Étienne Calsac L'échappée Belle (2022)

Same wine, fresher disgorgement (2025-09 vs the 2025-04 I'd had before), and the difference shows. Tighter again - precision restored, the generosity that was creeping in last time pulled back. Menthol, lemon zest, chalk, brioche, nuts - the same skeleton as ever. Acid slicing clean, bubbles fine as silk. Wound up like a spring, fresh out of disgorgement. Will need another year to land where the prior disgorgement was getting to. Beautiful bones, just early on the curve again.

Disgorged 2025-09.

Still tight and full of tension, but a bit more generous than last time. Menthol, lemon zest, chalk, brioche, nuts. Beautiful. Needs more time for sure, but at least it's not as painfully wound up. Neat cider, baked apples, and honey in the aftertaste. Pretty much the same wine - just a touch more willing to talk.

Disgorged 2025-04.

Green apple and pear with proper brioche backing, lemon zest cutting through with a nutty touch. This stuff is so focused - all chalk and tension, acid that slices clean, bubbles fine as silk. It's still wound tight as a spring. There's reserve depth here, real purity, but it needs time to unfold. Right now it's all precision and no poetry. Give this a few years and it could turn into something utterly beautiful. The bones are perfect.

Disgorged 2025-04.

L'échappée Belle (2022)

Tasting Notes(3)

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