Champagne Francis Orban Chardonnay Cuvée Parcellaire Les Malaquais Brut 2018

This is top-quality, wildly scrumptious, vinous Champagne – and a nonnegotiable addition to any Champagne collection! It clocks in at 100% Chardonnay from around 60-year-old plantings on a less-than-one-acre plot in the Les Malaquais vineyard, where green iron-rich clay, Lutetian limestone, and Cuisian sand soils prevail. The vineyard name loosely translates to “bad property acquired by a spouse during marriage,” a tongue-in-cheek choice, as it was once an untouched parcel covered in bushes and shrubs that had to be painstakingly cleared out for vines to be planted. Of course, 2018 was an absolutely exceptional year across the board in Champagne – producing a bountiful harvest of rich, expressive, plump grapes that ripened slowly. Chardonnay specifically grew fabulously in the Marne, producing wines with crunchy fruit expressions and exceeding generosity.

The Orban story truly begins back in 1929, when Léopold Orban stopped selling his grapes to larger houses in Épernay and started producing Champagnes of his own. This made him one of the very first grower-producers in his village – and began a family-run house that continues turning heads today. Now, four generations later, Francis Orban has taken over the family business with 18 acres of vineyards in the Marne, on the sandy, clay-rich soils around the villages of Leuvrigny and Sainte-Gemme.

The wine is fermented on native yeasts in large casks, both new and used, before aging for five years on the lees and finishing with a light 3 g/liter dosage that could technically be classified as Extra Brut, though they chose to designate it a Brut. This is a seductively rich and ripe Champagne, with aromas that start with preserved lemon, White Lady peach, crushed raspberry, and warm brioche, leading into flavors of quince jam, clementine, pink grapefruit, whipped cream, rose petals, and almond croissant. Refined and elegant, this wine is decidedly weightier than many Bruts, and a perfect accompaniment to charcuterie boards, pâtés, and the like. Use code ORBANRULES when you check-out to get a stellar price drop on 3 or more bottles!