2012 Paul Dethune Millesime Extra Brut, Champagne

complex, dense and rich on the nose with aromas of ripe pears, cocoa butter, pannacotta and a soft chalkiness. There is a big mouthfeel and hint of brioche and nuttiness coming from the years spent on lees. It's serious and absolutely delicious!

For Déthune’s 2012 Grand Cru (they produce several vintage-dated bottlings but this is  their “official” millésime cuvée), they relied on 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir from their premium parcels in Grand Cru Ambonnay. Again, they only craft a Millésime in the absolute best years, and only the finest fruit from their declared vintage makes it into their impressive cellar. The grapes fermented (both alcoholic and malolactic) and briefly aged in massive oak tuns before bottling without filtration. After spending 10 years on lees, the newest batch was disgorged in May 2023 with a five-gram dosage.

Hall of Honour  Tyson Stelzer's Champagne Guide 2020-2021

The Déthune family has tended to vines on the privileged slopes of Ambonnay since 1610, and produced their own wines since 1890.  Today, Pierre Déthune and wife Sophie sensitively manage seven hectares of 70% pinot noir and 30% chardonnay  entirely within the village.  Ten cuvées draw complexity and diversity from 34 different Ambonnay parcels vinified separately, some in large oak foudres and small oak ‘pièces’ from the forests of Champagne. ‘We want to show that the same grapes from the same village can produce seven different styles by varying the blends, the ageing and the use of oak,’ Sophie explains.  Their 50,000 bottles confidently express the luscious power and characterful poise of Ambonnay and quickly sell out every year.

Tyson Stelzer