Champagne Brut Réserve Vieilles Vignes Bérêche et Fils Magnum

35% chardonnay, 30% pinot, 35% meunier; 35% reserves; half premier crus; average vine age 40+ years; fermented in barrels and small tanks; 10% tailles aged for 2 years before blending to reduce vegetal notes and austerity; aged on lees 24-36 months; 65,000 bottles, 2500 magnums, 300 jéroboams; 7g/L dosage Bérêche admits that this is his most difficult wine to make, with an aspiration of richness, finesse, chalk minerality, creamy texture and a clean, bright finish. He is working on its refinement though focusing on the date of picking, increasing vinification in barrel, and aiming to age on lees as long as his special cuvées. The result is brilliantly characterful for the lead cuvée of the house, and to sustain such consistency and impeccable fruit integrity even with a majority of barrel fermentation is a feat few estates as small as this can pull off. The current release is more extroverted and flamboyant than ever, thanks to the ripe and expressive 2015 base vintage springing to life in a full straw hue with a salmon tint, overflowing into a palate brimming with orange rind, strawberry hull and layers of spice. It holds excellent persistence, fullness and presence, while lingering very long with well-focused malic acidity, underlined by the almond notes of at least two years lees age. A characterful and crafted wine of presence, poise and class that rises to the character and complexity of a powerful season, yet at every moment upholding seamless cohesion.

The NV Brut Réserve is a real pleasure to taste, as it encapsulates all of the qualities that make these Champagnes so distinctive. Rich and toasty, with gorgeous mid-palate breadth, the Brut Réserve is a model of total precision and class. Even with all of its resonance, the Brut Réserve is incredibly pure and crystalline. Dried apricots, flowers, chamomile, pear and lightly honeyed notes meld into the finish... A few months back, I tasted a ten vintage vertical of the Brut Réserve and found all of the wines had aged gracefully. Although most readers probably associate Bérèche with some of their higher- end bottlings, the Brut Réserve is a real rock star.

The NV Brut Réserve Vieilles Vignes Cuvée Non Filtrée is a blend of all the four different terroirs cultivated by the Bérêche family-35% Ludes (chalk), 30% Ormes (sand), 25% Mareuil-sur-Port (clay) and 10% Trépail (chalk), which adds up to seven hectares for this cuvée. The current release of the non-vintaged unfiltered Réserve is based on the 2015 vintage and, as usual, includes 35% of reserve wines from a solera. Fermented in oak barrels and small cuves, the assemblage of Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir (from vines averaging 40+ years old) is pure and fruity on the nose, very elegant and spicy, with red fruit and cherry aromas. Pure and elegant on the palate, with intensity, remarkable finesse and complexity, the Brut Réserve reveals a still tight but long, salty, promising finish. The Brut Réserve is being disgorged in January, July and October, and I suppose the sample Raphaël served me in April 2018 was from January (dosage: seven grams per liter). 65,000 bottles made plus some magnums and jeroboams. The NV Brut Réserve Vieilles Vignes Cuvée Non Filtrée is a blend of all the four different terroirs cultivated by the Bérêche family-35% Ludes (chalk), 30% Ormes (sand), 25% Mareuil-sur-Port (clay) and 10% Trépail (chalk), which adds up to seven hectares for this cuvée. The current release of the non-vintaged unfiltered Réserve is based on the 2015 vintage and, as usual, includes 35% of reserve wines from a solera. Fermented in oak barrels and small cuves, the assemblage of Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir (from vines averaging 40+ years old) is pure and fruity on the nose, very elegant and spicy, with red fruit and cherry aromas. Pure and elegant on the palate, with intensity, remarkable finesse and complexity, the Brut Réserve reveals a still tight but long, salty, promising finish. The Brut Réserve is being disgorged in January, July and October, and I suppose the sample Raphaël served me in April 2018 was from January (dosage: seven grams per liter). 65,000 bottles made plus some magnums and jeroboams. 2019 - 2028

Tydelig rugbrødsnote i næsen med surdej og kærnemælk. Frugten er lidt lukket, en anelse citrus stikker frem, men ellers fremstår vinen bitter og ubalanceret. Jævn.

Plenty of pastry and lees-derived chalkiness and fresh cream notes. The palate is very fleshy, expansive and accessible and yet it stays very pure, fine and focused. Great shape. Mostly pinot with 35 per cent of reserve wine. Drink now.

Strågul. Duften rummer Honning, æble, abrikos, marcipan og noter af rugbrød. Smagen er friskt mousserende med mørkt rugbrød, toast, abrikos og honning med en frisk syre og bid. Marcipan og rugbrødsnoter er med fra start til slut. Fine letoxyderede noter passer godt sammen med den friske frugt af abrikos, citrus og æble.

This firm Champagne is richly spice and mouthwatering, carrying flavors of currant, bread dough, golden raisin, smoked almond and lemon confit on a lively bead. Features a long, lasting, graphite-tinged finish.