Champagne, FranceThe Demeter-certified Vouette & Sorbée has made an impact in a very short amount of time. The Aube-based grower house has only been releasing their own wines since 2001; Founder Bertrand Gautherot used to sell grapes to other producers, including Anselme Selosse. He farms 5 ha of Kimmeridgian marls and Portlandia limestones in the village of Buxières-sur-Arce. This is near as natural as Champagne gets, native fermented, sulphur-free until bottling, no dosage... The wines aren't vintage dated since they only spend 20 months on the lees (vs the minimum 36 months required by the AOC for vintage declaration), though he lists the base wine year and disgorgement date on the label. My bottle of chardonnay was based on 2010, and disgorged December 2012. Earthy, meadow grass, cider apples are gripped with grapefruit pithiness and a swing of orange balsamic. Acidity is racy, pulsing this forward to a buzzy finish. Sharp, raw and real. If you're looking for an earthy, natural Champagne, here you go. Bottle variation is a big thing with this producer, and this one wasn't shining.Tasted: 05 December 2018Tasted by: Prices:
Champagne, FranceThough Vouette & Sorbée has only been releasing wines since 2001, this Demeter-certified biodynamic domaine from the Aube has quickly established itself as a leading star in the grower champagne world. Founder Bertrand Gautherot used to sell grapes to other producers, (including Anselme Selosse) before releasing his own. His 5ha are mostly Kimmeridgian marls and Portlandia limestones, in the village of Buxières-sur-Arce in the Aube's Côte des Bar, just 60km northeast of Chablis. This was pressed in a vertical Coquard press, fermented wild and without sulphur until minimal amounts just before bottling, without dosage. The wines aren't vintage dated since they only spend 20 months on the lees (vs the minimum 36 months required by the AOC for vintage declaration), though he lists the base wine year and disgorgement date on the label. Fine dough, shortbread, ample herbal lees is pierced with lemon peel and pith in this blanc de blanc, sourced from younger vines. This wine requires time to open (decant?), allowing some of the mushroom earthiness and herbal heft airtime, and for the lemon, white grapefruit pith and chalky precision to focus. Light white honey and shimmering stones on the finish. A characterful beauty to savour slowly over an evening.Tasted: 01 May 2017Tasted by: Prices:
quicksearch
