L'échappée Belle (2021)

In 2010 Étienne Calsac rented vines from his grandparents, settled in Avize and started a domaine of his own. His site describes that moment as a blank page beginning to be written. L'échappée Belle, literally the beautiful escape, is his blended blanc de blancs.

It does not come from one village. Calsac blends Chardonnay from chalk and clay-limestone sites in three parts of Champagne: Avize and Grauves in the Côte des Blancs, Bisseuil in the Grande Vallée de la Marne, and Montgenost in the Côte de Sézanne.

The cellar work is light. The fermentations run on native yeasts. About a fifth of the wine is raised in barrel and the rest in stainless steel, and reserve wines from earlier harvests go into the blend. Nothing is fined or filtered.

It is finished as an extra brut, but not always with the same hand. The Ukrainian importer lists 5 g/l of sugar for this bottling. The 2022-base release carries 3 g/l.