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Wine Description
The Story
A glittering, golden Champagne, twinkling with amber highlights and an endless cascade of shimmering, festive bubbles.
The wine shows depth and refinement on the nose, revealing an exquisite bouquet of perfectly ripe fruit (pears and Mirabelle plums) and crystallized citrus (lemons and mandarins) blended with delicate hints of almonds, sweet pastries, honey and caramel.
These flavours linger deliciously on the palate, highlighting the wine's dense substance and length. There is a fine balance of fullness and freshness as subtle notes of butter and spice create a wonderfully mellow flavour. A lasting, mineral component, a signature characteristic of this Champagne, underlines the wine's radiance and purity to create a lingering palate profile.
When France was still a monarchy, ‘échanson’ was the title bestowed on the court official charged with serving wine at the king’s table. As the officer of the royal cellars, the échanson was also responsible for selecting, tasting and generally promoting the appreciation of wines. This cuvee is dedicated to his modern-day counterparts : the sommeliers who are the ambassadors for our Champagnes and have helped to establish Les Echansons as the jewel in our crown for nearly half a century.
Vintage 1997
A cold winter was followed by significant spring frosts. The early summer was warm, but cool weather and rain persisted throughout the flowering period. Summer ended with warm temperatures, lending some hot-year characteristics to the year's wines even if acidity remained high at 8.5 g/l. Rot played a role in some vineyards. A small harvest (9,402 kg/ha) was picked from September 12th onwards. The 1997 vintage was rather overlooked, following the successful 1995 and 1996 vintages, and many did not produce a vintage even though the year was not particularly weak. Despite the warmth of the year the best wines have sufficient acidic backbone, but many lack intensity and harmony. Most Champagnes are quite developed already, showing no sign of further potential. Its highlights included Laurent-Perrier Alexandra Rosé, Philipponnat Clos des Goisses, Louis Roederer Cristal and Salon Le Mesnil.