(2023) New under the M&S 'Collection' label, a wine from the very good Saint Gall co-op. It is dominated by around 70% Chardonnay, with fruit from both the Côte des Blancs and the Montagne de Reims. Pouring a pale gold with good, persistent mousse, fresh baked biscuit and brioche aromas are inviting, the fruit like ripe pear and apple with light creaminess. In the mouth there is sufficient dosage to give this charm and easy appeal, but also the crisp citrus and orchard fruit has enough bite to balance very nicely. Price is £168 for six from marksandspencer.com, which works out at £28 per bottle.
(2023) With base wines fermented and aged in barrel, this was put into bottle in April 2014 and disgorged exactly five years later, with an Extra Brut 4g/l dosage. Some warmth to the colour and a lovely nose, with meaty umami and truffle depth and lots of toast underpinning lemon fruit. In the mouth there's lots of layered complexity here, a mouth-filling mousse and striking, pithy acidity, some apricot and lemon fruit, again hints of truffle and light earthiness. Finishing with a sour lemon squeeze of acidity, it's a delicious Extra Brut.
(2023) All Chardonnay, from the family's Grand Cru vineyards in Chouilly, this has a really elegant, bright and attractive nose. As well as plenty of verve and freshness there is almond and biscuit, hints of breadth too. The mousse is not too aggressive, and that lovely combination of floral and mineral clarity, backed up by creaminess and a little toast, makes for charming and delicious drinking.
(2023) L.T.S stands for 'Long Term Storage', this having spent 12 years maturing in the Legras & Haas cellars. Disgorged December 2020, only 1000 bottles were released of this Blanc de Blancs from Grand Cru vineyards in Chouilly, the dosage being 3.5g/l. It has a golden hue and attractive, developed aromas of bruised pear and apple, a honeyed note, moving into preserved lemon and a certain meatiness. In the mouth it is quite full and sapid, but the streaking citrus maintains a very fine line into the finish. No UK stockists listed at time of review.
(2023) A blend of Grand Cru Pinot Noir grown in Aÿ and Chardonnay from Chouilly. There's lots of ripe, upfront fruit here, tethered by an umami meatiness and savour. Based on a perpetual reserve started in 1996, this release was bottled in 2017 and the extensive time under cork has allowed it to settle into a harmonious but intense wine. There is such sweetness here, super-ripeness to the fruit, but acidity flashing through the long finish.
(2023) A blend of the three main Champagne grapes, though dominated by Chardonnay, this is a typically fresh and dry wine from Legras & Haas. It is not without fruit, elegance or charm. A fine, foamy mousse reveals plenty of sour lemon and lime, mouthwatering fruit and a long, delicately saline finish. Nice touch of creaminess to the texture.
(2023) A Chardonnay-dominated blend (55%) with a modest dosage of 6g/l, the fruit comes from various vineyards and top villages such as Cramant and Aÿ, the wine spending three years on the lees. It's a beautifully clear and crips style; not austere in the slightest, and not simple and lemony either. The nose has some lovely biscuit character and the palate walks a line between peach, salts and crystalline iced lemon. Refined and elegant, yet has a teasing hint of generosity. Very good.
(2023) A blend of 2009 (60%) and 2008 (40%) Chardonnays, bottled in April 2010 and disgorged January 2018. More or less eight years on the lees has imbued this organic wine with a golden colour and buttery richness, yet a lowly dosage of just 3.5g/l ensures it has attack and clarity too. There's lovely meatiness to the fruit, perhaps enhanced with the use of wild yeasts for fermentation. The mousse is quite soft, but biting citrus and that core of acidity means there's nothing blowsy here. An incisive wine yet with that generosity of its long ageing and, I believe, some barrel ageing for a propprtion of the base wines.
