2008 A. Margaine Brut Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru

(aged for four years on its lees and disgorged in July of 2013): Green-tinged yellow. Sexy aromas of candied lemon and orange, white flowers and ginger. Mineral and white pepper notes add lift and bite to ripe, deep citrus and orchard fruit flavors. The mineral note drives the delineated, long finish.

The Margaine 2008 Brut Blanc de Blancs Special Club leads with saline, alkaline evocation of sea breeze almost as pronounced as that found in his most recent disgorgement of Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs tasted alongside. And like that wine, this is tart-edged, rather lean in feel, but impressively and incisively penetrating, with raw ginger and chalk informing its brashly mineral, mouthwatering finish. (The resemblance between these two wines is especially intriguing when one realizes that this one underwent complete malo-lactic transformation but the other none. Margaine tends to be guided in this regard by how ripe is a given vintage’s material.) I would expect this to demonstrate considerably more interesting bottle development than the aforementioned extra brut, perhaps for half a dozen years. I seem to break ranks with several of my distinguished colleagues when it comes to the wines of A. Margaine, several of which, on the occasion of my recent tasting, I could only modestly recommend. The basic “Cuvee le Brut” and Demi-Sec bottlings – both 90% Chardonnay – were relatively simply apple-y, with tart, piquant and herbaceous elements not entirely harmoniously integrated. Margaine’s 2011-based and Chardonnay-dominated Rose innovatively incorporated 11% bottled (unfiltered) still Pinot from vintages 2007 and 2009, but the overall effect included a slightly too pungent sweaty note and a faintly sour streak somewhat at odds with this wine’s candied expression of cherry. I certainly do look forward, though, to tasting the successors to the aforementioned bottlings. Margaine has been experimenting with used barriques that he acquires from Jadot, and their role in his three cuvees that I most enjoyed – all of them pure Chardonnay – seemed admirable and promising. Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300