Chardonnay Exploration

Bottles individually purchased: £464

We’ve worked hard to access many great producers from across the width and breadth of Champagne. In doing so, we’re able to demonstrate just how diverse this region can be.

This case, focussing solely on Chardonnay, offers two excellent examples from the Côte des Blancs heartland, alongside cuvées from the Montagne de Reims, Marne Valley and the Petit Morin. Six different styles of this renowned grape – each as delicious as the next, but all delightfully unique.

Bonnaire Terroirs

We start off with a delicious and approachable example of classic Côte de Blancs Chardonnay – crisp, chalky and fresh with zesty citrus fruit flavours balanced by nice mid-palate weight and texture. 

Pierre Legras Idee de Voyage 2013

Staying in the Côte des Blancs, we visit the brilliant village of Chouilly for this excellent Chardonnay from a classic cool vintage. Made from old vines planted in 1947, the intensity of the Chardonnay grapes is balanced by the cool growing season, while 50% oak vinification and ample bottle age adds some beautiful toasty notes.

Famille Delouvin L'Arpent Rouge

Whilst Geoffrey Delouvin is perhaps best known for his Meunier Perpetuel cuvée, his Chardonnays are really worth exploring. Coming from a lieu-dit in the village where he's based, this wine has nice fat weight on the nose. This follows on the palate which is precise yet generous, with citrus notes and a touch of fudge.

Henriet Bazin Blanc de Blancs

The Montagne de Reims mighty be rightly famous for Pinot Noir, but there are a handful of villages that also produce excellent Chardonnay; one of which is Villers-Marmery, which manages to bring out wonderful minerality in Blanc de Blancs. 

Herbert & Co. Cuve X 2.0

Our penultimate wine is produced from a selection of prime vineyards in the renowned Grand Cru villages of Verzenay and Mailly-Champagne. This is the most refined wine from the house to date boasting fresh grapefruit and green apple followed by creamy, nutty notes with pronounced minerality and a long finish.

Oudiette Les Caourdets

We finish our journey in the Petit Morin – an up and coming region for Champagne production south of the Côte des Blancs – and a hugely sought after producer. Les Caourdets is the newest release from Maxime Oudiette; a single-parcel Chardonnay, planted in 1984 on a terroir of great biodiversity, with clay and iron oxide rich soil, lying on a bed of chalk, flint and limestone. 

Please note: Occasionally, due to stock availability, we may need to substitute bottles. In this situation, the replacement cuvées will be in the same style, and of the same or greater value.