Champagne Clandestin ‘Les Semblables Boréal’ Brut Nature NV (2017)

Location: France, Champagne

Winemaker: Bertrand Gautherot, Benoit Doussot

Grapes: Pinot Noir

Soil: Kimmeridgian limestone

Winemaking: Fermented and aged in French oak barrels before aging sur latte for 15 months, ‘Les Semblables Boréal’ is disgorged and finished without any dosage.

Dosage: 0g/l

Harvest: 2017

Disgorged: 7/18/2019

From the importer European Cellars: Coming from west-facing vineyards of Pinot Noir in the commune of Buxières-sur-Acre, ‘Les Semblables’ is the first release for Champagne Les Clandestins. These sites are far cooler than most vineyards farmed in the village making for precise and intensely mineral wines lashed with bright, crunchy berry flavors.

Benoit Doussot, a Meursault-trained winemaker who has worked at Vouette for several years alongside Bertrand and Hélène, has opened up shop next door to Vouette with his own micro-negociant estate called Clandestin. The estate focuses on small, out-of-the-way parcels and expositions (clandestin means “hidden” or “secret”) that many traditional winemakers eschew. The parcels, Pinot Noir on Kimmeridgian limestone and Chardonnay on Portlandian limestone, are farmed organically and the fruit is harvested by hand.

After pressing the wine is aged in French oak barrels following closely the training in Meursault that Benoit received before moving north to Champagne. The Champagnes appeal to purists with lovely minerality, cut, and precision. Because of the insistence on harvesting perfectly ripe grapes (which is not generally the case in Champagne), the wines can be bottled with no dosage, giving room for the oceanic terroir to really shine through. These are show-stopping Champagnes of the highest order.