged on its lees for four years. This is an elegant yet decadent nectar, dense and creamy and yet lifted by its focused minerality and bright acidity. An ideal bottle for the end of your New Year’s Eve celebration, this wine is stunning right out of the gate but reveals new layers of flavor once 50% of the bubbles have been shed.