Champagne Extra Brut
Blanc de Blancs Vieilles Vignes V18

The Champagne Blanc de Blancs Vieilles Vignes by Hélène comes to life in the Côte des Blancs, among the Grand Cru villages of Cramant, Chouilly and Oger, where old Chardonnay vines rooted in deep chalky craie give wines of strong mineral identity and extraordinary precision. This cuvée stands for the most essential and rigorous reading of Pierre Hugot's project, a vigneron who after working with benchmark Domaine estates in Burgundy chose to bring out the family heritage through a craft approach that respects the terroir.

This edition, from the 2018 harvest base, is shaped through spontaneous fermentations with indigenous yeasts and a maturation divided between steel and wood, a choice that slowly accompanies the evolution of the wine while keeping its original tension intact. After tirage comes an ageing on the lees of over 60 months that helps broaden depth, continuity on the palate and aromatic complexity. The final dosage of 2 g/l, in Extra Brut style, preserves a saline, vertical and particularly precise reading.

On tasting, the Blanc de Blancs Vieilles Vignes shows a bright golden yellow, with a fine and persistent perlage introducing a wide aromatic profile of candied citrus, ripe white-fleshed fruit, dried flowers and nuances of pastry, toasted almond and chalk. On the palate the attack is full and enveloping, with a dense material always supported by a clear acidity and a saline imprint of great definition, in a balance between volume and tension that leads to a long, dry finish of remarkable persistence. Production in a limited run of 1,700 bottles.