Aubry Champagne 1er Cru Brut Classique

About the wine:

30% Meunier, 30% Chardonnay, 35% Pinot Noir, 5% Arbanne, Petit Meslier and Fromenteau. 50% 2018 base, 50% perpetual reserve going back to 1998.

Jouy-lès-Reims 1er Cru, Villedommange 1er Cru, Pargny-lès-Reims 1er Cru, Coulommes-la-Montagne 1er Cru.

Malolactic fermentation, élevage in stainless steel with a small part of Chardonnay in used barrique. Sur latte 18+ Months. Dégorgement: February 2021 (6)

Vinification is all in stainless steel tank. In addition, the malolactic is always encouraged, as the Aubrys feel that acidity is never lacking in the wines, and they would prefer to have slightly lower acidities and be able to use a very low dosage than have high acidities and be forced to dose the wines more.

Meunier expresses here as barley, rusks, crackers, and so the wine is rusky, coppery-saline, iodé, mineral and appetizing. It’s beautifully expressive of a corner of Champagne, and tastes as though it were fined with sel gris. This year it’s 50% 2013 and 50% a perpetual reserve started in 1998.

About the producer:

Philippe Aubry works with his brother Pierre and brother-in-law Noël Poret and has been trying to give expression to Champagne’s indigenous varieties such as Arbanne and Petit Meslier, as well as Pinot Gris (the local name is Fromenteau) and Pinot Blanc.

“One of the most original estates in Champagne, Aubry Fils is located in the village of Jouy-lès-Reims, in the western sector of the Montagne de Reims. Of the estate’s 15 hectares of vines, 12 lie in Jouy and the nearby villages of Pargny-lès-Reims, Villedommange and Coulommes-la-Montagne, all of which are classified as premier cru; the other three hectares are located elsewhere and are sold off to the négoce.