Julien Prélat "Chantemerle" Blanc de Noirs Extra Brut

Julien and Karine Prélat farm about 7 hectares around Celles-sur-Ource, in the Côte des Bar at the far southern end of Champagne, closer to Chablis than to Reims or Épernay. Julien is the third generation of his family to tend these vines but the first to bottle his own wine. He took over his grandfather's vineyards in 2000 and sold his early harvests to larger houses before releasing his first own vintage in 2010. His neighbor, friend, and mentor is Cédric Bouchard of Roses de Jeanne, and Julien shares his grower philosophy: one grape, one parcel, one vintage, farmed along organic lines at very low yields. Production is still tiny, just a few thousand bottles of each cuvée. Chantemerle is 100% Pinot Noir from a single parcel planted in 1982, on Kimmeridgian limestone full of fossilized seashells, the same soil as Chablis, which gives the wine its mineral, saline backbone. Although labeled non-vintage, each release comes from a single harvest. It ages about two years on its lees and is finished Extra Brut with just 4 g/L of dosage. Tasting notes: Straw yellow with golden glints and a fine, persistent mousse. The nose shows ripe yellow apple and citrus with a red-fruited edge of wild strawberry and red currant, plus toasty, brioche-like notes from lees aging. The palate is silky and focused, with real Pinot Noir depth, bright acidity, and a long, saline finish with an unmistakable Chablis-like echo.