Chartogne-Taillet Les Couarres 2018 (Disg. April 2023)

60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir. This is one of Alexandre’s single-vineyard Champagnes, sourced from Les Couarres in Merfy. It’s a gently sloping, south-facing site, rich in tuffeau and clay. Alexandre farms just under four hectares of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The wine is famed for its round texture framed by fresh acidity, as well as its ability to age. Alexandre refers to wines from Les Couarres as “the laziest”; they call for simplicity in the cellar. From the moment it’s pressed, and throughout its maturation in used barriques and concrete eggs, the wine is protected from oxygen. The oldest vines here are now well over 50 years old. The dosage is 2.5 g/L.