2011 Champagne Penet-Chardonnet, Les Epinettes, Blanc de Noirs, Grand Cru, Verzy, Extra Brut
Critics reviews
Picked 27 August 2011. Bottled 20 April 2012. Disgorged 7 August 2020. Dosage 4.8 g/l. Single Verzy vineyard of 42-year-old Pinot Noir vines that faces north-west, as 120 m. No oak, no malo.
It has a most unusual, emphatic nose with a certain roasted savoury quality to it. Hugely distinctive. And it's not just the autolysis. It is pretty marked but not intrusive acidity, of a citrus sort. Really intriguing and very much not a casual sipper.
Actually, despite the low dosage, the finish is positively rich! Very tight and tense but already gives huge pleasure. Demands attention.
Drink 2021 - 2027
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com (August 2021)
A well-structured, vibrant blanc de noirs showing aromas of red apples, walnuts, bread crust and grapefruit peel. Dry and focused, with a medium body, lively acidity and tight bubbles. Refreshing at the end. 100% Pinot Noir. Disgorged April 2021. 4.8g/L dosage.
Drink now
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (August 2023)
About this WINE
Champagne Penet-Chardonnet
Champagne Penet-Chardonnet has 400 years of winemaking history behind it. The estate spans six hectares, spread over 30 small plots across Verzy and Verzenay in the Montagne de Reims.
Located in the north-eastern extremity of the region, this land is 100% Grand Cru, and is home to some of the best Pinot Noir vineyards in all of Champagne. The Penet family farms their estate with the utmost care for nature, using sustainable and organic methods.
The estate is now run by fourth generation winemaker Alexandre Penet and his wife Martine, who have redefined the house style since taking over in 2009. Alexandre vinifies all crus separately, bottling the best sites as single lieu dits. These wines are set to become some of the most desired in the region: detail, expressive and made with precision, they are totally distinctive in personality.
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.
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Description
Picked 27 August 2011. Bottled 20 April 2012. Disgorged 7 August 2020. Dosage 4.8 g/l. Single Verzy vineyard of 42-year-old Pinot Noir vines that faces north-west, as 120 m. No oak, no malo.
It has a most unusual, emphatic nose with a certain roasted savoury quality to it. Hugely distinctive. And it's not just the autolysis. It is pretty marked but not intrusive acidity, of a citrus sort. Really intriguing and very much not a casual sipper.
Actually, despite the low dosage, the finish is positively rich! Very tight and tense but already gives huge pleasure. Demands attention.
Drink 2021 - 2027
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com (August 2021)
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