Vintage Champagne Exploration

Bottles individually purchased: £530

One winemaker. One Maison. One expression. One year. If you want to truly understand what the essence of a Champagne is and the critical role climate plays, then start with a vintage. 

Spanning six different years between 2005 and 2020, each wine displays its own distinctive characteristics, whilst remaining wedded to the weather of the year it embodies.

Notes on each vintage:

2005 – Warm and wet summer growing conditions yielded mixed results due to difficulties with mildew. 

2007 – Poor weather made for hard work in the vineyard, but a cool summer yielded good acidity and a classic style of Champagne.

2012 – One of the finest vintages of the century.

2015 – A vintage remembered for its high ripeness and dry, hot weather.

2017 – A challenging vintage, with severe weather events that tested vignerons.

2020 – An August heatwave allowed favourable ripening conditions with the grapes retaining more freshness than 2019

Remy Lequeux-Mercier Millésime 2005

We kick off with one of a range of older vintage wines from Remy that benefits from 10+ years on lees and then subsequent bottle ageing. This is the most mature and tertiary in character with lots of mushroom, stone fruit and earthy notes on the nose. The palate shows a brightness and freshness that belies the age with ample weight and a lovely chewy layer on the mid to late, followed by some smokey notes and a bright grippy finish.

Remy Lequeux-Mercier Millésime 2007

A nice point of comparison with the previous wine, this cuvée is the same blend but different in character. The nose is more focussed but with ample fruit and freshness whilst the purity and drive of 07 nicely controls the mid palate with a lovely primary fruit layer.

Goutorbe Bouillot Clos de Monnaies 2012

A superb wine from one of the standout vintages of the past 25 years. A blend of Chardonnay and Meunier from a true walled clos on the banks of the Marne river. Crisp and clean with lovely nutty notes and herbaceous notes on the mid palate. You sense a delicate use of oak, (even though it is fully oak vinified) and the richness of the 60 year old vines really comes through on the mid-to-late.

Henriet Bazin Cuvée Marie-Amelie 2015

The village of Villers-Marmery in the Montagne de Reims is one of the few to make Chardonnay in the Pinot Noir heartland but it is also one of the best. This vintage is wonderfully elegant with an inviting nose full of papaya, melon and a touch of white chocolate. The palate is a real surprise with a thick bed of chalk, crisp lemon and this incredible saline freshness. As it begins to open it offers some gentle toffee notes but always against that powerful chalky backbone.

Caillez Lemaire Pur Meunier 2017

Proof that a year doesn't need to be universally exceptional to achieve results. Diligent choices and careful selection at harvest has enabled Laurent and Virginie to capture rich fruits, spice and bright acidity in their pure Meunier.

Domaine Vincey Oger 2020

We finish with a simply brilliant Chardonnay from one of the standout producers of the past few years. Vinified in oak and aged on cork, there's lovely oxidative play and layered complexity with oodles of exotic fruit brilliantly integrated with the oak.

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.