Champagne Pierre Peters Cuvee de Reserve Blanc de Blancs NV
(Champagne, France) - [W&S 96] [WS 93] [DM 92] [VM 92] [WA 92] [JD 90]
Regular price $130.00 Sale price $74.97 Save $55.03
Notes from the Winemaker:
Rodolphe Péters took over the reins of this venerable estate in the southern Côte des Blancs in 2008, becoming the fourth gener ation to lead since the estate was founded in 1919, under the name Camille Péters. Today, Rodolphe holds 18 hectares of vineyards, pre dominantly in the grand cru of Les Mesnil-sur Oger. Péters owns small holdings in several other grand crus (Oger, Avize and Cramant) but Les Mesnil-sur-Oger is where 45 of the 63 parcels he farms are located.
“For more than forty years, a mere percent age point separated Le Mesnil from Grand Cru status, and it wasn’t until 1985 that the promo tion came, even though many saw the village as the best of them all. Those grapes which grow in a belt at a height of 160-220 meters provide the most elegant champagnes the world has tasted. The cru has a very Special Chardonnay clone which gives a penetrating bouquet even when the actual content in a cu vée is small. Mesnil’s wines are often shy and acidic when young only to explode in a burst of colour and sensational pleasures.
The always smiling and tremendously skillful François Péters controls 17.5 hectares, twelve of which lie in the very best parts of Le Mesnil. For several years grapes from the [80 year] old vines in Les Chétillons were included in the vintage wine, but nowadays they make a Cuvée Spéciale from grapes from this unique location. . . . The enthusiasm over this wine all over the world is huge—and that’s before any one has had a chance to taste a mature bot tle. Mesnil’s wines take a long time to mature, but champagne from Peters offers from the start an accessible fruitiness that resembles tangerine and a large portion of butterscotch and nut aromas. With age they become majes tic and deep as a water well, full of coffee and walnut aromas and a fleeting vibrant exotic fruitiness. Pierre Péters is a hidden treasure of Champagne . . . and the prices are laughable considering the quality of the wines.”
assemblage 2018 Base with reserve wine from 1988,
1990, 1993 and 1995 through 2017
village/vyd Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Grand Cru,
Cramant Grand Cru, Avize Grand Cru and
Oger Grand Cru; Chalk
malo Partial, 75%
élevage Stainless steel, oak cask and concrete on
fine lees
sur latte 24+ Months
Tasting Notes:
These are sleek, racy champagnes, expressing a classic character of Côte des Blancs chardonnay. They are marked by their fine acidity and prominent minerality, yet while they are always brisk and chalky. “We have a lot of acidity and a lot of minerality in all our wines,” says Rodolphe Péters. “We want to build the structure of our wines around
both acidity and minerality, not acidity alone."
Ratings & Reviews:
96 Points - Wine & Spirits:
"Based on the 2018 vintage, this wine includes reserves dating back to 1988. Most of the components come from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger; all grow on chalk. The wine seems to layer that chalk’s seabed heritage into beautiful richness, as it combines different parcels aged in stainless steel, oak barrels or concrete. “It reminds me of architecture,” Tina Vaughn of NYC’s The Simone said. “The smell of a building site—granite, concrete, steel beams. Very Ayn Rand.” Or is it the architecture of ancient fossilized soil, along with a softer impression, one that made me smile at the glory of Champagne.” (Nov 2021)
93 Points - Wine Spectator:
"Firm and minerally up front, with well-honed acidity and notes of smoke, chalk and oyster shell transitioning as they're integrated with a creamy range of crunchy pear, ripe green apple, pink grapefruit pith and almond skin flavors, which expand through the midpalate and lightly spiced finish. Elegant, but with good complexity and focus throughout. Disgorged May 2023. Drink now through 2028. 2,165 cases imported." - AN (Nov 2023)
92 Points - Decanter Magazine:
"The reserve wines bring a delicious, savoury sense of sourdough richness to fresh clementine, lemon and pale stone fruit, the tension of classic chalky villages still present but rounded out into a wine of impressive persistence. A benchmark NV Blanc de Blancs. 100% Chardonnay from grand cru villages in the Côte des Blancs. Based on the 2018 vintage with 50% reserves from a perpetual reserve going back to 1988." (Oct 2023)
92 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
"Based on the 2019 vintage (which Péters declares "the best of the decade") and disgorged this year, the NV Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Cuvée de Réserve bursts with aromas of crisp stone fruit, orange zest, freshly baked bread and beeswax. Medium-bodied, ample and pillowy, with a fleshy core of fruit, racy acids and a saline finish, it's animated by an attractive pinpoint mousse." - William Kelley (Dec 2023)
92 Points - Vinous Media
"The NV Brut Cuvée de Réserve Grand Cru is open, effusive and a real delight to taste. Soaring aromatics and soft curves give this 2019-base Champagne tons of sheer appeal. Apricot, tangerine pee, spice and dried flowers abound in this racy, open-knit Champagne. The Cuvée de Réserve is rarely this charming at this stage. The slightly lower dosage of 5 grams per liter works so well. Disgorded Aug 2022." - Antonio Galloni (Nov 2023)
90 Points - Jeb Dunnuck:
"The NV Champagne Cuvée de Reserve Brut is vibrant with soft lime candy, wet rock, and candied green apple. There is consistency to the palate, with more candied lime, green apple, and a delicate salinity, with the dosage rounding things out nicely, This is a fantastic aperitif with an energetic mousse that is versatile and fresh to drink now or over the coming 10 years." (Nov 2022)