NV Dehours & Fils Brut Grande Réserve

The NV Champagne Grande Reserve Brut displays a light, hazy straw hue and is a blend of 70% Meunier, 20% Chardonnay, and the remainder Pinot Noir. A savory and brothy wine, it’s delicate and not overpowering in profile, with notes of wet, stony earth. The palate is more inviting and pure, with an approachable fruity feel and a ripe sensibility. It has a hint of warming spice and is rich in notes of orange pith, spice, and hints of tropical fruit, including mango skin and broth. Medium-bodied, it boasts a frothy mousse that complements its pithy and expansive texture, while remaining approachable. This release is based on 2022, with 32% of perpetual reserve going back to 1998 in the blend. Disgorged in September 2024 with a 1.1 gram per liter dosage. Drink 2025-2035.

The NV Champagne Grand Reserve Brut is 60% Meunier, 25% Chardonnay, and the rest is Pinot Noir, with 59% coming from the 2019 harvest and the remainder from perpetual reserve. It is ripe with aromas of red cherry, berries, and a delicate vinous touch. This is matched on the palate, which is inviting and rounded with its fruit while being dry, and it has an underlying silky mineral texture. A lovely entry to the range, it is drinking wonderfully now or will continue drinking well over the next 10 or more years.

Signature wine of the estate, 60% of production. Based on about 60% Meunier, reflecting the similar proportion of estate planting, along with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Small fraction fermented in oak. Reserve wines from a solera begun in 1998. Based on 2013 but with a third of reserve wines. Pale straw colour. Quite a bit of development on the nose and very, very much more interesting than the average NV. Bravo! This is what grower's champagne is all about. (JR)