Champagne Alain Mercier & Fils – Cuvée Lucien NV – Brut

Quite deep and intense golden colour here. Rather fine bubbles indicating a certain maturity. The nose is intense, very intense in fact, I get some hints of oak aging here, very high ripeness. I get more notion of Pinot here with some red berry notes, some hints of windfall, some nutty, spicy notes, like nougat. I think it is all well integrated there, very assertive, very intense, but well integrated. Very intense palate, really full bodied style. Once again I think it is elegantly combining power with freshness. Really full bodied, with those layers of windfall, high ripeness of fruit. However, not with an oxidative style, still fresh and ripe fruit. Good integration of oak and vital acidity there. A lot of nuttiness and maturity, once again I think more about Pinot when I taste this. Elegant creaminess on the finish, really vibrant and really long finish. Very far from your standard aperitif champagne. This is certainly a very ample broad shouldered and assertive style. I really like this one, because all parts are really harmonious and integrated and really offers a very nice expression. Certainly with a capacity to go on for many years, I would be happy to drink today and I do. Cheers!

Tasted by the Best Sommelier of the World, Andreas Larsson.