NV Diebolt-Vallois Brut Prestige Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru

A Diebolt-Vallois NV Brut Blanc de Blancs Prestige Disg. 2/2013 - based on vintage 2010 with reserves of 2008-2009 - is sourced from Cramant, Chouilly and Le Mesnil (hence grand cru-rated) and its reserve portion spends time in barrel. Apple and pear, almond and hazelnut - with overtones of yeast and toasted grain - are present in the nose, anticipating a lusciously juicy, subtly piquant palate performance and a finish that - as with most of the other wines I tasted most recently at this address - is characterized by generosity and purity of fruit, reinforced by what seems to be a routine seven grams of residual sugar. The latter may also be instrumental in generating a pleasantly confectionary side to the almond flavors as marzipan and frangipane. For all of its richness, this preserves a lovely sense of buoyancy throughout and finishes with admirable refreshment as well as impressive sheer persistence. I would plan on enjoying it over the next 2-3 years. Jacque Diebolt represents the third generation of this family of Alsacienne origin to estate-bottle, a lineage that goes all the way back to the turn of the dawn of the 20th century. He and his wife Nadia nee Vallois have established an enviable reputation and been highly influential in inspiring others to estate-bottle and consumers to appreciate Champagne as a great wine. Well-sited vineyards and a predominance of old vines and selections massales in Cramant, Chouilly, Cuis and Epernay are certainly instrumental in those achievements. Vinification here is typically at low temperature in jacketed stainless steel - which the Diebolts believe conduces to "the expression of minerality" - though certain wines see time in foudres or barriques; and with one exception they routinely undergo malo-lactic transformation. Although most of the wines I tasted had seven grams of residual sugar in common, Madame Vallois-Diebolt sought to assure me that they conduct bench trials in one-gram increments. She added that they bottle a non-dose version of their "tradition" but only at the request of an insistent Belgian client, and I wasn't able to encourage her sufficiently to let me taste it. (This is, incidentally, one of an increasing number of top estates to officially become negociants - trading the little letters "RM" on their labels for "NM" - as a means of expanding their production, but without sacrificing one iota of viticultural control: they merely purchase the fruit from vineyards they now farm that are in the extended family, in this case Nadia Vallois' paternal estate.) Imported by Martine's Wines, Inc., Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400; Sussex Wine Merchants, Moorestown, NJ; tel. (856) 608-9644; and Vintage 59 Imports, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 966-9218