Champagne Monmarthe Les Grimpants Extra Brut 2020

Ludes sits on the north-facing slope of the Montagne de Reims, a Premier Cru village where the Monmarthe family has farmed for generations. This bottling comes from one plot alone – Les Grimpants – planted midway up the slope to 30-year-old Pinot Noir vines on a soil of loam over chalk. The combination of older vines and mineral-rich ground is what gives the wine its depth and its backbone… a 100% Pinot Noir Blanc de Noirs with loads of structure and generosity.

The base wine is patiently vinified in barrel for six months, then undergoes its second fermentation in bottle, where it rests for 3.5 years on the lees, building the creamy texture, the toasty complexity, and the rounded weightiness. Finished as an Extra Brut with minimal dosage, it’s expressly dry and authentic to the very grapes and ground that forged it.

You’ll note aromas of warm brioche and roasted hazelnut giving way to poached pear, red apple skin, dried cherry, and cookie spices on the nose. Then, the palate follows through beautifully with ripe peaches and apples, followed by a savory turn toward almond paste, lemon curd, and a flicker of woodsmoke with a fine, persistent mousse. The finish brings a chalky, saline flick that scrubs the palate clean and leaves you ravenous for the next pour. It's generous and structured at once, with bright acidity that lends clarity amongst all the bold, brash, and savory elements.

This is part of Monmarthe's limited single-vineyard Terroir range, built on four pillars – a plot, a grape variety, a vintage, and a vinification… genuinely small-production, genuinely hard to find. All that to say, this is purely satisfying grower Champagne at its best, for an easy-in price! Grab three and shipping's covered, too.