We’ve rolled out a couple of our fantastic J. Charpentier discoveries over the past six months, but I’ve been eagerly awaiting today’s offer: “the best for last,” as they say. Revisiting this wine last week brought back a sensory rush; the level of freshness and complexity is unheard of at this age and sub-$50 price point. I genuinely cannot list another label that achieves what this bottle does; not only is it among the best of all 2006 Champagnes, it’s making a bulletproof case for one of our finest values ever.
It aged in bottle a whopping 10 years before being disgorged nearly one year ago and, even more impressively, is showing zero signs of oxidation; this will last another 10-15 years. Wines like this, at this price, are unicorns: J. Charpentier has the complexity, class, and power of nearly any big name prestige cuvée and after one sip, it will forever be on your radar. Have some friends who act as arbiters of fine wine? This Champagne will stun them—they’ll price it twice as high and guess it twice as young (I cannot overstress the sheer amount of energy here). Whether you’re in need of a celebratory bottle, an accompaniment for your next dinner party, or a new insider Champagne that no one else has their hands on, the enjoyability factor of this ’06 delivers in spades. Really, what else is there to say about an over-achieving, 12-year-old Champagne? You won’t find this bottle anywhere else in America, so now’s your chance to discover the beauty of world-class bubbles at a ground-level price. Enjoy this limited treat: We can offer up to one case per customer today until our stock runs out.
The J. Charpentier estate, as currently constructed, represents the convergence of two Champagne wine families, Charpentier and Claisse, both with regional histories dating back multiple generations. When Jacky Charpentier married Claudine Claisse in 1974, two family farms became one: Based in the village of Villers-sous-Châtillon, about 12 kilometers west of Epernay in the Vallée de la Marne subzone, the Charpentier holdings now span 15 hectares—and more precisely, 38 plots across nine Marne villages. Jacky and Claudine’s son, Jean-Marc, has been at the winemaking controls since 2004, and the family employs organic methods in the vineyards unless an emergency arises (the classic ‘lutte raisonée,’ or ‘reasoned fight,’ approach).
As mentioned above, J. Charpentier has a few dozen plots spread out over nine villages along the Marne River. For their 2006 vintage bottling, grapes from four villages were blended together: Châtillon sur Marne, Binson-Orquigny, and Reuil along Marne’s right bank (rive droite), and Le Breuil on Marne’s left bank (rive gauche). All grapes were hand-harvested and carefully shuttled back to homebase—abutting Reuil to the North—and both alcoholic and a fully-malolactic fermentation took place in a combination of oak and stainless steel vessels. Afterwards, the batches were blended together to create a final assemblage of 40% Pinot Meunier, 35% Pinot Noir, and 25% Chardonnay. The still wine was then transferred into bottle where it aged a staggering 10 years on its lees. It was disgorged and topped off with a light dosage of 6.5 grams.
In the glass, ’06 Charpentier exhibits a deep yellow, concentrated core with gold-tints throughout. The 2006 vintage brought on fairly generous examples of Champagne, with a warm and dry growing season that pushed grapes to immense levels of ripeness—and it certainly shows in the wine. Fully-ripe notes of Bosc pear, creamed yellow apple, and meyer lemon lead the charge, followed by brioche, raw hazelnut, honey, and lime blossoms. Another wave arrives with accents of dried pineapple, lees, white mushroom, yellow flowers, and crushed chalk; really, this wine showcases incredible depth before even touching your lips! On the palate, the wine greets you with a full-bodied mouthfeel, but a fresh acidic structure gives this wine a curvaceous figure. It’s dense fruit and complexity is something we’ve come to expect in prestige cuvées from the grandes marques. Another note—there isn’t one trace of oxidation, which is one of my pet peeves with older vintage Champagnes. Only sheer freshness and precision here. When consuming, pour into wide-mouthed tulips or all-purpose white stems around 55-60 degrees and feel free to stow a few bottles over the next decade; it will easily stand up to age. I’m not sure why my mind gravitated toward the attached recipe, but I can’t seem to rid it from my head. Try it at the start of your next dinner party and let us know how it went! Cheers!
