Champagne Clandestin "Revers" Brut Nature NV

Alcohol: 12%

Grape(s): 100% Chardonnay

Localization: Champagne, France

Tasting Notes: On the palate the Les Revers just what you expected from the scent. The Champagne has the lucky punchIt shows power and pressure, freshness and minerality. It is clear and precise, always on the very bright white-yellow side with a few sprinklings of green ripe notes, blond tobacco, some graphite, white flowers and a fine tart note of grapefruit abrasion. The perlage shows itself lively and fine, the finish is long and persistent.

Notes: Les Revers is the north-facing counterpart to Les Grandes Lignes coming from a small parcel of Chardonnay on Portlandian soils. Like everything at Clandestin, it is harvested by hand and fermented by natural yeasts in a French oak demi-muid. After 10 months it is bottled and aged sur latte for 15 months. To retain the purity of the terroir, Les Revers is bottled without dosage.

The Domain: Benoit Doussot, a Meursault-trained winemaker who has worked at Vouette for several years alongside Bertrand and Hélène, has opened up shop next door to Vouette with his own micro-negociant estate called Clandestin.  The estate focuses on small, out-of-the-way parcels and expositions (clandestin means “hidden” or “secret”) that many traditional winemakers eschew. The parcels, Pinot Noir on Kimmeridean limestone and Chardonnay on Portlandian limestone, are farmed organically and the fruit is harvested by hand.

After pressing the wine is aged in French oak barrels following closely the training in Meursault that Benoit received before moving north to Champagne.  The Champagnes appeal to purists with lovely minerality, cut, and precision.  Because of the insistence on harvesting perfectly ripe grapes (which is not generally the case in Champagne), the wines can be bottled with no dosage, giving room for the oceanic terroir to really shine through.  These are show-stopping Champagnes of the highest order.