Moussé FilsCuisles, Vallée de la Marne

Producer profile
PL the Moussé family has been cultivating vines in Vallée de la Marne since 1750 and today owns 5.5 hectares of mostly meunier in Cuisles, on the right bank of the Marne river, "prime meunier country with vines growing on various clays, marls, and sands". An "up-and-coming" member of the Club Trésors de Champagne. Moussé's wines are dominated by meunier that contributes "rich, ripe fruit flavors with notes of exotic citrus and tropical fruit". Cuvée L'Or d'Eugène is "velvety and richly textured". Aged two additional years it is released as L'Extra Or d'Eugène with a lower dosage. Anécdote is a single-vineyard chardonnay with "plush, ripe flavors and an ample body". Vintage Terre d'Illite "named for a green clay mineral found in the area, is nearly all meunier, showing an expansive, fragrant richness on the palate". "Best of all is the Special Club, which Moussé started making in 2005. The first 100% meunier champagne in the history of the club, it's a complex and full-bodied wine". Special Club Rosé de Saignée is "pungent and vividly fruity". TyS no mention. ToS pure meunier Special Club is "voluptuous, succulent and fruit-forward wine". TT 2019 Champagne catalog page 215 (see also 2017 and 2013).

Tasting notes

Anécdote Extra Brut. Lieu-dit Varosses, terroir de Cuisles. Disgorged February 25 2016. Dosage 5g. Beautifully styled bottle with a minimalist label featuring a vine motif that is repeated on the plaque de muselet. The wine is yellow-green with ebullient bubbles and a hint of flint. A balanced and satisfying cuvée. TT 2017 Champagne catalog page 28 (see also 2018). Purchased at Molly's Spirits in summer 2020 for $58. ⭐

L'Or d'Eugène. 80% meunier, 20% pinot noir. Perpetual reserve since 2003. Disgorged November 18 2019, 4g dosage. Superb bottle aesthetics from the label to the cork. The house tree motif is beautifully molded in the top left corner of the label, an unusual and wonderfully artistic touch. The underside of the neck foil is also decorated. It's like an haute couture dress that is as exquisite on the inside as it is on the outside. Even the cork is gorgeous. Nice detail on the back label, too. Uncorked with a small spill. Frothy mouthfeel with intriguing Alsace aromatics. Tasty and flavorful. More fragrant and completely delightful from Zalto Burgundy glass. TT 2019 Champagne catalog page 216 (compare with an earlier bottling described in 2017 and the longer-aged "extra" version described in 2018). Purchased at Hazel's in autumn 2020 for $47. ⭐⭐⭐

Les Vignes de Mon Village. Bright, succulent, and satisfying. Enjoyed from Zalto Universal. TT 2019 Champagne catalog page 216. Purchased at Mondo Vino in autumn 2020 for $64. ⭐

Rosé Effusion. 92% meunier, 8% pinot noir. Disgorged April 3 2019, dosage 4g. Nicely detailed back label prescribes the following biodynamic course of treatment for the vineyards: "homeopathy, essential oils, observation." I am happy to report that this patient is happy! Dry, tasty, and distinctive wine with bready, tart, and clean aromatics. Vaguely bluish in hue, an unusual and memorable impression. Associations with blackberry or black raspberry. It's sweet preserves on the nose but tart fresh berries on the palate. Very-very good, elegant but not dainty or ephemeral. Fleetingly evocative of Noir Epices perfume and pine resin. Amusing taste of gozinaki after palate-shocking parsley. The resin returns on day two with firm strawberries in tow. I'd gladly buy more of this. TT 2019 Champagne catalog page 217. Purchased at Vintages in spring 2021 for $51. ⭐⭐⭐