François Lecompte focuses on exceptionally long aging in the cellar before the wines are released into the market. The estate’s signature wine is this vintage-dated Brut, which spends 7-8 years aging in Lecompte’s chalky caves before it is released into the market. The result is the kind of brioche-y, textured, creamy Champagne you’d expect from such an extended period of aging on its lees (the yeast sediment left in the bottle after the wine’s secondary fermentation). The grape mix is 40% Chardonnay and 30% each Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, all grown on north-facing sites on the Montagne de Reims.

In the glass it’s a deep, reflective yellow-gold with a slight burnished quality that betrays its bottle age, and the aromatics show both primary and secondary notes battling for supremacy: yellow apple, preserved pineapple, white cherry, dried lemon, toasted hazelnut, dried white flowers, butter, bread dough, ginger, and lots of crushed stone minerality. The key word with this wine is ‘tension’—there are aged creamy flavors on the palate which are brightened with perfect freshness on the finish. There’s still plenty of great drinking ahead of this 2009, and I wouldn’t hesitate to lay it down for 10+ years more, as it will only continue to add to its already muscular frame. That said, open a bottle of this now and pour it in large Burgundy stems (as always, I’m not a flute guy). Let the temperature come up to around 50 degrees and let the carbonation dissipate a bit. Taste it and tell me if that profound minerality doesn’t have you thinking of a dry-aged ribeye, cooked rare. Just as we tout the pleasures of Chablis with beef tartare from time to time, I wouldn’t hesitate to pair this with steak, incongruous as it may sound. Attached is a recipe for a twangy, mustard-y Diane sauce that’ll lend further fireworks to the proceedings. Trust me, it’ll work. Enjoy!