Emblems of luxury, precious pearls jealously guarded in the cellar, waiting for the perfect opportunity to reveal their most intimate. Not all Champagnes are the same, so far. But some are less equal than others. We're talking about Rare Champagnes - labels originally designed only for a selected group of enthusiasts that, at times, are lucky enough to get close to the most famous bubbles in the world. They are treasures of a few, who in absolute exclusivity have their trademark.
Be they Vignerons or big Maisons, the principle does not change: they are very limited productions of rare Champagnes, often distributed sparingly, when not on assignment. And this is how many of these references are transformed into real objects of desire, even cult: there are labels not to be missed, if and when given the opportunity to buy themselves a bottle.
There are just over 1.400 examples on the market of Aurélien Lurquin Champagne Les Forciéres 2017. A label in which the concept of exclusivity goes hand in hand with the choice of maximum environmental sustainability. A real must for lovers of Rare Champagnes who are looking for an organic option, but even more excited of tasting the first work of an authentic Vigneron with a bright future ahead. There are just less than 1,300 bottles on the market of another very limited production, 100% Meunier grapes from a single plot: Emmanuel Brochet Champagne Les Hauts Meuniers - the pampering that a young man sends to all lovers of bubbles from the top of a small hill, which bears the name of Mont Benoît, located just outside Reims.
Even among the Rare Champagnes, Vincent Laval offers the top organic products, which his family has chosen to opt for, in the vineyards and in the cellar, far back in the 70s. So, Georges Laval Champagne Les Lounges Violes is a rarity, coming from the same-name and still preserved plot. The result is a Blanc de Noirs that embodies the delicate richness of a true lieu-dit myth.
It is in all respects a faithful snapshot of its creator, Michel Fallon Champagne Blanc de Blancs Ozanne. It is in fact the only production signed by this Avize's little Vigneron. A 100% Chardonnay tribute to the history of the Grand Cru de la Côte des Blancs, as the name implies: a reference to the ancient appellation ("Ozanne la belle"), up to the 796 AD reserved for the village where the vineyards are located.
For lovers of Rare Champagnes, simply mentioning the name Anselme is already an absolute guarantee. Because no introduction is needed for Jacques’ son and Guillaume’s father. No introduction needed for his Champagne as well: Jacques Selosse Champagne Extra Brut Millésime 2009. Always produced in very few bottles, is the result of an assemblage of 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Noir, from parcels classified as Premiers and Grands Crus. Refinement for over 10 years on its own yeasts and low dosage - making it an Extra Brut - for this Millésime d'assemblage that bears the imprint of the new generational change.
A single Grand Cru (Le Mesnil-sur-Oger), a single blend (Chardonnay), a single vintage (only those considered excelling, among the 37 of the 20th century): this is enough to describe the excellence contained in a bottle of Salon Champagne. Myth label behind which an infinite number of stories intertwine, from the roaring 1920s of the epic Chez Maxim's in Paris to the marketing, during the Second World War, of the legendary vintage 1928 from the vault of the Eagle's Nest, the Alpine residence of Hitler on the Bavarian Alps.
It is, instead, the story of a Champagne that no longer exists that of Bollinger Champagne Vieilles Vignes Françaises 2009. There are, in fact, just over 2,400 bottles available of the only label in the region that came to life from the only two plots that survived, more than a century ago, the scourge of phylloxera. To be exact, Chaude Terres and Clos St. Jacques vineyards, within the Grand Cru in Aÿ, keep donating Pinot Noir with which Bollinger preserves, thanks to this true oenological monument, a piece of collective memory.
Complex, mature, innovative: Gosset Champagne Celebris Les Célébrissimes surprises with its refined taste expression unlike any other. The result of a double aging, which tests the exceptional preservation capacity of a label that awakens only 20 years after its long sleep in the depths (cellars over 18 meters deep in the ground) of the oldest Maison in the Champagne region: a tribute to time and its beneficial influence.
From the heart of Clos des Goisses - the oldest and best known in the region, as well as the steepest slope (with its 45° inclination) which guarantees ideal sunshine all year round - Philipponnat Champagne Extra Brut Les Cintres is born. Unique, more than rare, this limited series of parcels of land contains the quintessence of the Maison’s wines and all the extraordinary intensity of an exceptional terroir.
"Nomen omen" – so the ancient used to say. A review of Rare Champagnes could not end without Rare Champagne Rosé Millésime 2008. A label that peeps out only as a result of exceptional conditions, which further reaffirm its uniqueness. In the best vintages that nature grants, its contribution gives shape to perfection with no compromise.
GLUGULP! also offers an interesting selection of rare and sought-after Champagnes for the most passionate!