Tasting the Pinot Blanc champagne of Gruet of Buxeuil (@champagne_gruet). That’s right, a pure-bred PB champagne. (Be sure to pick the right one, at https://www.champagne-gruet.com/)
And it is a treat, indeed.
In the glass, we have a very fine mousse, well-integrated – it continues very, very long and doesn’t just give a one-off foam layer – through a pale gold, slightly varietal-typical PB wine.
On the nose, the typical character come through immediately, including a slightly fluffy air of white flowers around light tangerine / (white) peach / mirabelle, and a core of lime – keeping nicely short of being bitter.
The mouthfeel is light, but not fleeting. One gets beautiful straight near-ripe lemon, a waft of mint with white blossom, and some white pepper towards the back. Add to that lemon white skin with edges of red grapefruit.
Mind you; I had kept some for a second tasting, and four days (suitably cool storage) after opening, all this was still as fresh. No ‘dosage plays up after too much air’ or so; great.
A top recommendation, this one. If only to keep the Forgotten Four Cépages alive, as they deserve, but also for sheer tasting pleasure. Or ‘the trick one’ at a tasting experiment. Or for an apéritif or with whitish seafood (if not to lime’y or salty).