Champagne LeClerc Briant Les Monts Ferrés Extra Brut Vertus Premier Cru 2018

“The stunning 2018 ‘les Monts Ferres’ comes from a single plot of Chardonnay located south of the Cote de Blancs on the Versus side. Soils here are chalky with a large amount of iron deposited. A brilliant golden hue in the glass, this offers a refined mousse with bright red fruit flavors upon entry. With more air salty minerals, wet granite, green apple, and cashew nut flavors with candied ginger all brilliantly meld together. Refined, tight-knit and elegant, enjoy now and over the next fifteen plus years.”

“The 2018 Les Monts Ferrés Blanc de Blancs derives from vines planted in the eponymous parcel in the 1er cru village of Vertus. It reveals a delicate, fine bouquet with aromas of fresh bread, acacia, spring flowers and ripe orchard fruits. Medium-bodied and perfectly balanced, it’s enveloping and structured with both racy and bright acidity. This is a tension-filled, ethereal Champagne with a dosage of 1.4 grams per liter.”

“Raised in stainless and second-pass oak barrel, the 2018 Champagne Les Monts Ferres is 100% Chardonnay from Vertus and pours a bright yellow reflective color. Savory and mineral in its initial profile, it opens to notes of lemon balm, raw honey, and fresh golden apple. The palate brings forward a good deal of intensity, but it also has a fruity character with a pithy structure. With notes almost reminiscent of Chenin Blanc-like chamomile (but not overtly oxidative), it retains lovely freshness. Drink over the coming 10-15 years. 1.4 grams per liter dosage. Disgorged February 2024.”

“The 2018 Brut Zéro Les Monts Ferrés is from a single vineyard in Vertus, the base wines were aged in barriques sourced from Sauternes and Pessac-Léognan. The oak, combined with the ripeness of the 2018 vintage, makes for a fragrant, rounded nose of creamy, supple vanilla and lovely hints of undergrowth. Super-fine mousse on the palate plays around slight nuttiness and delineates a fine spine of freshness, yet this is not as brisk as you would expect from a low-dosaged blanc de blancs from Vertus, very rounded, generous and mild. Dosage is 1.4gr/L. Disgorged: April, 2023. - Anne Krebiehl MW”

“A seamless Champagne, with a raw silk–like texture and a rich baseline of roasted nuts and salty minerality underscoring flavors of creamed pear and poached apricot, a hint of guava and accents of grated ginger and grapefruit zest. Vibrant and harmonious. Disgorged April 2023. Drink now through 2033. 500 cases made, 100 cases imported.”