NV Champagne Clandestin "Les Grande Lignes", Champagne, France

ABOUT THIS WINE

Les Grandes Lignes comes from a single 0.5 HA vineyard of Chardonnay planted on a gentle slope of Portlandian limestone soils with full southern exposure. Like everything at Clandestin, it is harvested by hand and fermented by natural yeasts in a French oak demi-muid. After 10 months it is bottled and aged sur latte for 15 months. To retain the purity of the terroir, Les Grandes Lignes is bottled without dosage.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

Benoit Doussot, a Meursault-trained winemaker who has worked at Vouette for several years alongside Bertrand and Hélène, has opened up shop next door to Vouette with his own micro-negociant estate called Clandestin. The estate focuses on small, out-of-the-way parcels and expositions (clandestin means “hidden” or “secret”) that many traditional winemakers eschew. The parcels, Pinot Noir on Kimmeridean limestone and Chardonnay on Portlandian limestone, are farmed organically and the fruit is harvested by hand.

After pressing the wine is aged in French oak barrels following closely the training in Meursault that Benoit received before moving north to Champagne. The Champagnes appeal to purists with lovely minerality, cut, and precision. Because of the insistence on harvesting perfectly ripe grapes (which is not generally the case in Champagne), the wines can be bottled with no dosage, giving room for the oceanic terroir to really shine through. These are show-stopping Champagnes of the highest order.