2017 Champagne Pascal Agrapart Grand Cru Avizoise Blanc de Blancs

WINEMAKER: Pascal Agrapart
REGION: Champagne, FR
VARIETY: Chardonnay
VITICULTURE: Biodynamic

Disgorged June 2023. Avizoise is sourced from old vines of around 50 to 60 years of age, situated in the clay-rich (argilo-calcaire) Coteaux d’Avize vineyards of Les Robarts and Les Gros Yeux. The richer soils and altitude of these neighbouring sites bring more exotic fruit and roundness, says Pascal. The wine aged entirely in 600-litre demi-muid, and bottle fermentation took place under cork rather than crown seal. The 2017 spent just over five years on lees and was dosed at 3 g/L. It’s a gloriously potent Avizoise, yet one grounded in chalky, stony classicism. It’s rich and dense, yet the power is tapered with incredible stony freshness and a touch of grip. A brilliant wine.

Grower champagne of intensity, purity and finesse, Pascal Agrapart produces no more than 6000 cases a year in one of Champagne’s finest regions. The chalky subsoil of the Côte des Blancs, which consists of fossilised belemnites (an extinct cuttlefish), imparts minerality and salinity; while the high limestone content aids photosynthesis whilst reflecting and storing heat, increases acidities and retains moisture.

Pascal works according to natural rhythms and sensibilities without the use of any chemical pesticides or herbicides, always ferments with indigenous yeasts to express terroir, however is uninterested in the labels of organic or biodynamic.