n.v. André Clouet, Grande Réserve Brut, Grand Cru Champagne, A Bouzy, France.
The Pinot Noir based Grande Réserve Brut non-vintage by The André Clouet Champagne house is a gem with a sense of maturity and nobility in the glass with loads of brioche, hazelnut and clove notes along with baked apple, preserved lemon and quince fruit on the creamy, but energetic palate. There’s a lot to love in the current disgorgement, with its secondary tertiary background and fine structure, as well as the dry feel here, it is showing excellent and is a rewarding bubbly. Clouet’s Grande Réserve is crafted using 70% of younger wine that sees 36 months on the lees, along with a high dose, 30% of Reserve wine from good years and extra aged in mostly tank, though with about 5% seeing wood, just for an added sense of rich luxuriousness. Jean-François Clouet winegrower and cellar master has specialized in mainly Pinot Noir led cuvées and has a combination of Grand Cru sites to draw from to produce his elegant and age worthy Champagne, even in his non-vintage bottlings like this one.
The Andre Clouet Champagne house, founded back in 1741, is run by the noted Jean-François Clouet, who was born and raised in a Bouzy and still lives in the family’s 18th century village house built by his ancestors and, as mentioned before, this house is a grower producer that strives to continue the regions tradition, but still is driven to elevate the quality levels here. The Clouet family farms some incredible Grand Cru plots around their home village of a Bouzy, as well as in the famous and very coveted middle slopes of Ambonnay, with vines in the very best lieux-dits in the Champagne region. While great for celebrating events and special occasions, this Andre Clouet Grande Réserve, with its high percentage of aged base feels like a perfectly mature vintage bottle, but with beautiful and vivid mouse, making for a lovely bubbly goes sublimely well with food and is a noble companion with any meal. I have always been impressed by Clouet’s lineup of Champagne(s), but especially so, when it comes to this stylish zero dosage Silver label Blanc de Noirs, as well as the fresher Brut Rosé and this Grande Réserve, all of which which I highly recommend!
($70 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive