n.v. Caillez Lemaire, Éclats, Extra Brut Champagne, Damery, France.
The racy, minerally and crisply focused, at first, Caillez Lemaire Éclats is a blend of the three main Champagne grape varieties, (that) the winery says is sourced from selected terroirs, with Chardonnay being the dominant variety here, followed by equal parts of Pinot Noir and Meunier, makes for an exciting and complex grower sparkler that develops beautifully in the glass and deepens with air. I became more impressed with almost every sip and this Champagne was excellent with a variety of dishes, from foie gras on toast to fresh foraged chanterelles with baked salmon and pasta. The mousse is luxurious, but lively, perfectly beading tight small bubbles help lift this brilliant effort and the palate gets richer and shows off the extended yeast aging here with stony white and yellow fruits led by lemon, golden apple, nectarine and fig, all well accented by wet stone, clove spice, white blossoms and almond brioche. The whole experience here was fabulous and the wine never sagged or lost vigor or vitality at the table, another review brought about by the generous sharing of my wine professional friend and Champagne enthusiast Alex Lallos of No Limits Fine Wines. The Caillez Lemaire estate vineyards consists of 45 plots covering 6.3 hectares all within a 6 km radius. Mainly located on the right bank of the Marne River around the five villages of Hautvillers and Cumières in the premier cru area, Damery, Fleury la Rivière and Vauciennes, with classic chalky soils.
The Éclats by Champagne Caillez Lemaire comes from juice of the first picks and its primary fermentation takes place mainly in wood casks. The winery notes too that Éclats is an en Extra-Brut with a (low) dosage of 5g/litre (made from reserve wine and cane sugar) and then aged for 70 to 80 months on lees. The bottle I tried was L0516, which I believe was disgorged in 2020, and is really showing well right now. The Extra Brut Grower Fizz these days are my own jam, and discovering another producer was a big thrill, I will continue to follow and try through the range here at Caillez Lemaire, who are imported to the West Coast by Cage Imports, and I’ll definitely get another couple (bottles) of these Éclats, which is a very good value. The winery itself says that Éclats pairs well with foie gras as a starter, which I did, and white meats accompanied by citrus fruits as a main course. Soft cheeses such as Langres, Livarot or Munster are excellent choices to round off the meal, all I would like to try as well. Champagne Caillez Lemaire, has since 2020, gone full 100% organic and certified Ecocert in 2023, but in reality has been virtually organic since the mid 1990s when they moved away from conventional farming and stopping using chemical use in the vineyards. These grower producer (RM) Champagnes are made as naturally as possible, with no Malos, Caillez Lemaire have placed the barrel at the heart of their house style, not only for aging, as the wines are fermented directly in barrels, which adds to the textural pleasures as seen here.
($60 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive