2007 Champagne Dethune A l'Ancienne

2007 Champagne Dethune A l'Ancienne

Product: 39425
Place a bid
 
2007 Champagne Dethune A l'Ancienne

Buying options

You can place a bid for this wine on BBX
Place a bid
Sorry, Out of stock

Description

A grand tribute to the methods of yesteryear, this blend is a combination of the Winery’s finest winemaking practices: 50% Pinot Noir and 50% Chardonnay of a single year are fermented and aged in 205-litre Champagne oak barrels, then aged for seven years in the cellar. Rich, with aromas of almond and nougat, the Cuvée à l’Ancienne serves up a touch of mint on the attack. Both powerful and full-bodied, it offers flavours of candy, dried fruit and beeswax, and reaches an explosive finish, that develops in stages for close to a minute.  Cuvée à l’Ancienne closure is much older than the wire cap (1850): cork and staple closure.

Proprietor Pierre Dethune makes 30,000 bottles of Champagne from estate-owned vineyards in Ambonnay. All of the wines are fermented and aged in oak, which comes through in the wines. At their best, these Champagnes capture the large-scaled style that is typical of the wines of Ambonnay. It is quite likely that these wines, all of which were disgorged in 2007, benefitted greatly from additional time on the cork. The house style emphasizes expressive aromatics and superb texture, even if some of these bottlings can come across as a touch heavy through the use of oak. Still, the Dethune Champagnes are well worth your time.
Antonio Galloni  - Wine Advocate #192 Dec 2010 

wine at a glance

Delivery and quality guarantee

About this WINE

Champagne blend

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.


Find out more