All wines
Bérêche & Fils
Le Cran
2017
4.6
Region
France › Champagne › Montagne de Reims › Grande Montagne de Reims › Ludes › Champagne AOC
Type
white · traditional · sparkling · extra-brut
Grapes
Chardonnay, Pinot Noir
Alcohol
12.5%
Volume
750 mL
Dosage
3 g/L
Disgorged
2024-07
On lees
>72 months
Tasting Notes(1)
4.6
Cheese popcorn, toasted hazelnut, macadamia, pear, white flowers, rye bread, exotic fruit. Generous and charming on the palate with tangy acidity and vivid saline touch. So fresh despite the power and ageing - doesn't quite hit the crystalline precision of an absolute top-tier, but honestly? I'm not sure I care. This is the flagship for a reason. It's got that mid-slope Ludes magic: intensity without weight, complexity without showing off. Wow.
About
Le Cran is Bérêche's lieu-dit cuvee from Ludes 1er Cru - the village the family has been farming for generations. The cuvee was first made in 2004, the year Raphael joined his father at the domaine, and is a co-fermented blend of two adjacent mid-slope parcels: Les Hautes Plantes (Chardonnay, west-facing, planted 1969) and Les Vignes Saint-Jean (Pinot Noir, east-facing, planted 1973). The split is roughly 50/50 Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
The 2017: vintage cuvee, fermented and aged in oak in the house style, >72 months on lees, disgorged July 2024 as Extra Brut. Long elevage and the co-fermentation of the two parcels are what give Le Cran its texture - the wine reads as one place rather than a Pinot/Chardonnay assembly.
