Champagne Alfred Gratien - Brut

Bettane & Desseauve

About the wine:

Beautiful body, full-bodied, lively, and intense; a very fine wine, vinous, with enticing citrus and mineral notes.

About the estate:

Small in vineyard area (less than 2 hectares) but great in quality, this unassuming estate—owned by the same proprietors as Gratien-Meyer (Crémant de Loire)—has the appealing character of a sure bet. Wine production consistently takes place in barrels, and malolactic fermentation is halted to preserve the wines’ extra vibrancy. This is the quintessential connoisseur’s champagne. At Alfred Gratien, the vintage cuvée is always older than the year of the “Paradis” prestige cuvée: 2004 versus 2008. Both are magnificent, and the 2004—full-bodied and intense—is actually still very young, but one must tip one’s hat to the 2008 “Paradis,” which will go down in history. The 2007 “Paradis” rosé also shines!

Guide Hachette des vins

About the estate:

A house founded in 1864 by Alfred Gratien, acquired in 2000 by the German group Henkell & Co, which has brought together numerous European sparkling wine brands. It has retained its cellar master, Nicolas Jaeger—the fourth of his name to work for the brand—who upholds its traditions (no malolactic fermentation; aging of the cuvées in reused Champagne barrels).

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the wine:

With a lovely character, this Brut—a blend dominated by Chardonnay—offers a palate that is both supple and lively on the finish. It has a beautiful balance.

About the estate:

This low-key house, which continues to age its clear wines in barrels—producing dynamic, complex, Chardonnay-dominant champagnes—has been owned since 2000, like its parent company Gratien-Meyer in Saumur, by a major sparkling wine group based in Wiesbaden, Germany. In historic buildings in the center of Épernay, cellar master Nicolas Jaeger—who took over from his father and grandfather—refines an artisanal method of champagne production that has been gradually streamlined but remains limited in volume. Nearly all of his grapes are sourced from within a 40-kilometer radius of Épernay, used to craft champagnes that soften and add complexity to their naturally high acidity (since malolactic fermentation is blocked) through barrel aging. Vintage wines are aged in the cellar under cork. The proportion of Meunier has decreased in recent blends in favor of Pinot Noir.