Champagne Jean Lallement 'Cuvée Reserve' Verzenay Brut, NV (1.5L)

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Jean Lallement (Lall-Mont) is an estate of only four hectares split between Verzenay and Verzy in the Montagne de Reims. A tiny producer, one of the smallest in this portfolio, but what wines! Original, complex, distinctive and yummy, all from a young vigneron who’s restlessly improving every year. The vineyards are spread between Verzenay and Verzy both grand cru villages, with small holdings in the premier cru of Ludes. Alex Lallement explained the terrior of Verzenay as more masculine and higher in elevation, while Verzey is more feminine and perfumed.

Cuvée from old vines, + 35 years old. The nose is powerful, complex, with notes of candied fruits, nuts and hazelnut. The palate combines fruity notes (pear, stewed apple) and spicy notes (cinnamon, licorice, fresh mint). The well-melted dosage allows to maintain a remarkable elegance and length, as well as a pleasant freshness. Blend of Pinot Noir (80%) and Chardonnay (20%) with a more measured dosage (4g / l).

The majority of Lallement’s holdings are in Verzenay whose characteristic flavor Lallement’s virile style exemplifies. If it were Burgundy it’d be Nuits-St.-Georges; animal and sauvage. Lallement’s vineyards are about eighty percent pinot noir and twenty percent chardonnay, as you’d expect in these parts. There are twenty different parcels, about half of which are older than 40 years.