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2018 NOCES DE CRAIE Extra Brut Grand Cru Champagne Marc Hébrart, Lea & Sandeman

NOCES DE CRAIE

2018 Extra Brut Grand Cru Champagne Marc Hébrart

IN STOCK
Grapes Pinot Noir
Colour White
Origin France, Champagne
Classification Grand Cru
ABV 12.5%

100% Aÿ pinot noir from five plots, four toward the east of the cru grouped together above the village; fermented at just 16 degrees in stainless steel, 'to uphold the aromatics,' 5g/L dosage of MCR; disgorged January 2022

In the terroirs here there is just 50-60cm of subsoils and this give the perfect balance of fruit and freshness and elegance and chalk minerality. My idea in Noces de Craie is to showcase the elegance of Aÿ. It is very important for this reason to only use the heart of the pressing. To date I have made 6000 bottles per year, and with new parcels in Aÿ this year I can increase volume.' - Jean-Paul Hébrart

The inimitable combination of fruit presence and structural elegance of Aÿ are impeccably presented by Hébrart, with all the pristine purity of the 2018 season. Well-defined red and black cherry fruit, wild strawberry and raspberry present pitch-perfect freshness and purity, set to a score of the strong, fine chalk minerality of the village. Holding epic line and length, this is a brilliant Noce de Craie and one of the greatest yet. Rating: 97 Tyson Stelzer - The Champagne Guide (Jul 2024)

*Case price discount: Mix any 12 bottles of wine (or 9 litre equivalent) or 6 bottles of Champagne, Spirits, Sweet Wine or Fortified (4.5 litres) to get the discounted 'case price' for each bottle.

100% Pinot Noir from Aÿ. Old vines, mass-selection vineyard. Disgorged 14 September 2022.
At first it's just singing with fruit, nectarines and greengages, a splash of pineapple candy. But give it a moment or three, stay to the end, and you'll find the chestnut shadow deepening the finish. Maple-syrup smokiness, sweetness and intensity. A wine that builds its baritone with each mouthful. Earthy, autumnal. Persistent, insistent. Either I missed something last year or this wine really needed another year in bottle, but it tastes far more complex and interesting than it did last year. Drinking range: 2024 - 2031 Rating: 17 Tamlyn Currin - www.JancisRobinson.com (May 2024)

The 2018 Extra Brut Blanc de Noirs Noces de Craie is a powerful, vibrant Champagne that lives up to its name. Layers of deep, resonant Pinot fruit wrap around the palate, all framed by incisive veins of chalk that give the wine its shape and overall structure. There's tremendous weight and substance here, both commendable for a year in which so many Champagnes are on the lighter side. Dosage is 5 grams per liter. Disgorged October 10, 2022. Drinking range: 2023 - 2036 Rating: 94 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Nov 2023)

100% Pinot Noir (50-year-old vines), massale selection. 5 parcels in Grand Cru Ay (Cheuzelles, Longchamps, Pruche, Chaffour, and Pierre-Robert). Fermentation in stainless steel tanks. 48 months on the fine lees. Disgorged: Jan 2022. Dosage: 5 g/l L&S (Nov 2022)

Champagne Marc Hébrart

Marc Hébrart started making his own Champagne in 1962, and the domaine is now run by Jean-Paul, who took over in 1997. Jean-Paul tries to add to the family holdings every year, believing that even at current prices it's still a good long-term bet. He's currently running 16 hectares, 8 ha of Pinot in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, Chardonnay in Oiry, Avize, Chouilly and Cramant, and more Pinot in Louvois and Aÿ - as well as the Clos le Léon in Dizy: in total 80 parcels in 11 villages.

The vineyards are farmed sustainably, with as little input as possible. Vinification is by parcel to give the widest possible palette when it comes to blending, and or course allowing for single-vineyard releases like the Clos Léon, a rare walled Clos in the village of Dizy. Most of the Champagnes are made in stainless steel, but since 2004 there has been a barrel-fermented cuvée which blends some of his Chardonnays on the Côte de Blancs with some of his best Pinot Noirs to the north of the Marne - 'Rive Droite-Rive Gauche'.

This wine isn't currently part of a mixed case, but you can always browse our full selection of mixed cases here.
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