The 2004 vintage, equal parts Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Very generous, very round, keeping through the Chardonnay the freshness that lets it carry a whole meal, meat in particular.

Harvest

2004

Bottled

2005

Grape varieties

50% Chardonnay, 50% Pinot Noir

Dosage

5 g/L

Vintage or non-vintage?

A vintage champagne comes from a single harvest, here 2004, where a non-vintage brut blends several to hold a consistent style. A vintage is only declared in years when the harvest allows it, and the wine waits in the cellar longer than the appellation requires before it is offered.

Serving and storage

Serve between 8 and 10 °C, in a white-wine glass rather than a narrow flute, which closes the aromas down. Before opening, keep the bottle lying down, away from light and from swings in temperature. A cellar or the bottom of a cupboard will do; the refrigerator only for the hours before serving.

Grower champagne

A grower's vintage. The grapes are ours, the winemaking too, and the bottle waited in our cellars in Aÿ for as long as it needed.