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Jules Brochet
Prémices
NV · based on 2020
4.5
Region
France › Champagne › Champagne AOC
Type
white · traditional · sparkling · extra-brut
Grapes
Chardonnay, Pinot Noir
Alcohol
12.5%
Volume
750 mL
Disgorged
2023-07
On lees
~24 months (~2 years)
Tasting Notes(1)
4.5
Wormwood and toasted sesame is not how Champagne usually introduces itself - then mandarin oil, warm spices, walnut, red apple and timur berry, with almond, quince, brioche and even a buttered-popcorn note arriving behind. Full-bodied and broad-shouldered, real concentration with texture to match, the mousse pillowy and the acidity ripe yet vibrant underneath all that width. Long, resonant, perfumed - golden apple on the finish with a subtle patina from the oak. What a way to discover a producer.
About
Premices is the entry cuvee of Jules Brochet - the name is Latin (primiciae), the first fruits once offered to the gods. The back label frames it as "l'union des terroirs": Lutetian limestone of the Marne valley meeting Campanian chalk of the Montagne de Reims. This lot: 60% Pinot Noir / 40% Chardonnay from the 2020 harvest, blended with 20% perpetual-reserve wines, fermented spontaneously, neither fined nor filtered.
Tirage July 2021, disgorged July 2023 after 24 months on lees, finished as Extra Brut. A small lot - this bottle is numbered 1755 of 2093. The first release was Chardonnay-led with a splash of Meunier; by this base the blend had flipped to Pinot-dominant, the same 60/40 shape the current 2022-base release carries.