Champagne Verzy Grand Cru ’Les Epinettes’ (18) - Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir | single vineyard | Verzy Grand Cru 'Les Epinettes' | stokken 1971 geplant | sélèction massale | vergist op eikenhout met eigen gist | 36 maanden sur lattes gerijpt | Brut Nature | 1520 flessen geproduceerd | serieuze Champagne | grote glazen | strakke zuren | breed palet

Adrien Renoir

Gelegen in Verzy, een van de 17 grand grus in de champagne, gelegen op de Montagne de Reims. Vind je Adrien Renoir, de vierde generatie wijnmaker. Ook hier word artisanaal te werk gegaan. Met de hand plukken en persen in eigen chateau en vergist op staal en hout. Dit voor de balans van frisheid en textuur in de champagne. Ik ben meteen ingestapt met zijn eerste release waar ik erg blij mee ben. Het gebied wordt gedomineerd door de Pinot Noir druif en daar krijg je een erg stoere stijl champagne van, maar ook erg nobel en elegant.

Review

Disgorged in February 2020 with 0.8 grams per liter dosage, Renoir's 2016 Extra-Brut Blanc de Noirs Grand Cru Les Epinettes wafts from the glass with aromas of mandarin orange, white flowers, blackcurrant, anise and crisp yellow orchard fruit, complemented by subtle hints of white flowers and fresh pastry. Full-bodied, fleshy and seamless, with racy acids, fine depth at the core and a long, saline finish, this has turned out beautifully. 95/100 William Kelley

As I wrote last year, the young Adrien Renoir took over this four-hectare domaine in Verzy a few years ago, launching his eponymous label in 2019. Working exclusively with estate fruit, he abandoned herbicides in 2015 and attained organic certification in 2020. In the cellar, he started out with one or two barrels and, appreciating the results, now vinifies everything in barrel, maturing his reserve wines in oak foudres. Winemaking here is artisanal, with ambient yeast fermentations, lees stirring and no temperature control. The wines are disgorged with jetting but without any added sulfites and dosed with MCR. Every new release from Renoir seems to surpass the last, so I can only encourage readers to start paying attention to one of Champagne's brightest young talents.