Pierre Péters Brut Blanc de Blancs Cuvée de Réserve (2021)

Apple candy, honey, chalk, lemon peel, brioche, cream, a touch of white flowers and cider. The palate is a captivating mix of minerality and freshness with surprising intensity and volume - bruised apple, a charming jerez edge, chalk and caramel weaving through. Complex, multilayered, utterly enjoyable. The Mesnil signature comes through clean.

The Cuvée de Réserve is Pierre Péters' flagship NV - a Blanc de Blancs from the Côte des Blancs Grand Crus, with Le Mesnil-sur-Oger as the heart and Oger, Cramant, Avize, and Chouilly as the supporting parcels. The blend is roughly half from a single base vintage and half from the house's perpetual reserve, a solera-like system started in 1988 and now drawing on more than twenty vintages, kept in stainless steel, concrete, and large oak foudres.

This release is built on the 2021 base vintage and was disgorged 30 October 2023 after roughly eighteen months on lees. Twelve percent alcohol, brut dosage. The aim is consistency rather than vintage statement: the perpetual reserve smooths the harvest-to-harvest variation, so each Cuvée de Réserve carries the house signature - chalk, salt, citrus, white flowers - regardless of how the base year behaved on its own.

This wine certainly warrants a closer look. In its youth, it has an elusive quality, reminiscent of sunlight glinting off water. There's a delightful mix of apple candy, honey, chalk, lemon peel, and brioche, with a touch of white flowers and cider. On the palate, it's a captivating blend of minerality and freshness, yet it maintains an impressive intensity and volume. There's a charming touch of Jerez with hints of chalk and caramel weaving through. Intriguing and simply enjoyable.

The wine offers delightful aromas of apple candy, honey, chalk, and brioche. On the palate, it is round and delicious, with impressive concentration and a charming chalky quality. The finish is long and voluminous, with notes of shells, chalk, and caramel. Simply beautiful.

Brut Blanc de Blancs Cuvée de Réserve (2021)

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