n.v. La Rogerie – Familie Petit – Boxler, Extra Brut “Bourg/Sud” Grand Cru Réserve Perpétuelle 18-22, Blanc de Blancs Champagne, Avize, France.
The thrilling La Rogere “Bourg/Sud” 100% Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut has that perfect enthusiast’s favored intensity with loads of steely mineral, chalky and ultra dry tension, as well as elegant detailing, focus, a delicately creamy mousse and subtle richness on the chiseled palate. This is exactly what I’m looking for in Champagne, this was crafted to near perfection, it shows a distinctive terroir driven character, rather than a house style, and its serious dry nature, extra low dosage, keeps things razor sharp, while still delivering pure pleasure in the glass. This green/gold hued Bourg/Sud leans on racy lemony citrus, green apple, tart peach and golden fig fruits, with a fine yeasty depth with hints of hazelnut, bead dough and a touch of flinty reduction, along with pretty florals, wet stone and clove spice. This Champagne could almost be decanted, as it very vigorous and gripping, but opens up with time and expands, adding more textural quality and becomes almost Meursault like, which is divine and makes it a wine to slowly enjoy over a meal. The Bourg/Sud was sourced from old vines, and a massale selection of Avize Grand Cru (90%) and Oger (10%) vines planted back in 1960 on close to pure chalk (limestone), which clearly show here. These La Rogerie Champagnes, imported by Thacher’s imports Wines, are exceptional offerings of “Grower Fizz” and I’m grateful for friends that ordered this bottle and shared it with me, thanks Dave, Jenna and Roslyn, and to Vin Bar Carmel, who stock this on their list.
As mentioned in prior reviews, Justine and François Petit-Boxler’s Domaine La Rogerie Champagne house is all about terroir driven Grand Cru vineyards, which are in the Avize area and extend to the border of Cramant and Oger, where Chardonnay is magic. These chalky vineyards are famously known for their tuff and ancient limestone soils made up of marine sediments, allowing for deep complexity, mineral toned flavors and purity of fruit. The Boxler’s are famous in Alsace and I’ve loved those wines for years, especially their stunning Rieslings, but I had known much about this project and or Francois Petit, who was born and raised in Avize and seems to have been inspired by the cult favorite Selosse Champagnes. Justine and Francois, who have recently moved into a farmhouse that has been in the family years, have immersed themselves in this project and the nature here, they carefully work the land by plow by horse and lightweight tractors, have eliminated herbicides/pesticides, and are using homemade organic compost. The goal of this pair, they say, is to encourage the natural growth and development of organic biodiversity in the vineyards and showcase the purest form of terroir. For this Extra Brut “Bourg/Sud” Grand Cru Réserve Perpétuelle 18-22, Blanc de Blancs Champagne, Justine and François used a 2022 base, but with Réserve lots of 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, and only a 2 gram dosage, with the young wine being aged in fresh/newer 228 & 400L French oak barrel, while the older wine saw large used foudre, which allowed for both a luxurious feel and electric transparency. These are brilliant Champagnes, I can’t recommend them highly enough!
($125 Est.) 96 Points, grapelive