Today’s ornate gold label no longer needs introduction: Andre Clouet’s “Cuvée 1911” is a long-aged, sumptuous, exceedingly rare Grand Cru Champagne that’s gripped our subscribers for the past 6+ years. And while we were busy selling through our small parcel at the end of last year, Jean-François Clouet was hard at work in his cellar, hand-riddling and disgorging today’s newest batch. 

For those out of the loop: André Clouet is among our favorite grower-producer values in all of Champagne and “Cuvée 1911” is their prestigious tête de cuvée. Coming specifically from their top 10 lieux-dits in Grand Cru Bouzy, it’s an ever-evolving blend of a top-rated vintage and an older perpetual blend: This newest release utilizes the legendary 2008 vintage as its “base” while also infusing reserve wines between 2002-2007 (’02 is a legendary year as well!). This is as intense, layered, and precise as sub-$100 Champagne gets. Between the elite raw material, blend of old vintages, and 12 years of lees aging, this rare prestige cuvée is a siren call for luxury Champagne connoisseurs. Best of all, the price has hardly budged since we first sold it in 2015. Buy everything you can! 

The Clouet family first found the spotlight after becoming the official printers for the Royal Court at Versailles in the mid-18th century (hence the beauty of their wine labels). Their estate in Bouzy, which current owner Jean-François Clouet still calls home, dates back even further! Beneath this historic site lies their labyrinthine chalk cellar, which still contains partial false walls that hid precious bottles during the Nazi invasion in World War II. With all this historic grandeur surrounding him, Jean-François draws from tradition and time-honored techniques while respectively embracing modern technology into the mix. What you’re getting in “Cuvée 1911” is a little piece of performance art in the form of a bottle. Jean-François is eccentric and a bit of a showman; there’s no specific formula behind 1911, but instead a periodic exploration of older reserve wines and the assembly of a blend according to Jean-François’ whims. 

Clouet farms only eight hectares of vines, most of them in Bouzy, a Grand Cru village famous for its exceptionally concentrated and vinous Pinot Noir. A slight dip in the Bouzy hillside protects it from harsh winds and earns it slightly warmer temperatures. Always coming in at 100% Grand Cru Pinot Noir,  “1911” is sourced from 10 of their best parcels, or lieux-dits, in Bouzy that produce a wine of rich concentration and intense minerality. This is his newest disgorgement, with 50% consisting of a barrel-fermented selection from 2008 and the other half coming from a perpetual reserve started in 2002. After the wine was bottled in the spring of 2009, it aged on its lees for nearly 12 years: The bottle we opened (one week ago today) was disgorged on December 15th, 2020. It was given a light dosage of five grams per liter.

Clouet’s “Cuvée 1911” chooses precision over opulence, overflowing with rich yet supremely finessed layers of ripe yellow fruit, crushed chalk minerality, and well-integrated secondary flavors. To allow the magnificent aromatics to really blossom, avoid serving in a narrow, traditional Champagne flute. Opt instead for a white wine stem, a more open, tulip-shaped Champagne stem, or a large Burgundy stem (I typically chose the latter). Whichever you choose, the wine surges with energy and freshness, releasing red and yellow apple, Rainier cherry, blanched almonds, hazelnut, plum skin, currants, white flowers, lees, brioche, citrus curd, oyster shell, and pulverized stone. Albeit a bit reticent at first, the palate broadens and expands as the wine opens up, and by your second glass, starts revealing Clouet’s signature luxuriousness. Its powerful, ample body is only matched by the magnitude of savory minerality that lingers on the finish. It is to be enjoyed now and over the next five years. Cheers!