DRAPPIER Champagne Brut "La Grande Sendree" 2008 - Magnum 1.5L

Wine Region: Champagne - France

Grape: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir

Tasting notes: This champagne presents itself in a ravishing pale yellow robe with topaz nuances. Time has used its patina to reveal the wine's complexity. Hawthorn blends with acacia honey, beeswax and marzipan. When it is aerated, the wine resumes its murings, quince jelly meets raspberry jam and alternates with bergamot and warm brioche. On the palate it's invigorating, imposing and it teases the taste buds. The bead caresses and balances wild strawberry jam with ripe blood orange. This harmony is extended in a delicate minerality and a lovely bitterness in which hints of mandarin orange come through.

About the winery:
Although the vines in Urville were originally planted by the Romans 2000 years ago, it was Saint Bernard, founder of Clairvaux Abbey, who had the cellars of Drappier built in 1152.
Seven centuries later, in 1808, around this magnificently preserved testimony to medieval times, where the exceptional cuvees slumber, the family domaine was created which today is headed by Michel Drappier. An area in which Pinot Noir thrives, a grape variety which "runs through our veins", Urville lies where the vineyard was first planted and is now cultivated according to organic and natural principles.
Today, rather than sophisticated, sometimes overdone excellence, they prefer authenticity and a natural approach. Thanks mainly to very low quantities of dosage and extremely limited use of sulphites, of which Brut Nature Without Sulphur cuve is the culmination, they are able to highlight the multifaceted aspects of our terroirs and our wine-making.

Expert Rating:
Wine Advocate: 94+/100