2020 Chartogne-Taillet - Extra Brut Cuvee Les Barres

The 2020 Extra-Brut Les Barres (100% Meunier) emerges from ungrafted vines in a site on chalk. Nervy and vibrant in the glass, the 2020 is impressive, but it is also very young. Dried pear, spice, chamomile and crushed flowers are beautifully delineated. Readers will find a tense, chiseled Meunier very much in the mineral-driven style Alexandre Chartogne favors. I would be tempted to give this a year or two in bottle at a minimum. Chartogne pushes light oxidation in élevage for this wine, a risky process undertaken to exalt the wine's mineral notes. In that process, only about 30% of the lots make it into this bottling because of strict selection. Dosage is 2 grams per liter. Disgorged: December 2024.