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Wine Description
The Story
L’Apôtre is the estate's top cuvée — a single-vineyard champagne from the La Pierre St-Martin vineyard, with vines planted in 1946 by Léclapart's own grandfather. The wines are barrel matured in order to match the concentration and intensity of grapes from these old vines. In each vintage, L’Apôtre is known for presenting the greatest complexity and expressiveness of any of the cuvées.
Léclapart uses no reserve wines, instead producing each champagne from a specific vintage that appears on the label. Chaptalization was only performed in 2001 and 2007, and the initial fermentation uses only wild yeast. Amateur and half of Artiste are aged in enameled steel tanks, while the rest are matured in oak casks. To stabilize the wines and avoid the use of sulfur, all cuvées undergo malolactic fermentation. The wines remain "sur lie" until shortly before the next vintage's harvest and are filled without fining, filtration or cold stabilization. All champagnes are zero dosage.
Leclapart's wines are notable both for their extremely high quality, yet also an uncompromisingly distinctive nature. They are remarkably pure and nuanced, and express the essence of Trépail. The wines are released relatively young, as Léclapart lacks warehouse space. Ideally the champagnes will be allowed to mature for several years in the cellar before being enjoyed. Decanting is recommended should the champagnes be opened young, as they can be otherwise inaccessible in their youth.
Wine Information
Golden yellow color intense and brilliant, with fine and persistent. On the nose, it opens up a range of yellow and white fruit complex (golden apple, white peach), fresh herbs, touch of liquorice and butter and nuances of grapefruit and orange. On the palate, it produces full-bodied and round and with clear mineral and sour track footprint. The finish is illuminated by a light smoky traces of great elegance, balance and persistence.
Vintage 2009
This warm year started with a cold winter and mild spring temperatures. Early summer was variable but August and September provided ample sunshine and warmth contributing to fine grape health. Pinot Noir especially excelled. Grape harvest, of generally high sugar content yet soft acidity, started on September 8th. 2009 is a year of generous wines that showed well early. An apt example of a vintage of the recent era, in which retaining freshness poses more problems than attaining ripeness. Good grape health contributed to the overall quality, and despite the richness of the wines, heaviness did not end up being an issue. There is quite some heterogenity amongst the year's produce but the best seem truly age-worthy. The vintage's finest include Louis Roederer Cristal and Cristal Rosé, Dom Pérignon and Philipponnat Clos des Goisses.
