The Best Champagne to Buy This Holiday Season | Eater
"Led by Fabian Daviaux, the family cooperative was transformed from selling fruit to larger houses into a pooled, multigenerational group of around 70 growers making contemporary, organic wines; the response from wine drinkers, bottle shop owners, and Instagram bottle shop types has been overwhelmingly positive. The distinctive farmhouse labels help — "natural wine is at least in part anaesthetic movement—" — and the team makes a compelling argument for extending #natty styling to the Champagne game by using naturally occurring yeasts, eschewing nearly all use of sulfur, and aging only in steel barrels. The end results are reminiscent of the best qualities of natural wine: idiosyncratic, beguiling, and utterly alive. The entry-level cuvée, "Blanc d’Assemblage," is 50/50 chardonnay and pinot meunier and more or less physically leaps from your glass with energy and drinkability (time for a refill); expect big green fruit flavors — Granny Smith apple, Comice pear, greengage plum — plus a secondary brioche note that will play nicely alongside big, old, traditional wines. Magnums are available and retail is around $50." - Jordan Michelman
