Jacques LassaigneMontgueux

Producer profile
PL Emmanuel Lassaigne is "Montgueux's finest winemaker", creating mostly blanc de blancs wines that are "the archetypal examples" of this Aube village situated on an "isolated outcropping of chalk rising several hundred feet above the surrounding plain" in a "new champagne terroir, planted only since 1960s". See pages 188-89 for a warm and personal profile of this grower as well as tremendous detail on the quality and diversity of Montgueux terroirs, a must-read! Notes of mango and tropical fruits are very typical of Montgueux. "Our south-facing exposure always produces rich wines, with very ripe flavors, but the soils are very chalky, so there's a lot of minerality." Lassaigne is "one of Champagne's top producers, making expressive, soil-driven champagnes" that define Montgueux. He owns 3.5 hectares and purchases from 2.5 more. "All parcels are vinified separately with indigenous yeasts, and a portion of the harvest is fermented in barrel." The vintages are made entirely in steel. La Colline Inspirée is a "barrel-fermented blanc de blancs from old vines, amplifying the village's characteristic flavors of mango and tropical citrus." "The most elegant of all" is Le Cotet from a steep chalky vineyard planted in 1964. It is a "racy, vivid wine, demonstrating the ripeness of Montgueux". Clos Sainte-Sophie has been made since 2010 and vinified in an "unusual array of barrels" from Burgundy to Cognac, creating a "stunning wine" that shows "filigreed complexity and multilayered depth of flavor". Lassaigne also makes a "ripe and opulent" still Coteaux Champenois. None of the champagnes produced since 2012 are dosed. Read about Lassaigne's experimental series called Cuvées éphémères on PL's website. The 6-digit stamp on the label is the bottling year, followed by the month and year of disgorgement. TyS no mention. ToS 90 "value", "one of the most exciting areas in Champagne", Montgueux produces "majestic, expressive Chardonnay". The négociants buy most of the grapes but there are a few growers making their own wines. Lassaigne is "the most famous", making "beautifully expressive, firm and soulful Champagnes". "Most are unoaked", "mineral, firm, ripe, and vibrant, these are excellent gastronomic Champagnes." "Les Vignes de Montgueux is a fine starting point to the range". "The best wine is the monumental, powerful yet mineral single-vineyard Le Cotet". Check out this producer's website, it has the coolest animations and videos.

Tasting notes

Les Vignes de Montgueux. Stamped 170219. Attractive label with a miniature font and raised gilded letters matching the golden neck foil. Very successful bottle styling. Pleasantly developed nose with a sort of light-toned toastiness. Medium yellow. Quite dry but elegant, slender in body, and without any acidic bite. Small effusive bubbles. Flavor associations with dry cider, briny oyster, the smell of dandelion flower, and gose. Purchased at Federal Wine in spring 2020 for $54. ⭐⭐

Millésime 2006 Brut Nature. Stamped 070814. Very pretty label with a gold gel pen font used for the vintage year. Compact cork and a thick plume of condensation escaping the bottle like a ghost. Bright greenish-golden. First impression is of unsweetened cheesecake. Tart but not sour, with a hint of vinosity but vibrant, not faded. Appreciable autolytic qualities, not toasty per se but certainly showing off its age and development. Then it opens up marvelously to a sweetest pastry nose! In a mesmerizing transformation this turns into a gleefully delightful wine. Olfactory associations with warm dates, ripe persimmon, liquid caramel. All set against youthful, bright acidity. Purchased at Molly's Spirits in summer 2020 for $97 and again in autumn 2020 for $92. The second bottle was more open upfront. The same white cloud greeting. Bready salty cork. The smell of rich walnut pancake syrup from the mouth of the bottle. The cheesecake is warmer this time and spiked with mascarpone. There's the cool well water effect and certain stoniness. Plenty of sticky caramel again. Fantastic with the first properly warm spring day. ⭐⭐⭐

Le Cotet. Stamped 151017. The aesthetics of Lassaigne's labels continue to impress with bijou-like preciousness of compact gilded fonts on high-quality textured paper. Slight greenish hue to this wine. There is a note of dark caramelization in the scent, nearing burnt but super-appealing. Starts very dry, needing time in the glass and warmth. Associations with unripe gooseberry and green grapes but also something else, savory and familiar, meandering in the vicinity of the typical taste families like dairy, herbs, barnyard, and even treading in piscatorial waters. Stunningly aromatic after a while in Gabriel Glas, the initial dryness transforming into a stimulating, mouthwatering acidity. And yet still a touch shrill. Purchased at Gordon's in autumn 2020 for $80. ⭐⭐

Millésime 2010 Brut Nature. Stamped 111019. Stylish label. Good clean cork that barrels out nicely. Effusive mousse, Zalto Champagne is all white with bubbles. Voluptuous smell. Besides the typical brioche and roasted seeds there is something unctuous here like fatty sashimi or wagyu. The taste, in contrast, is trim and sporty with bracing acidity and minerality. Entirely fabulous in the beginning, it gets riotously delicious with air. Keeps the palate entertained with wide-ranging associations like bitter overripe odor of wilting lilies, burnt cheesecake edge, and chicken livers. Purchased at Catherine's in autumn 2020 for $110. This is my favorite bottle north of $100.  ⭐⭐⭐

La Colline Inspirée. Stamped 171219. Stout barrel-shaped cork is followed by a white plume of brouillard. Slight sweet-sour gherkin nuance on the cork like in Hebrart clubs sometimes. Oak and a little egg on the nose, then medicine cabinet. Very distinctive bitter scent like apricot seed or almond liquor. Golden yellow sans green and with very fine bead. I register quite a bit of oak from Zalto Burgundy glass. When empty it conjures the familiar and welcome black bread. Chalkier and more pointed from Zalto Champagne. With time, the oak and the amandine bitterness combine into a kind of humid aromatic saltiness. But in the end it's a touch too dry, oaky, and bitter for me to completely adore it. Purchased at Spirited Gourmet in spring 2021 for $85.  ⭐

Chères Vignes Rosé. Stamped 062020. Beautiful bottle with a fun rope-and-wax seal. Despite the shape of the cork, this is definitely a still Coteaux Champenois wine with only a faintest fog of fizz that is not detectable by the tongue. Lots of sediment and a sour weisse beer smell - not unpleasant but not "champagne". Very pretty sunsety color. Really reminds me of Trillium raspberry or peach sours and while they are delicious, I'm not sure I welcome their signature in a champagne wine. The taste is elegant, pleasing and vibrant, with beguiling fragrant bitterness, comfortable tasty acidity, and depth of flavor that evolves from intriguing unfamiliar savory fruit notes to tarte tatin caramelization. Waves of flowering basil and ripe mid-August raspberries also make an appearance. So, the nose is a little uncouth but the wine is super-tasty otherwise. Purchased at Spirited Gourmet in summer 2021 for $70.