n.v. Tellier Champagne Extra Brut “Les Massales” Grand Cru, France.
These Tellier Champagnes are the real deal, especially for those, like myself that go for Extra Brut dry and grower producer bubbly, and this Les Massales Extra Brut cuvée really hits the mark with brisk acidity, mineral tones and a bone dry palate of crisp orchard and citrus fruits, along with depth of leesy character. Made from a mature Cepàge of 55% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Meunier and 20% Pinot Noir, with an all 2021 vintage core and (was) disgorged, according to importer Beaune Imports, in January of 2023. Detailed apple, peach, lemon and quince fruit, flinty stone, a touch of saline, delicate florals and almond butter come through here in an elegant fashion, highlighted by the fine beading mousse and lengthy after taste. This cuvée was sourced from grapes grown in the villages of Moussy, Pierry & Chavot-Courcourt with a terroir consisting of medium deep clay covering bedrock of 60% chalky limestone & 40% flint (silex). As with the top notch Grower Fizz, Tellier is committed to purity of place shining through in the wines, but wants vinous textures and impact, preferring to use wood fermentation and lees aging. All the wines at Tellier are vinified in oak casks, typically larger demi-muids and foudres to allow the aromas to express themselves, as they note. Winemaker Quentin Tellier prefers fine-grained oak from forests located in the colder regions of France, which he believes best promote the distinctive nature of his outstanding efforts, as I can attest to that here in the Extra Brut and with his brilliant Extra Brut Rosé, that I recently reviewed. This pale straw/gold and stylish Grand Cru Champagne saw a direct press, natural first fermentation Extra Brut Les Massales saw 8 months of oak aging and 40 months in bottle, making for a real treat for Champagne enthusiasts, and a very serious effort that like the Rosé, way over delivers at this price point, this wine absolutely blows away many Grand Marque basic bottlings at similar prices!
As noted in my prior review of Tellier, I understand through recent reviews, from many people including Antonio Galloni, that this Champagne house, based in Moussy, is a more recently established domaine that has started making serious waves, with brothers Quentin and Alexandre Tellier capturing of the energy and passion in region in current times. My friend Alex Lallos, a long time wine professional, at No Limit Fine Wines, who has a keen interest in grower Champagnes really urged me to get some of these wines, saying the Tellier estate is comprised of just three hectares of estate vines, but the average age of the vines here is 60 years old, nearly all are Grand Cru, and all planted to interesting massale selections, making for loads of depth here. Adding that these are ultra-fine beaded, meticulously crafted, absolutely delicious Champagnes from a young producer on the rise, and at just around $53 for this Extra Brut and $59.99 per bottle for the sexy Rosé bottling, it’s safe to say this is about as good as it gets for Grand Cru Champagne and Grand Cru Rosé Champagne near this price level, especially these days. The grapes at Tellier are extremely well cared for, with organic methods employed and everything is hand tended with only hand harvesting and ultra severe vineyard selections to promote the best best of each parcel. The grapes come into the cellar here cold, where they are whole cluster and gently pressed and they see a long settling period in temperature controlled tank before going into the mentioned wood casks to complete fermentation and see some batonage in barrel to add richness to the wines. Then in bottle they age further under cork and see very low dosage to stay vibrant and bone dry, as I said, right up my alley style wise. I highly recommend getting Champagne Tellier and in particular the fabulous Les Massales Extra Brut Rosé and this Extra Brut cuvée, though they sell out fast, so don’t wait and trust me it is well worth the extra effort to find them, these are stunning efforts that you won’t want to miss.
($53 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive