Domaine Chermette Crémant de Bourgogne Brut, Burgundy

This cracking dry sparkling wine is 100% Chardonnay from a single parcel of vines just north of the Chermette cellars at a place called Le Bois-d’Oingt. It’s a 2.5-hectare southwest-facing site on limestone/clay soil, so perfect for Chardonnay. The wine is aged for 18 months in bottle, minimum sulphur is used, the wine is not fined or filtered, and very little dosage liqueur is added (four grams per litre). Already the story is ahead of the vast majority of Champagne these days!
 
This shipment is a blend of 2018, 2019 and 2020 and is showing creamier, lemon-curd intensity and more length than previous bottlings—perhaps due to the low yields and warmer vintages involved. There’s well-pitched notes of pear, citrus, chamomile, toasted hazelnuts and subtle buttery brioche, while the palate is vinous and focused, balanced by stony acidity. We love the fine, airy bubbles in this wine as well as its fresh, sculpted energy and finesse. If you don’t know this wine, do yourself a favour: French sparkling wine this impressive and at this price does not grow on trees.