Blanc de Blancs Champagne for All Occassions!
2/3/26 -
In honor of Valentines day quickly approaching, I thought it would be a great time to highlight some incredible Blanc de Blancs Champagnes, because nothing says "I love you" like sharing a bottle of bubbles. I know it is a special date for going out, but I think there's incredible value in skipping the reservation and crowds, cooking at home (or getting take out) and popping bottles from the couch. It's a perfect time to open something special to share with loved ones.
Since beginning to help with the Champagne selection here at Chambers Street, I think I've been guilty of focusing a bit too much on bottles that are Pinot Noir and Meunier dominant. Not that there is anything wrong with drinking Blanc de Noirs, but today I wanted to focus in on the diverse, complex and incredible range of Champagnes made from Chardonnay. We have CSW classics like Mouzon-Leroux, Suenen, and Agrapart along with new favorites from Herve Rafflin (his first U.S. release of a Blanc de Blancs), Caze-Thibaut, Guiborat and more!
-Hanna Krilov Cohen
Scroll down to continue reading about the wines featured today, or click below to view the wines!
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Cazé-Thibaut
The Cazé family has been growing grapes in Vallee de la Marne for 10 generations and since the 2013 vintage, Fabien Cazé has farmed a mere 2.66 hectares of family vines for his own lable: Cazé-Thibaut. He uses a very hands on approach in the vineyards paired with a hands off approach in the cellar. He uses no herbicides or pesticedes and has been certified organic since the 2018 vintage. In his very cold cellar, there are long native yeast fermentations with long aging on the fine lees. Dosage is determinded by a blind taste, there is no "recipe," Fabien just does what he thinks will make the best wines.
Across the board, the wines from Cazé-Thibaut are lean, mineral, and incredibly fine. Once you try one, you will surely seek out more!
Today we have Fabien's 2020 Le Chemin des Plants, 100% Chardonnay from the right bank of the Valee de la Marne. Aged 54 months sur lattes, disgorged in the winter of 2025 with 2.2g/L dosage. This is a truly vibrant Blanc de Blancs, full of citrus, florals, and chalk.
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Champagne Guiborat is run by its 5th generation, Richard Fouquet. Historically the family sold all of their production to Laurent-Perriere, but when Richard took over, he decided to focus on their 3 best hectares of vines and make incredibly high quality, micro cuvees with the remainder still being sold off. The sites they kept are mostly Grand Crus in Cramant, Chouilly, and Oriy with deep chalk. Everything is organically farmed and for each cuvee they combine select parcels to create the best wines possible, a much more traditional outlook while it is currently trendy to make single vineyard wines.
On offer today is their Tethys, a combination from 4 Grand Cru Cote des Blancs vineyard sites on chalk soil. The wine undergoes 100% malolactic fermentation and is aged for 7 months on the lees in stainless steel tanks before spending 24 months sur lattes with 1.5g/L dosage. The wine showcases the beautiful fruit qualities of Chardonnay with floral and chalk notes while still having a nice fresh, lively finish. An excellent look into the Guiborat style, it is truly anything but an "entry level" wine.
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Hervé Rafflin took over his family domaine of 5 hectares in 2001. His vines average 30-40 years in age and are certified organic as of 2021. The production here can vary greatly just depending on the vintage as Hervé will say how nature dictates business, not demand. We have recently seen an increase in offerings from Hervé, with a few vintage releases and now his Terre de Rilly 1er Cru, sourced from 2 plots of Chardonnay from Rilly: Les Voies Chigny and Les Clos Derard. 100% from the 2019 vintage but not designated. Aged sur lattes for 60 months, disgorged in September 2024 with no dosage. The wine has incredible depth with high toned yellow and green apple notes. The wine is sunny and bright with a mineral finish. A true step up from his entry La Nature'l, providing incredible depth and concentration.
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Sébastien Mouzon of Mouzon-Leroux, is the 9th generation to farm in Verzy where his family roots date back to 1776. After taking over in 2008, he began converting 8 ½ hectares to organic viticulture with certification in 2012. Just 7 years later he became Demeter certified for Biodynamic practices with the goal of having a more natural, holistic approach to farming. After initial fermentation, Sébastien will age his wines up to two years in barrel before bottling for second fermentation. In the cellar there is very minimal-to-zero sulfur used with very little dosage used, if any. Sébastien is creating unique wines that reflect terroir as well as his philosophies.
L'Angelique is 100% Chardonnay from all of his plots of Chardonnay in Verzy. Indigenous yeast fermentation, 100% malolactic fermentation and aged 8 months in used Cadus barrels before spending 58 months sur lattes. There is 0g/L dosage and only 4,362 bottles made! It is a lean and earthy wine, with a long, salty mineral finish.
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In 1997 Jean-Paul Hébrart took over from his father who had already been estate bottling wines since 1964. Jean-Paul impressively harvests, presses, and vinifies each of his 85+ plots seperately before blending to create harmonious wines. Across the board, the Hébrart wines are incredibly charming and crowd pleasing. For an estate that has a majority of Pinot Noir vines, their Blanc de Blancs is simply delicious. I recently enjoyed a bottle over an entire day and each time I went back to it, the wine was just as generous as it had been hours earlier.
Their Premier Cru Blanc de Blanc is sourced 80% from Mareuil-su-Ay, and 12% Oiry and Chouilly Grand Crus. The base vintage is 2020, with an additional 20% coming from 2019 and 20% form 2018. The wine goes through malolactic fermantation and is fermented and aged in stianless steel before spending 36 months sur lattes, and is disgorged with 6g/L. The end results in a beautiful bold and oppulent champagne. Nice ripened yellow apple and citrus give a very bright and sunny quality to the wine with richness. The wine still finishes fresh and I can confirm tastes good over a few days!
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Founded in 1950, the Vergnon family began to estate bottle in the 1980's. Today, Didier Vergnon and his son Clément represent the 4th and 5th generation to lead this small estate. They hold 5 hectares of vines mainly in the village of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger with mostly old vines (average 45 years old). Over the last 20 years the farming has moved to organic and the result has been more balanced, ripe grapes at harvest.
Conversation is a beautiful Grand Cru blend from 30+ year old vines, 90% from Le Mesnil sur Oger GC and 10% from Avize and Oger GC. 80% is from the 2021 vintage with the remainder from reserve wines that go back to 2014. Fermented and aged in 90% stainless steel and 10% older barrels. Aged for 36 months sur lattes with 5g/L dosage. This wine is full of bright citrus with a hint of brioche and a long, chalky finish. There is lovely freshness and lift here, the perfect apertif! With the sourcing of these vines, this might be some of the best value around.
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Alexis Leconte is a 6th generation Champagne grower from Vallee de la Marne, primarily in Troissy. The family began with a single parcel in 1870, and now spreads across 40 plots that make up 10 hectares. Alexis spent time in Alsace and Burgundy before taking over from his father in 2013. His experience led him to the belief that the base of good Champagne is a quality still wine, the effervescence is just an added bonus. Upon taking over the farming, he immediately began organic conversion with Demeter certification coming with the 2023 vintage. Biodynamic farming resonated with Alexis based off of the idea of trusting nature vs. attempting to master it. Additionally, geological testing has been done on every plot to understand the contents of the soil and best determine its needs.
Aria is a fantastic Blanc de Blancs from a single plot in Troissy with sand, clay, and lignite soils. Aleixs’ father planted Chardonnay on this plot against the village tradition because he believed it would thrive at the site (and it does). This is coming from the incredible 2019 vintage and is vinified with indigenous yeast in cask. It is aged in the cellar for at least 5 years before disgorgement. This is an absolutely beautiful Champagne with perfectly ripened fruit balanced with a chalky minerality. There is a true brightness here with a really elegant finish.
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From Avize, in the heart of the Cote de Blanc comes Agrapart. The estate was founded in 1894 and today is represented by the fourth and fifth generations Pascal and his son Ambroise. For four decades Pascal has been creating powerful wines of chalky minerality. He is passing his incredible talent and knowledge onto Ambroise who now manages approximately 10 hectares of the family's vines.
Terroirs is a non-vintage blend from parcels in Avize, Cramant, Oger, and Oiry Sourced from Chardonnay vines between 20 and 50 years in age. Comprised of 80% from 2019/2020 and 20% from 2021, aged in a mix of tank and older cask. It is aged sur lattes for about 3 years. Above all Terroirs is a testament to the expression of chalk.
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Aurelien Suenen's wines display his desire to release Champagnes that articulate a sense of place. He notes that in Cramant there is different terroir expression in the wines from the high altitude vineyards and the lower lying vineyards, with the vines planted in the latter proving to be more distinctly chalky.
C+C, a blend of wines from Chouilly and Cramant, is a wine with pretty aromas of golden apple skin, orange oil and apple blossom. The palate is concentrated with flavors of stone fruit, preserved lemon, and toast. The wine was fermented and aged for 9 months on the lees in a combination of stainless steel, 228L and 500L barrels, then aged sur lattes for 24-36 months Disgorgement in July of 2024 and bottled with 4 g/l dosage.
