Marie Courtin Champagne Extra Brut Concordance [Sans Soufre] 2018 750ml

The 2018 Extra Brut Concordance Sans Soufre (100% Pinot Noir) shows good depth and textural intensity. I find it a bit severe and compact, likely the result of the decision to bottle this with no sulfur and no dosage. Citrus confit, marzipan, dried flowers, mint and tangerine peel open with some reluctance. Disgorged: November 2023.

• Country: France
• Region: Champagne
• Size: 750ml

Varietal

Champagne Blend

The sparkling wines of Champagne have been revered by wine drinkers for hundreds of years, and even today they maintain their reputation for excellence of flavor and character, and are consistently associated with quality, decadence, and a cause for celebration. Their unique characteristics are partly due to the careful blending of a small number of selected grape varietals, most commonly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. These grapes, blended in fairly equal quantities, give the wines of Champagne their wonderful flavors and aromas, with the Pinot Noir offering length and backbone, and the Chardonnay varietal giving its acidity and dry, biscuity nature. It isn’t unusual to sometimes see Champagne labeled as ‘blanc de blanc’, meaning it is made using only Chardonnay varietal grapes, or ‘blanc de noir’, which is made solely with Pinot Noir.