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P. Lancelot-Royer, Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs

Other, France 2012 (750mL)
$79.00
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P. Lancelot-Royer, Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs

During my travels to France, I noticed a fascinating inverse proportionality between some of my favorite producers and their winemaking facilities: the more rustic the cellar, the more refined the winemaker. So it is with Lancelot-Royer’s Michel Chauvet: In a world thirsting for authenticity, Chauvet’s Champagnes are pure, undiluted artisanship. It’s why his minuscule-production sparklers are so difficult to find—the true seekers snap up each release with unapologetic ferocity, and most bottles are claimed long before they ever cross the Atlantic.


But the success of our 2011 Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs offer and the subsequent inquiries about getting more is a testament to the fact that craftsmanship never goes out of style. The 2012, as you might expect given all the hype around this vintage, ups the ante. This wine’s combination of textural richness and mineral precision is simply extraordinary, and while it would make an undoubtedly impressive apéritif, there’s only one downside—any of the wines that follow are likely to be a disappointment. But, as they say, those are “first world” problems and I, for one, am happy to confront them head-on. Then, of course, there’s the question of price—a very small one to pay, in my opinion, for 100% Grand Cru brilliance.


Michael Chauvet established Lancelot-Royer in 1960, in the Grand Cru village of Cramant. Just to the south-southeast of Épernay, Cramant is one of the villages on the “genuine” Côte des Blancs slope. It’s located right in the middle of the hill, and Chauvet’s 12 estate hectares are rated as 100% Grand Cru, planted entirely to Chardonnay as is tradition. You might be familiar with Chauvet’s religious fervor for doing everything by hand—it’s this qualitative difference in his approach to winegrowing that guarantees crystalline precision from Cramant’s traditionally creamy fruit. Between 20-30 years of age, Chauvet’s vines plunge into pure Kimmeridgian chalk soils—the very same that house his small winery and cellar. 



Chauvet’s caves are appropriately rough-hewn, carved by hand from the soft white chalk that glows in the gloom. The hand-harvested grapes are placed in an upright wooden basket press, the gentlest method of extracting juice before an indigenous yeast fermentation. In fact, Chauvet’s stainless steel tanks are the only hint you haven’t traveled back in time. The 2012 Lancelot-Royer has aged for a total of eight years prior to release, seven of those on fine lees. Chauvet riddled and disgorged his wine entirely by hand, adding an eight-gram dosage. Unfined, unfiltered, and delicately labeled by Chauvet himself, the 2012 carries his fingerprints like seals of extraordinary quality. 

 

This is Champagne at its most hedonistic and satisfying. The Lancelot-Royet has the consistency and opulence of raw cream, lightly accented with lilies, rising brioche, and citrus. No force on earth could compel me to put down that bottle once I’d popped the cork. What a transition from the previous vintage! It’s richer, nuttier, and toastier than the 2011, but features the same fine mousse that envelops the palate, delivering pinpricks of bright lemon oil and herbs to balance flavors of chestnut cream, and crème brûlée. The final impression is one of richness, depth, and complete mastery of the Chardonnay grape—Chauvet teases out maximum pleasure from the fruit. Pair this bottle with latkes, still sizzling from the pan and heaped with sour cream and applesauce. The simplicity of the potato pancakes will juxtapose the depth of the wine, and both provide the type of psychological comfort we’re craving after this crazy year. A well-deserved dose of pure deliciousness!
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Country
France
Region
Other
Sub-Region
FranceCramant Grand Cru
Soil
Chalk
Farming
Sustainable
Blend
Chardonnay
Alcohol
12.5
TEMP.
50-55
Glassware
All-Purpose Stem
Drinking
Now-2025
Pairing
Latkes

France

Bourgogne

Beaujolais

Enjoying the greatest wines of Beaujolais starts, as it usually does, with the lay of the land. In Beaujolais, 10 localities have been given their own AOC (Appellation of Controlled Origin) designation. They are: Saint Amour; Juliénas; Chénas; Moulin-à Vent; Fleurie; Chiroubles; Morgon; Régnié; Côte de Brouilly; and Brouilly.

Southwestern France

Bordeaux

Bordeaux surrounds two rivers, the Dordogne and Garonne, which intersect north of the city of Bordeaux to form the Gironde Estuary, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The region is at the 45th parallel (California’s Napa Valley is at the38th), with a mild, Atlantic-influenced climate enabling the maturation of late-ripening varieties.

Central France

Loire Valley

The Loire is France’s longest river (634 miles), originating in the southerly Cévennes Mountains, flowing north towards Paris, then curving westward and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean near Nantes. The Loire and its tributaries cover a huge swath of central France, with most of the wine appellations on an east-west stretch at47 degrees north (the same latitude as Burgundy).

Northeastern France

Alsace

Alsace, in Northeastern France, is one of the most geologically diverse wine regions in the world, with vineyards running from the foothills of theVosges Mountains down to the Rhine River Valley below.

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