Champagne Brut
Brut d'Autrefois

The Champagne Brut d'Autrefois by Corbon carries in its name a taste for the Champagne of the past, the kind born from patience, care and the memory of the cellar. Everything revolves around a réserve perpétuelle started in 1980 in Avize, kept in a large oak vat and renewed by half each year with the youngest wine, a heritage spanning more than forty years of harvests that brings to every edition the imprint of the Domaine's oldest vines, farmed without pesticides.

This edition, based on the 2017 harvest, brings together the wine of the year and a significant share of réserve perpétuelle, with a blend showing a clear predominance of Chardonnay grapes and a small share of Pinot Noir. Vinification and fermentation take place in stainless steel and neutral wood, with indigenous yeasts and no malolactic fermentation, filtration or fining. After tirage comes ageing on the lees for over 6 years, with a very restrained final dosage and the traditional string-tied cork closure, as was done in the past.

On tasting, Brut d'Autrefois shows an intense golden colour with amber reflections, opening on notes of candied exotic fruit, honey and spice woven together with hints of hazelnut, chamomile, ginger and a delicate, refined balsamic touch. On the palate the material is broad, layered and complex, with a fine, creamy bubble and a citrus freshness that keeps drive and tension through to a dry, mineral and saline finish of long persistence.