Bérêche & Fils Brut Réserve L:22BSA-06/25

Same story as the previous lot, and that's a compliment. Lemon and white plum ride over brioche and butter, with a touch of cider and a little honey behind them - generous aromatics for an entry cuvée. The palate is round and confident, the acidity quietly balancing the dosage. The house handshake hasn't changed its grip.

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:22BSA-06/25, base vintage 2022, disgorged June 2025, 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.

Super vinous. Same Bérêche signature - lemon candy and tarragon on the nose, brioche richness cut with a bitter edge, that cider-like character playing with something delicate and sake-like. White plums, baking spices. Rounded and full-bodied palate kept in balance by good acidity, concentrated and mineral. Proper grower Champagne, personality and substance in equal measure.

There's something delightfully unconventional happening here - lemon candy and tarragon on the nose, brioche richness cut with a bitter edge, but the real intrigue is this cider-like character playing with something delicate and sake-like. White plums and baking spices. The palate delivers: rounded, full-bodied, yet the acidity keeps everything in beautiful balance. Concentrated, mineral, focused. This is proper grower Champagne - personality and substance in equal measure. Such a pleasure.

Oh what a lemon drop candy punch this has - brioche, butter, delicious cider character. White plums threading through, honey undertones. Rounded and full-bodied on the palate, with excellent acidity beautifully balanced by the dosage - real concentration here. The finish is where it gets even more interesting: spices, fruits, minerality, honey all blending together with a lovely bitter edge trailing off. This is grower Champagne done right - focused, generous, with enough complexity to keep you coming back. Quietly compelling stuff.

Brut Réserve L:22BSA-06/25

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