Champagne Leclerc Briant – La Croisette – Brut NV

Sparkling wine with a quite intense and youthful mousse. The colour is I would say deep straw towards light golden, quite bright, quite brilliant. Nice intense nose here, it’s very much a vinous style. Perhaps there’s a hint of oak here. I get more of a sensation of Chardonnay, perhaps with a touch of oak, but we get a lot of leesy notes from aging on the lees, some brioche, some bread, with ripe citrus and yellow fruity notes. Very good grip on the palate, very vinous style. I would say this is probably close to extra brut in terms of dryness, not really giving any sweet indication. There’s some dosage, not zero but well equilibrated I would say. Good dose of freshness here, really mouthwatering acidity. I like this a lot actually, because you really get that mouthwatering sensation. It’s a quite full-bodied style, but I still think that the emphasis is on ripe high quality Chardonnay here; we get some nutty notes, almonds, with some of those buttery notes, but the finish is really zesty and bone-dry. Very good length, a certain amount of complexity. A very fine champagne.

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