2017 'Abyss' Brut Zéro, Leclerc Briant
Cuvée Abyss, is one third each Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Meunier, and is vinified and aged for ten months in stainless steel and second fill barrels of unparalleled provenance, the Champagne spends three years on the lees in the house’s cellars in Epernay. It’s subsequently disgorged, before the bottles are shipped to Brittany, where they’re submerged at a depth where the pressure inside and outside the bottle are matched. There they stay for a year, in a state of perpetual tidal flux. The resulting wine is complex and pure, with astonishing minerality and drive. This is a spectacular prestige cuvée, from a house you really should get to know.