Pierre Deville Blanc de Noirs Copin Extra Brut Champagne 2021

IMPORTER NOTES:

OVERVIEW: "Verzy is Pinot Noir country. The Grand Cru slopes produce the grape with more restraint and mineral precision than the warmer, richer villages of the Montagne de Reims — the chalk beneath the clay-limestone soils keeps everything tense and focused. A Blanc de Noirs from Verzy is not the same wine as a Blanc de Noirs from Aÿ or Ambonnay. It is cooler, more structured, more specific to its place. Alban Corbeaux calls this cuvée Copin — a regional Champenois dialect word for friend. The name carries across the range: Copin for each single-variety wine, Les Copins for the blend that brings them together. This is the red grape version — 100% Pinot Noir from two specific lieu-dits within Verzy Grand Cru: La Queu des Loges — planted 1963; Les Chemins de Wez — planted 1984. The oldest vines are over 60 years old at the 2021 harvest. Both plots farmed organically with biodynamic practices. Fermented entirely in old oak barrels — no stainless steel — with indigenous yeasts and full malolactic fermentation. Extra brut. 1,300 bottles made."

TASTING: “Red apple, white cherry, dried rose petal, and the characteristic mineral tension of Verzy chalk. The Pinot Noir character is present but restrained — this is not a rich or opulent Blanc de Noirs. The old oak ageing adds texture and a subtle breadth without imposing flavour. Long, dry, precise finish with a saline quality that invites another glass. Drink now through 2029.”