Champagne, FranceChampagne Lelarge-Pugeot is an 8th generation winery in the 1er cru village of Vrigny, in the top of the Montagne de Reims, and where the family has been growing since 1799, and producing since 1930. They moved to organics in 1985 and became certified biodynamic in 2017. They own 8.7 ha of vineyards carved into 42 distinct parcels, all on calcareous, clay loam and sand. The vines (30 years old) used for Tradition are an extra brut blend of 50% meunier, 40% pinot noir and 10% chardonnay, native fermented in foudres for 6 months, with very low sulphur and approximately 30% reserve wines. This bottle, based on the 2018, spent 2.5 years on lees in bottle, and was disgorged in November 2021, with 2 g/L. Their subtle tweakings over the years well suit this very natural wine, with a drop in PM, less time on lees, and a lower dosage sharpening the focus. Still pouring a deeper hue, this has a renewed energy, streaming red apple, toasted biscuit, subtle marmite across a thin lemon curd base, held taut by a brace of lemony acidity, and finishing with a healthy saline wash which lingers on the finish. Lovely evolution, and showing very smartly now. Drink.Tasted: 26 October 2023Tasted by: Prices:
Champagne, FranceChampagne Lelarge-Pugeot is an eighth-generation winery in the 1er cru village of Vrigny, where the family has been growing since 1799 and producing since 1930. They moved to organics in 1985 and became certified biodynamic in 2017. They own 8.7 ha of vineyards carved into 42 distinct parcels, all on calcareous, clay loam and sand. The vines used for this rendition of Tradition are an extra brut blend of 65% meunier, 20% pinot noir and 15 chardonnay, averaging 25 years. This bottle was based on the 2011 vintage with 30 percent reserve wines, spent six months in the tank (fermented naturally with their pied de cuve), underwent natural MLF, before 3-4 years on lees in bottle and disgorgement in March 2016, with a dosage of 5 g/l. Red apple, orange, white cherry, and apricot scone are lifted with grapefruit pithy acidity and a white tea grip to a bright, snappy, lingering finish. There's a pad of lightly earthy lees to authenticate and ground the medium-bodied palate, one still sharpened by the extra brut dosing. It is impressive, especially considering the biodynamic nature of such a challenging fringe area.Tasted: 05 December 2018Tasted by: Prices:
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