NV Pierre Moncuit Blanc de Blancs Hugues de Coulmet

Moncuit's NV (2013) Blanc de Blancs Hugues de Coulmet is a gorgeous entry-level wine. Lemon peel, white flowers, almonds and mint are all nicely layered in a soft, open-knit Champagne that will drink well with minimal cellaring. There is so much to like. The interplay of bright, citrus-inflected notes and textural depth is compelling. This is the only wine in the range made from vineyards in Sézanne as opposed to Le Mesnil sur Oger. Dosage is 8 grams per liter. Disgorged: March 2016.

The Pierre Moncuit NV Brut Blanc de Blancs Hugues de Coulmet L316511 is sourced entirely from the estate’s roughly dozen acres in the Cote de Sezanne (and from vintage 2010). Scents of fresh apple and lemon that set the tone for this bottling’s juicy, tart-edged and delicate palate impression are alluringly garlanded with honeysuckle and jasmine. An umami-rich and mouthwatering evocation of salted, sauteed shitake mushrooms along with piquancy of toasted hickory nuts make for a long finish that renders the next sip irresistible; and eight grams of residual sugar are well-suited to this cuvee’s efficacious acidity. It should give great pleasure over the coming couple of years, though I would not want to miss out on its current performance. Pierre and Odile Moncuit have long offered wines exemplifying the justly celebrated virtues of Le Mesnil, and the only other villages represented amid their 37 acres are in the Sezanne and utilized for a dedicated bottling (whose more recent instantiation is reviewed below). All of the Moncuit wines issue from a single vintage, which in the case of those “non-vintage” wines reviewed for this report, is 2010. The bottle of Moncuit non-vintage Brut Rose that I tasted was every bit as impressive as their (not so!) “basic” Blanc de Blancs, but no designation of lot number could be found on the bottle (normally, this estate embosses these to the lower right of the label), so I was constrained by the conventions I have established to refrain from reporting on it in further detail. Importers:Charles Neal Selections (various importers), Richmond, CA; tel. (415) 225-5144