Pascal Agrapart’s Stunning 2007 Blanc de Blancs.

8/27/14 -

Champagne lovers are beginning to care a lot about vintage, which is a testament to the fact that they are viewing Champagne as wine first and foremost. This is refreshing and mildly surprising because the vast majority of Champagne is bottled non-vintage, and it’s widely held that vintage-dated Champagnes should be made only in the best years. On the other hand, this heightened interest in vintage subjects Champagnes to the same black and white judgments we’re quick to form about other wines and regions: “2005 is a bad year; 2008 is a great year.” Of course this is a convenient way to narrow down the selection process when it comes to opening our wallets for these often quite pricey bottles. But we’re long-time subscribers to the idea that great winemakers flourish in “off” vintages, and that vineyard work regularly trumps the hurdles of climate.  

I’d observed at past tastings with Pascal Agrapart that he seemed to think all the vintages between 2002 and the present were great, but I didn’t remark upon it until my most recent visit in April. His explanation begins in the vines. Pascal Agrapart is fortunate that his father farmed organically before him (rather than treating the soil with herbicides), which is somewhat unusual as most Champagne vignerons from the previous generation preferred chemical to organic farming. The longer the soil is worked organically, the deeper the roots descend into the earth, and the less the vines struggle with surface issues such as drought and humidity. Agrapart is certainly not the first Champagne grower to tell me that when the roots go deep, there’s less vintage variation; in his words: “75% work in the soil, and 25% climate.” We began to speak about the famed 2008 vintage in Champagne, as “great” a vintage as they’ve seen since 1996. 2008 was an easy vintage in the vineyards; Agrapart remarked: “why would you only make vintage wine in years where you didn’t have to do any work!?!” In other words, one owes it to oneself and one’s hard work in the vines to make vintage wines in less-than-perfect years. The results of working the soil, and a deft hand in the winery are crystal clear in these beautiful 2007s from Pascal Agrapart.

With the recollection of my tasting and conversation with Agrapart in the forefront of my mind, I read about the 2007 vintage on Peter Liem’s superb website: champagneguide.net, and found the following comments: “Chardonnay seems to be the most consistent performer, as well as the most plentiful in yield … Overall, it will be a vintage that favors those who worked hard in the vineyards, and while vintage wines will probably not be widely produced, there should be some successful examples nevertheless, particularly from the Côte des Blancs.” The 2007s from Pascal Agrapart are not just amongst the best 2007s I’ve tasted, but amongst the best Champagnes I’ve encountered, ever. They are wines that have a distinct shape on the palate: round, circular, and mouth-filling on the front palate, showing Pascal’s preference for barrels in the cellar, coming to a fine and tapering pinpoint of sapid, rocky, and lightly bitter minerality on the finish. These are extremely limited, and will be allocated to the best of our abilities. You’ll find details on the individual wines below. Santé! –Sophie