Andre Clouet "Un Jour de 1911..." Grand Cru Brut Champagne, France NV

Andre Clouet Description

A rich & creamy Pinot Noir-based Blanc Champagne that is bursting with red fruit aromas and comes from Grand Cru vineyards in Bouzy
Producer: André Clouet
Grapes: Pinot Noir
Where: Montagne de Reims, Champagne
Country: France
Taste: Critic tasting note: "A rich and expansive champagne with tons of mature aromas of dried fruit (apricots!) and candied orange. Teeters on the edge of decadence, but has enough vitality to stay on the right side of that line. Plenty of textural complexity on the palate and a long, chalky finish that keeps giving and giving. Spot-on balance. Drink or hold." - James Suckling
Vibes with:  Duck à l'Orange, steak frites, lobster rolls

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Additional info:
Fermented & aged in old barrels prior to secondary fermentation, Approximately 4 g/l dosage. 120 to 150 months on lees
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Established in 1741, Champagne André Clouet has since grown into a vast family estate with a collection of vineyards surrounding their ancestral home in Bouzy (Montagne de Reims).  Jean-François Clouet represents the current generation of his family to oversee the Clouet domaine, working with the traditionalism and precision that defines their house style.  Interesting fact!  The beautifully ornate Clouet labels (orignially designed in 1911) are a nod to the family's long history of printing books for the French Monarchy. 

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Thanks to an ancestral land grant from Napoleon, the Clouet family possess 8ha of vineyards situated on the best middle slopes of the Grand Crus' Bouzy and Ambonnay. Bouzy, a village with chalky soils that permeate between Grand Cru and Premier Cru grape fields where Pinot Noir speaks with great eloquence and contends with only Burgundy in intensity. The wines are cellared under the family's 17th century village house built by their ancestor, a printer to Louis XV's royal court at Versailles. The respect for their precious terroir is evident in the wines, giving a wonderful expression of Bouzy Pinot Noir. The wines are made very traditionally and the labels are attractively old-fashioned. The Clouet style is rich, concentrated expressions of Pinot Noir, while still retaining elegance and finesse. Where the Grande Marques concentrate more on marketing and less on the product, father Pierre and son Jean Francois Clouet work together to produce fine Champagnes using very traditional methods, following their fruit from vineyard to bottle. The Clouet style of rich, concentrated, pretty wines results from making Champagne from 100% Pinot Noir. Jean-François is the winemaker and known for his fanatical devotion to quality.