n.v. Autréau-Lasnot, Blanc de Noirs, Cuvée IV, Brut Champagne, Venteuil, France.
I had not seen the Autréau-Lasnot wines before recently, when I was introduced to them via their importer Plant Wine and this Blanc de Noirs Cuvée IV Brut, which is unique and lovely stuff led by its Meunier personality, with delicately exotic fruit, mineral tones, vinous pleasure and elegantly poised mousse. Pale gold/straw in the glass this 70% Meunier and 30% Pinot Noir Blanc de Noirs has nice yeasty/steely backbone with a layering of white cherry, lemony citrus, apple skin, apple, dried pineapple and fig fruits to go with the bread dough, leesy hazelnut, wet stone and clove spice. Like most distinctive grower Champagnes, this delicious offering is a food wine that really should be part of a meal, rather than used for a toast, with the winery suggesting hearty poultry dishes, mushroom risotto and goat cheese tarts as suitable options. This Autréau-Lasnot Brut Blanc de Noirs was stainless steel fermented after a long gentle pressing, with its blend of 70% Pinot Meunier and 30% Pinot Noir coming from mainly 2023, 61% and the 2021 and 2022 vintages 39%, and bottled in 2024 where It underwent malolactic fermentation and aging. The Vallée de la Marne sees (Pinot) Meunier as the main grape, about 59% of total production, while about 23% is Pinot and 18% is Chardonnay, which is reflected in these Autréau-Lasnot wines that capture the essence and nuance, as well as the varietal make up of the place.
The Autréau-Lasnot label, which has been around since 1932, is a small family-owned “Grower “Champagne house in Venteuil, not far from Épernay in the heart of the region’s Marne Valley. The winery is as I recently discovered led by the fifth generation of the Autréaus, the brothers Fabrice and Florent Autréau, along with with their wives Véronique and Virginie, and the estate continues to craft handmade Champagnes rooted in their terroir and tradition. The 16-hectare vineyard is planted with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Meunier, which has become the darling of grower producer enthusiasts, and the vines are farmed sustainably, with respect for the soil and environment here. The Vallée de laMarne soils are somewhat more variable than in other Champagne sub-regions, and it contains only two Grands Crus villages, those being Aÿ and Tours-sur-Marne, with flinty chalk, clay and chalky limestone areas, but there’s some fine plots here and good fruit density, as seen here. The south-facing hillside sites allow for expressive, terroir-driven wines, that get ripe and healthy grapes to make lower dosage or no dosage offerings, looking for texturally offerings, but wines of focused dry vitality. Winemakers, Fabrice and Florent Autréau are stillflying under the radar here in the states and it is a great time to explore their Champagne collection with the prices being exceptionally reasonable, especially in this market, and I really do recommend this one, and I’m looking forward to trying Autréau-Lasnot’s non dosage and extra brut versions in the future.
($48 ESt.) 93 Points, grapelive