Champagne Dhondt Grellet, Les Nogers, Blanc de Blancs, 1er Cru, Extra Br (Base 2017)
Critics reviews
The 2017 Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru Les Nogers is very promising, unwinding in the glass with scents of crisp orchard fruit, citrus oil, and peach mingled with white flowers, oyster shell and nougat. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and vinous, it's bright and chiselled, with a concentrated core of fruit, racy acids and a saline finish. While 2017 was often a challenging vintage for Pinot Noir and Meunier in Champagne, conscientious growers, above all in the Côte de Blancs, produced some beautiful wines, and this is one of them.
Drink 2023 - 2040
William Kelley, Wine Advocate (August 2022)
About this WINE
Champagne Dhondt Grellet
Champagne Dhondt-Grellet is a small, family-owned producer in the Côte des Blancs region of Champagne, France. The Côte des Blancs is renowned for its Chardonnay vineyards, and many producers in this area, including Dhondt-Grellet, often focus on producing Blanc de Blancs Champagne, made exclusively from Chardonnay grapes.
Dhondt-Grellet emphasises traditional and meticulous production methods. This includes hand-harvesting grapes, using conventional pressing techniques, and extended ageing on the lees to develop complex flavours.
Blanc de Blancs
In Champagne, the term Blanc de Blancs designates Champagnes made only from Chardonnay grapes. The vineyards located between Cramant and Mesnil-sur-Oger in Côte des Blancs yield the best examples of the style.
A classic Blanc de Blancs is restrained and elegant when young, yet with ageing it develops a mouth-coating brioche richness that overlays an intense expression of fruitiness. Blanc de Blancs are endowed with longer ageing potential than a typical Blanc de Noirs.
Recommended Producers: Salon, Billecart Salmon, Jacques Selosse, Dom Ruinart, Krug, Le Mesnil Grand Cru, Guy Larmandier
Champagne blend
Which grapes are included in the blend, and their proportion, is one of the key factors determining the style of most Champagnes. Three grapes are used - Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier.
26% of vineyards in Champagne are planted with Chardonnay and it performs best on the Côtes des Blancs and on the chalk slopes south of Epernay. It is relatively simple to grow, although it buds early and thus is susceptible to spring frosts. It produces lighter, fresher wines than those from Burgundy and gives finesse, fruit and elegance to the final blend. It is the sole grape in Blancs de Blancs, which are some of the richest long-lived Champagnes produced.
Pinot Noir accounts for nearly 40% of the plantings in Champagne and lies at the heart of most blends - it gives Champagne its body, structure, strength and grip. It is planted across Champagne and particularly so in the southern Aube district.
The final component is Pinot Meunier and this constitutes nearly 35% of the plantings. Its durability and resistance to spring frosts make the Marne Valley, a notorious frost pocket, its natural home. It ripens well in poor years and produces a soft, fruity style of wine that is ideal for blending with the more assertive flavours of Pinot Noir. Producers allege that Pinot Meunier lacks ageing potential, but this does not deter Krug from including around 15% of it in their final blends.
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
The 2017 Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru Les Nogers is very promising, unwinding in the glass with scents of crisp orchard fruit, citrus oil, and peach mingled with white flowers, oyster shell and nougat. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and vinous, it's bright and chiselled, with a concentrated core of fruit, racy acids and a saline finish. While 2017 was often a challenging vintage for Pinot Noir and Meunier in Champagne, conscientious growers, above all in the Côte de Blancs, produced some beautiful wines, and this is one of them.
Drink 2023 - 2040
William Kelley, Wine Advocate (August 2022)
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