L. Aubry Fils Champagne 1er Cru Brut NV 3L

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. Deg 1/2016, it’s 55% Meunier (higher than usual), 25% CH, 20% PN and 5% “other” (which means basically everything that wouldn’t fit in the vats); it’s in form, brassy and oyster; after a dip a couple years ago (for which we have our old friend 2011 to thank) this is better than ever. Meunier expresses here as barley, rusks, crackers, and so the wine is rusky, saline, iodé, mineral and appetizing. That’s the paradigm, at any rate. The fragrance of this years edition is back in form, or mostly—the little bit of ’11 in the reserve wine is, let’s say, not invisible. But the ripeness of ’12 nearly blankets it; otherwise it’s the briny coppery wine we know and love.