Champagne Fleury Notes Blanches Brut Nature 2016 750ml

Pinot Blanc may be little seen in Champagne these days, but Fleury’s “Notes Blanches” makes an airtight case for its worthiness. From parcels in Courteron’sCharme de FinandValverotvineyards, this cuvée is bottled for secondary fermentation after being fermented and aged entirely in used oak barrels for a full year; it is disgorged after at least five years of lees aging without any dosage. Pinot Blanc’s relative neutrality allows the Kimmeridgian limestone to deeply imprint the wine; compared to a Chardonnay-driven Champagne, “Notes Blanches” is sleeker in profile and more savory in its mineral flavors, with an overall drier and less dessert-like impression. This is a fascinating wine particularly well suited to aficionados of the region but certainly accessible to all.