The Paul Déthune Les Crayères Grand Cru Blanc de Noirs has a satin-like, bright and dense, pale golden-yellow colour with deep straw yellow highlights. The first nose evokes a scent of honeysuckle accompanied by notes of toast, hot brioche, caramel, quince and buttered apple. Then notes of plum, blackcurrant, fine and iodized chalk, candied grapefruit, apricot, sweet almond, pomegranate, wild strawberry, roasting and sweet spices all blend together. The contact with the palate is clean and fresh. The Blanc de Noirs Les Crayères Millésime 2016 cuvée develops a luscious and sensual fruitiness, underpinned by the acidity of lemon and fleshy fruits. The mid-palate is orchestrated by a chalky minerality that imparts frankness, iodine saltiness, and a lengthened palate. Working with wood allows the wine to breathe, and this takes on a tactile perceptual dimension, expressing the character of the parcel with a precise and gourmand aromatic richness. The finely balanced and mixed whole results in a sleek finish, pulpy and chalky, gratifying delicious dry ingredients that prolong the pleasure.
Vinified and aged in 205L oak barrels.
7 years on lees.
100% Pinot Noir from 50 year old vines in one of Champagnes best vineyards for Pinot Noir 'Les Crayères' of Egly-Ouriet fame.
Only 2000 bottles produced.
Paul Déthune 'Les Crayères' Extra Brut Ambonnay Grand Cru 2016
"The Déthune family has tended to vines on the privileged slopes of Ambonnay since 1610, and produced their own wines since 1890. Today, Pierre Déthune and wife Sophie sensitively manage seven hectares of 70% pinot noir and 30% chardonnay entirely within the village. Ten cuvées draw complexity and diversity from 34 different Ambonnay parcels vinified separately, some in large oak foudres and small oak ‘pièces’ from the forests of Champagne. ‘We want to show that the same grapes from the same village can produce seven different styles by varying the blends, the ageing and the use of oak,’ Sophie explains. Their 50,000 bottles confidently express the luscious power and characterful poise of Ambonnay and quickly sell out every year.”
-Tyson Stelzer
