Domaine Nowack Assemblage Sans Année Autre Cru (2020)

Sake, white flowers, honey, chalk, oily, spicy - same wine as the prior tastings, holding its character. As always with Nowack, the bubbles barely matter; it's about texture, not fizz. Quite deep, great structure, electric acidity zapping through. Meditation in a glass that happens to have bubbles.

Disgorged in 2023-07.

Sans Année Assemblage is Nowack's house multi-vintage cuvee from Vandières parcels - 60% Pinot Meunier and 40% Chardonnay, base 2020 plus around 40% reserve wines from 2012 through 2019 (year-by-year reserve blending, not a solera). 'Autre Cru' is not a Nowack coinage; it is the official Champagne classification for Vandières, which sits at 86% on the échelle des crus, in the Autres Crus tier below Premier Cru's 90-99% - the cuvee name winks at the village's own designation.

Terroir: parcels of Vandières, sandy limestone over marl. The back label foregrounds biodiversity in the parcel - 'présence d'arbres et d'animaux dans la parcelle' - i.e. agroforestry rather than monoculture. Indigenous-yeast fermentation, slow and complete; elevage in oak barrels. For the prise de mousse the tirage liqueur is fresh unfermented grape juice (moût) from the following vintage rather than added sugar or rectified concentrate (MCR), which carries the bottle to a lower pressure than typical Champagne and a more vinous texture. Malolactic is neither blocked nor inoculated - the producer is silent on it and importers split between 'malo happens naturally in spring' and 'no malo sought', so the truth is permissive rather than prescribed.

Disgorged July 2023, around 24 months on lees. Dosage 1 g/L (extra-brut). 12%.

Lovely stuff, gently oxidative. Baked apples and flowers, sake notes running through, apples just starting to turn. Salted nuts and mould. As always with Nowack, the bubbles barely matter - it's about texture, not fizz. That sake thing returns on the palate with properly electric acidity zapping through. No idea if this wants to age, but why wait? It's singing beautifully right now, all contemplative and quietly complex. At 4.0, it's meditation in a glass that happens to have bubbles.

Disgorged in 2023-05.

This bottle leaves me a bit puzzled. On one hand, it's definitely an improvement over my experience nine months ago. There are many admirable qualities: an intriguing bouquet of mould, salted nuts, bruised apples, white flowers, and a touch of sake. It has a bit of that natural wine character, but in a beautifully balanced way. There's also a vinous quality to it, with a perlage that's not overly powerful and palate that's well-structured and delicious.

On the other hand, it's unexpectedly oxidative in style. Despite the intriguing aromas, it ultimately feels a bit simple, particularly on the palate, where the short and unconvincing aftertaste doesn't quite live up to the initial promise. However, it does offer good value for the price, which is always a plus.

Disgorged in 2023-05.

A bit shy and not convincing. A glass of this wine and it's like nothing happened. Anyways, it's fresh, clean (despite the talk about 'natural' wine-making), racy and balanced. Perlage is weak, which can be a good thing for some people. The bouquet is quite simple - notes of green apple, citrus and cookies. Need to retry.

Disgorged in 2023-05.

Assemblage Sans Année Autre Cru (2020)

Tasting Notes(4)

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