2007 Agrapart Blanc de Blancs Venus

Agrapart's 2007 Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Venus is fabulous. A wine of extraordinary depth and concentration, the 2007 Venus boast tons of richness and intensity. Lemon oil, white flowers, crushed rocks and mint all wrap around the palate and never let up. An eternal, beautifully resonant finish leaves a lasting impression. This is a dazzling Champagne by any measure. The Venus is made from a tiny parcel of 50+ year-old vines worked only by the horse after which the wine is named. Sadly, the original Venus recently passed away. The 2007 was bottled with no dosage. This bottle was disgorged on July 2013.

Named for the late, lamented horse whose successor now plows the portion of La Fosse (with both chalk and clay elements) in which it originates, Agrapart’s 2007 Brut Blanc de Blancs Nature Venus opens up with sourdough, lightly toasted wheat, lemon rind, iris, lily-of-the-valley, and intimations of ocean breeze that presage the mineral nuance and saliva gland-milking salinity featured on a spare yet delicate palate, where juicy fresh pear and apple lusciously enter the equation. This is understated in the manner also of Agrapart’s “Avizoise” bottling and brings to bear a shimmeringly interactive array of crystalline and stony nuances and diverse, mouthwateringly savory and mineral coquillage in its hauntingly long, still subtly and refreshingly fruited finish. It is likely to merit following for at least 6-8 years. Pascal and Fabrice Agrapart farm 24 acres morsellated into more than 60 parcels the length of the Cote des Blancs, overwhelmingly planted with selections massales (principally of the family’s own, generations-long devising) rather than clones. Viticulture is clearly a meticulous concern, and while this estate doesn’t subscribe to any labels, it has a lot in common – including absence of herbicides or pesticides; generally minimalist cellar protocol; manual- and in some instances horse-plowing – with soil-conscious growers of officially organic or biodynamic persuasion. “It’s in warm, dry vintages with low acidity that you most see the effect of working the soil and making the roots go deep,” opines Pascal Agrapart, adding “I recently had a wonderful experience with a 1976 that was still full of vivacity.” Vinification is majority in tank for the two least expensive bottlings, but otherwise in old demi-muids in which primary fermentation is spontaneous and generally leisurely, with malo-lactic conversion initiated via a vinous starter to insure steady completion. Agrapart’s 2012 vins clairs and 2011 reserves, incidentally – wine isn’t assembled and bottled here until the end of the summer – were delightful and fascinating when tasted from barrel this June. There was noteworthy clarity, vibrancy and complexity to every wine I tasted here in June and thereafter, so it would have broken my heart not to be able to report on the non-vintage wines, but to do so, I must confess I’m walking close to the line of the conventions I established for my reports, because neither disgorgement dates nor lots are actually indicated on the label or bottle here, but rather on the top of the cork, with the months assigned consecutive capital letters, followed by the last two digits of the year in which the wine was disgorged. This means you’ll either need to buy and remove the cage from the first bottle or get some cooperation from your merchant if you want to know when the wine was disgorged (and as at other addresses, this won’t always be a reliable indicator as to the base wines in question, because Agraparts disgorge their “7 Crus” and “Terroirs” bottlings monthly). Importers include Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 559-1040; Polaner Selections, Mt. Kisco, NY; tel. (914) 244-0404; and Vanguard Wines LLC, Columbus, OH; tel. (614) 291-3493