Nicolas MaillartÉcueil, Montagne de Reims

Producer profile
PL Family of vine growers and champagne makers for many generations, producing wines that are "bold and full of flavor". Sustainable farming practices with attention to preserving genetic diversity of the vines through sélection massale. NV Platine Brut is "generous and expansive, with a polished finesse" and the vintage brut made with pinot noir from Bouzy and chardonnay from Écueil is "excellent". Seek out the two terroir-specific Écueil cuvées Les Chaillots Gillis and Les Francs de Pied. TyS 6/10 notes "creaminess of fine-tuned barrel fermentation" in Burgundy barrels and "gentle tension of ripe malic acidity". Look for a meunier cuvée from a single site in Villers-Allerand called Mont Martin. Vintage cuvée is rare, made only in 2002, 2008, 2012, 2015, and potentially 2018. ToS 86 "value" wines are fermented with natural yeasts and unfiltered, vinous and well made. NV Brut Platine is "faultless."

Tasting notes

Vintage 2012. 55% pinot noir and 45% chardonnay from premier cru parcels. 60% aged in oak, 4g dosage, disgorged in July 2019. Minimalist label with informative back. Neutral transparent yellow color like acacia honey. Full-flavored, supple, generous with a creamy mouthfeel. Associations with apple, pineapple, applesauce, and quince. An unusual faint singed nuance like cotton under a hot iron. Purchased from Federal Wines in spring 2020 for $63. ⭐