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Wine Description
The Story
Exclusively made of Chardonnay grapes, this wine is also known as “the Lace of Champagne” because of its very fine and persistent white mousse…
Blend
First pressing Chardonnay, sourced exclusively from grands crus vineyards “Côte des Blancs”.
Reserve wines
25 vintages, going back to 1985.
Ageing
Four years sur lie, then ten months further ageing after disgorgement. The delicacy of the bubbles helps to tame the naturally mineral Grands Crus to offer a sensation that is both creamy and lively.
Specificity
A very old winemaking method is used where fermentation in the bottle is less powerful than traditional champagne.
Dosage
Extra brut, very low dosage: 5g/L.
Vintage 1999
A difficult start to the year led to early budbreak. There were some damaging hailstorms in early May, but the frost ultimately stayed away. The summer was overall warm and thanks to the hot and dry August, the grapes looked promising for the harvest. However, a damp September challenged producers and dilution was an issue for some. The 1999 harvest that started on September 15th produced a large yield (12,989 kg/ha) of sweet grapes that resulted in soft wines, low in acidity, which produced Champagnes that, in many cases, miss linearity and structure. Voluptuous and enjoyable with ripe, fruity, even exotic characters but in most cases for the medium-term only, even if the best seem to be maturing better than initially expected. The red wines of the year were exceptional and resulted in some outstanding prestige cuvée rosés, such as Louis Roederer Cristal Rosé, Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Rosé and Bollinger La Grande Année Rosé.