NV Etienne Calsac Les Revenants

The NV Extra Brut Les Revenants, disgorged in February 2024, is a blend of 50% Pinot Blanc, 45% Petit Meslier and 5% Arbane planted in the lieu-dit of Les Fours in Côte de Sezanne. It’s Calsac’s homage to unorthodox grape varieties, a tribute to his ancestors. This really works, vibrant and delineated on the nose with blackcurrant leaf, subtle yeasty notes and crushed stone. The palate follows suit: very well balanced with a silver thread of acidity that keeps it on its toes. The varieties are unusual, but they combine beautifully and linger on the finish. This is well worth seeking out.

Calsac’s 2021 vintage-based NV Les Revenants, hailing from a single 0.5-hectare, east-facing plot in Montgenost in the Côte de Sézanne, is the most incisive wine in the range this year and, analytically speaking, the cuvée with the lowest pH. After completing his oenology studies, in 2010 Étienne replanted several rows to other varieties typically associated with small-scale production—Pinot Blanc (60%), Petit Meslier (35%) and Arbane (5%)—and produced the first vintage of this blend in 2016. In the cellar, the wine is matured for seven months in used 600-liter barrels and bottled under cork. Opening in the glass to reveal notes of exotic white flowers, saffron, orange zest and mint, it’s medium-bodied, quite chiseled and tightly wound, uniting the aromatic expressiveness of the heirloom grapes with the definition and structural tension. With a tangy spine of acidity and chalky extract, it concludes with a long, penetrating finish. It was disgorged in July 2024 with three grams per liter dosage.