Vertus Expérience Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut (d2024)

The rounder of the estate's two non-vintage blancs de blancs, from Marie Doyard's fifth-generation house in the Côte des Blancs: where Mesnil Expérience is all grand cru chalk and tension, this is 100% Chardonnay from the family's premier cru parcels in Vertus, vines averaging 40 years. Fermentation splits between used Burgundy barrels and stainless steel, with malolactic blocked across the whole range. Non-vintage in the strict sense: one year's harvest topped up with about 30% reserve wines, then bottle-aged on lees and finished at 4 g/L, squarely extra brut. This lot (L22BVEXP) was disgorged in December 2024; the code suggests a 2022 base or tirage, but the producer does not publish base vintages. Citrus and green apple over a bread-crust roundness make it the house's aperitif wine.