
NV · based on 2018
Region
France › Champagne › Montagne de Reims › Champagne AOC
Type
white · traditional · sparkling · brut
Grapes
Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir
Alcohol
12.5%
Volume
750 mL
Dosage
7 g/L
Disgorged
2020-10
On lees
24 to 36 months
Basic Champagne by Bérêche, 24 months on lees, degorgee on 06/2021. Great and complex bouquet - red apple baked with honey, flowers, lemon, Jerez and chalk. Great structure and balance. Mineral touch makes it more interesting. Sweeter side makes it more friendly. Nice.
Brut Reserve is the house's NV anchor - the wine the brothers use to express the breadth of the domaine in a single bottle. Roughly equal thirds Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier, drawn from the patchwork of plots across Ludes, Ormes, Mareuil-le-Port and Trepail. About 70% of the blend is base-vintage fruit; the remaining ~30% comes from the perpetual reserve Reflet d'Antan, which Jean-Pierre Berêche started in 1985 and has grown ever since (it's the same reserve that feeds the cuvee of the same name when it's released on its own - see Reflet d'Antan (2016)).
This bottling: lot L:18BSA-10/20, base vintage 2018, disgorged October 2020, around two-and-a-half to three years on lees, finished as Brut. Bottled under cork (no crown cap on the prise de mousse), hand-disgorged, no filtration.
Friendly and non overwhelming. Bruised apples, lemon and chalk. Not simple, refreshing, mineral and delicious Champagne with long aftertaste.