Yes, there are probably Champagnes around the market at this price, but you get what you pay for: those Champagnes come from high yields, chemical viticulture and industrial-scale wine production. This wine, on the other hand is made entirely from old-vine, biodynamically farmed, hand-harvested fruit, cropped at a very low 35 hectolitres per hectare (almost unheard of in Champagne). The base wine was also wild-fermented in old 600 litre barrels.
To be specific, this Montlouis non-dosé is 100% Chenin Blanc from the flinty (les perruches) sites of Le Volagray and Les Landes, as well as the more clay and limestone dominant (aubuis) sites of Clos Renard and Les Epinais. Chidaine picks his grapes for sparkling wine at about 11.5 to 12.5 degrees of potential alcohol (i.e., flavour-ripe) as he wants his terroir to shine through.
After 12 months bottle age, this offers the wonderful aromatics and flavours of crunchy pear, hops and freshly cut white flowers. The palate is wonderfully vibrant, creamy textured, and shot through with saline energy and smoky complexity. The finish tapers to a long, chalky, mineral-infused close; something we’ve seldom encountered in Chenin-based sparkling wines.
It started off with a cool, salty and minerally nose. This is a precursor for the very reserved style at the start of the palate, although this broadens out through the middle revealing notes of perfumed chalk, citrus pith, smoke and minerals. A tense style, correct, charming and broad. A very fine result.
93 points Chris Kissack thewinedoctor.com
Rich and fruity, but crisp, displaying tingly acidity on the palate. Flavors and aromas of pineapple, golden apple, melon and beeswax are underlain by herbal and mineral notes. Incredibly dry and complex
92 points Jason Wilson vinous.com