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Wine Description
The Story
Brilliant, burnished gold colour with orange highlights punctuated by a fine, delicate effervescence. The nose has all the intensity of great vintage years with refined, complex notes of pears, nectarines, grapes, mandarins and almonds.
On the palate, flavours of ripe fruits are supported by a lovely mineral edge combining smoothness and fullness with distinction and purity.
Mailly Grand Cru Brut Vintage is made only in the very finest years, harvested from selected plots of the Mailly Grand Cru estate. This is a Champagne you can lay down for 20 years and still enjoy at its best, especially if aged in a magnum or jeroboam. The bigger the bottle, the more there is to go around at family celebrations!
Wine Information
Placeof origin
Mailly Champagne,
vineyard classified as Grand Cru.
Composition
Pinot Noir 75% - Chardonnay 25%.
Winemaking process
Manual picking ; whole cluster pressing. Alcoholic fermentation at 16°. Malolactic fermentation in thermo regulated stainless steel vats. Ageing on laths in traditional chalk caves.
Blending
The wine is a triumph of precision-blending, striking a seamless balance of richness, from concentrated Pinot Noir fruit (75%), and finesse from some seriously refined Chardonnay (25%).
Dosage
6 g of sugar per litre.
Format
Bottle 75 cl, Half bottle 37,5 cl, Magnum 150 cl, Jéroboam 300 cl, in wooden presentation box
Vintage 2004
A great example of how large yields do not necessarily mean poor quality in Champagne. As a reaction to the previous year's low yields, the vines produced one of the largest crops on record. The growing season proceeded without major difficulties but the bumper crop called for bud thinning. August brought about cooler weather and some rains, increasing the risk of rot. The massive crop, averaging 13,990 kg/ha, was picked from September 18th onwards. The quality was a pleasant surprise; vibrant wines with appropriate intensity, refined charm and refreshing lightness. This vintage impresses me more and more, and I feel tempted to give it the full five stars. It comes with a rare balance of freshness, lightness, yet fine aromatic intensity. Post-release, this vintage has proven to be slow to age, and elegant wines are likely to keep on ageing gracefully. Dom Pérignon and Louis Roederer Cristal both excelled.