In Le Mesnil-Sur-Oger, arguably Champagne’s most prominent Grand Cru village, there are two prestigious vineyards that represent the heart and soul: “Clos du Mesnil” and “Les Chétillons.” The respective bottlings by Krug ($1,000+) and Pierre Peters ($100+) are tours-de-force that truly express the unremitting mineral power and stated elegance of Grand Cru Chardonnay. Don’t want to shell out three or four figures for the privilege? Here’s the solution:
Today’s $55 Champagne is a vintage-dated, single-vineyard Grand Cru that was dosed with zero grams of sugar after six years of cellar aging. But that’s only the beginning—the name on the label is an enduring Champagne royalty. Gonet is an undercover Côte de Blancs superstar that predates most Champagne Houses. They arrived in the region during the 15th century and founded their estate in 1802 (long before Krug or Pierre Peters). This fathoms-deep history and pedigree allowed the Gonets to acquire premium vines that have exponentially multiplied in value since. Take today’s special offer: It hails entirely from the “Les Hautes Mottes” parcel, which lies directly catercorner to “Les Chétillons” and a short walk to “Clos du Mesnil.” Still not impressed? Well, then I don’t know what else to say! This has all the makings of a perfect, mineral-infused Champagne, all at a price that defies common sense.
After a short relocation from Beaujolais in the 1400s, the Gonet family settled down in Champagne and began working the soils. At the turn of the 19th century, they began building the foundation of Champagne Gonet, which carved a path for the bottle you see in front of you today. Seven generations have come and gone since, but the catalyst for putting these wines on the map was that of Michel Gonet in the mid-1950s. As the story goes, he was stricken with dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) until having a drink of bubbles: ”Champagne saved me!” he said. Following, he employed his siblings to begin crafting wine and that’s when these quality-driven Champagnes reached unprecedented heights. Today, his daughter Sophie runs the operations, which now includes 10 different cuvées and 40 diversified hectares of vine.
A small portion of those vines lie within the Grand Cru village of Les Mesnil-sur-Oger, and an even smaller portion is situated entirely in the vineyard “Les Hautes Mottes,” which is where today’s wine hails. Their Chardonnay for this cuvée is farmed sustainably and, by law, was harvested by hand in 2011. The grapes were then quickly shuttled in refrigerated trucks to their cellar in Avize, just two villages north. At the winery, the grapes were gently pressed and underwent a cool fermentation (full malolactic, too) before the wine was transferred into bottle in January of 2012. Six years of undisturbed lees aging followed before disgorgement in the waning months of 2018. No sugar was added.
This burgeoning period of lower-dosage Champagnes has seen a frenzied, rush-to-market outpouring of countless non-dosage bottlings. Many of these are angular, some are unbalanced, and the worst are downright abrasive. So, I would guess several of you are asking a pertinent question: “How does today’s non-dosage Champagne taste?” It’s brilliant: Incredibly poised and perfectly balanced with piquant white-yellow fruits and the signature chalk minerality of Grand Cru Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, this singular bottle represents one of the finest 2011 vintage Champagnes I’ve tasted. The nose oozes Chardonnay nobility, most notably with acacia, damp honeysuckle, yellow apple skin, apricot, salt-preserved lemon, and hints of brioche. With eight years under its belt, any non-sugar harshness that may have once been there has completely smoothed out, leaving a wonderfully supple palate that provides you with ample layers of ripe fruit (for the vintage) and loads of crushed chalk minerality. This is an epic showing from a historic Champagne estate, and truly one of the best finds of the vintage—perhaps the best when factoring in the price. Serve in all-purpose stems around 50-55 degrees—the wine really struts its stuff at a warmer temperature—and open the rest of your stash over the next 5-7 years. Seriously, there’s no rush at all. Bone-dry Champagnes are sensational with a range of cheeses (think salty, hard, sharp) but if you want to mix it up a bit, take one of those cheeses and grate it over a bed of melt-in-your-mouth risotto. Cheers!
