Gosset Grand Blanc De Meunier Extra Brut NV

A one-off and exceptional wine from Gosset, 100% Pinot Meunier, aged for a full nine years on the lees in Gosset's cellars. The base vintage is 2007, with 10% reserve wines added. The Meunier comes from south-facing vineyards around Epernay, and it is very dry with only 3g/l of residual sugar. The colour immediately speaks of the age of the wine, a burnished yellow/gold, then very fine bubbles and a cushion of mousse, revealing lovely biscuit and toast and a yellow plum fruitiness. It is full and charming. In the mouth it is expansive and creamily rich, the mousse quite luxurious, and the pitch of the acidity - very noticeably saline - gives great freshness to the toasty, creamy, weighty fruit. Just lovely and a real treat to taste a truly exceptional Champagne. The fruit for Gosset’s new cuvée has been sourced from vineyards around the town of Epernay, mostly coming from Premier Cru sites, where it is planted alongside Pinot Noir. However, Pinot Meunier is not allowed Premier (or indeed Grand Cru) status, even when planted within these vineyards. Gosset cellarmaster Odilon de Varine selected Meunier from mid-slope, south and east-facing sites, and vines that were between 25 and 30 years old. Malolactic fermentation was blocked, and some Chardonnay lees (the soup of dead yeast cells left after fermentation) were added to bolster the Pinot Meunier’s freshness and ageability.It’s expensive and will be hard to find with only 5,000 bottles for the world market, but fizz afficionados will surely be very keen to try it for themselves.