Champagne Paul Dethune Blanc de Noirs Extra Brut Ambonnay Grand Cru NV

DETHUNE. We are fairly sure we were among the earliest retailers in the U.S. to latch onto the greatness over a decade ago – luckily, we still get a pretty cool allocation even with the rest of the world on board now!! Not many of these wines are made every year, and we fight to keep our allocation coming every year. But now, everyone else knows and we struggle to get much of an allocation at all! In fact, Decanter World Wine Awards, one of the world's most rigorous and lauded blind tasting competitions awarded the Brut version of this wine 97 points from this same disgorgement! In fact, the only difference from this wine and the 97 pointer is that this wine has a dosage of 3.5 grams fewer, otherwise it is the exact same wine!

Just landed is the gorgeous, massively delicious and satisfying Grand Cru BdB Extra Brut. The first ever low dosage cuvee from Dethune! HOW is this so good? WHY is it not $125?! Don’t ask. Just get 6 or more - put 3 in front to drink NOW, and stash 3 for the holidays.

This cuvee is 100% pinot noir and is vinified in 205 liter Champagne oak barrels in the family cellars, which were cut out of the chalk in the 17th century. The insider tip: (*whispers quietly*) this is a blend of almost entirely single-vineyard Les Crayeres, one of the most coveted single-vineyards in all of Champagne! This is the same base cuvee as the 95 point scoring Brut, just with a few grams less sugar and it is better for it.

This fills the room with a wonderful lime, shortbread and tonic-like aroma right off the bat, delicate croissant crust and a dash of vanilla toast, and carries it to the palate with a wave of rich, sensual texture. There is always remarkable salinity that take these wines to the next level. The balance and forwardness of Dethune is always remarkable, and a second glass is mandatory! Just the right complexity, generous personality, and amazingly long finish.

One of the best young wines from Dethune we’ve ever tasted! Could easily cost so much more...all we can say is GRAB SOME, we only got 25 cases!

PAIRING IDEAS: We know it’s cliché, but man, fried chicken is SO GOOD with a lush, happy style like this. Don’t do any crazy pickle juice brine or anything, go classic buttermilk and use peanut oil. Oh, and some honey butter will not hurt anything either!

MUSIC SUGGESTIONS: For whatever reason, we’ve been cranking up this old R.E.M. tune — it needs to be wall-shaking loud — “Finest Worksong” — and sing along at the top of your lungs!