Champagne Clandestin, Les Semblables Boreal, Brut Nature
Critics reviews
Derived from the 2019 vintage, Benoît Dussot's NV Brut Nature Les Semblables (Boréal) is derived from north-facing holdings. Wafting from the glass with scents of crisp pear, citrus oil, white flowers and buttery pasty, it's medium to full-bodied, pillowy and chiselled, its fleshy core of fruit girdled by racy acids.
Originally from Beaune, Benoît Doussot arrived in Champagne in 2015 after a stint at Domaine Fichet in Meursault. Working at Vouette & Sorbée, he perceived that organic growers were selling their fruit to big houses and the local cooperatives for no premium, and he set out to change that. Today, Doussot works with some 12 hectares of vines, farmed by nine different vignerons, divided among 18 parcels. In sourcing, he's looking for the second terrace of Kimmeridgian limestone; and all his cuvées are derived from a single vintage, a single grape variety and this same terrace, differentiated by their different expositions.
Drink 2023 - 2030
William Kelley, Wine Advocate (August 2023)
About this WINE
Champagne Clandestin
Champagne Clandestin is a joint project from Bertrand Gautherot, of Vouette et Sorbée fame, and Benoît Doussot – a Burgundian winemaker specialising in Meursault. Together, they started Clandestin: a micro-négociant which buys sustainably-grown grapes from just 8 hectares, and creates the most terroir-expressive Champagnes imaginable.
This duo are producing limited quantities of fantastic wines, all hand-picked and farmed both organically and biodynamically. The name “clandestine” comes from the French for “hidden” and alludes to the 8 hectares of land they focus on. These historically overlooked parcels of north and west-facing vineyards, nestled above the town of Buxières, produce grapes of outstanding quality.
Each cuvée comes from a particular sun exposure: as the names suggest, Austral’s Pinot Noir grapes come from the south-facing vineyards, while Boreal’s come from the north. This is a Champagne producer whose passion is respectful viticulture and terroir expression, creating wines ideal for Champagne purists who value minerality, cut, and precision.
Blanc de Noirs
Blanc de Noirs describes a wine produced entirely from black grapes. In Champagne, Blanc de Noirs cuvée can be made from the two black grapes permitted within the appellation, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Bollinger's prestige cuvée Vieilles Vignes Françaises, from ungrafted, old Pinot Noir vines, has set the yardstick in a style that is now produced by a number of other Champagne houses.
A typical Blanc de Noirs cuvée has a deep golden colour, and can be more intensely flavoured than the classic non-vintage, multi-grape blend.Recommended Producers: Cedric Bouchard, Bollinger
Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir is probably the most frustrating, and at times infuriating, wine grape in the world. However when it is successful, it can produce some of the most sublime wines known to man. This thin-skinned grape which grows in small, tight bunches performs well on well-drained, deepish limestone based subsoils as are found on Burgundy's Côte d'Or.
Pinot Noir is more susceptible than other varieties to over cropping - concentration and varietal character disappear rapidly if yields are excessive and yields as little as 25hl/ha are the norm for some climats of the Côte d`Or.
Because of the thinness of the skins, Pinot Noir wines are lighter in colour, body and tannins. However the best wines have grip, complexity and an intensity of fruit seldom found in wine from other grapes. Young Pinot Noir can smell almost sweet, redolent with freshly crushed raspberries, cherries and redcurrants. When mature, the best wines develop a sensuous, silky mouth feel with the fruit flavours deepening and gamey "sous-bois" nuances emerging.
The best examples are still found in Burgundy, although Pinot Noir`s key role in Champagne should not be forgotten. It is grown throughout the world with notable success in the Carneros and Russian River Valley districts of California, and the Martinborough and Central Otago regions of New Zealand.
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
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Description
Derived from the 2019 vintage, Benoît Dussot's NV Brut Nature Les Semblables (Boréal) is derived from north-facing holdings. Wafting from the glass with scents of crisp pear, citrus oil, white flowers and buttery pasty, it's medium to full-bodied, pillowy and chiselled, its fleshy core of fruit girdled by racy acids.
Originally from Beaune, Benoît Doussot arrived in Champagne in 2015 after a stint at Domaine Fichet in Meursault. Working at Vouette & Sorbée, he perceived that organic growers were selling their fruit to big houses and the local cooperatives for no premium, and he set out to change that. Today, Doussot works with some 12 hectares of vines, farmed by nine different vignerons, divided among 18 parcels. In sourcing, he's looking for the second terrace of Kimmeridgian limestone; and all his cuvées are derived from a single vintage, a single grape variety and this same terrace, differentiated by their different expositions.
Drink 2023 - 2030
William Kelley, Wine Advocate (August 2023)
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