Nicolas Maillart "Platine" 1er Cru Extra Brut, Pinot Noir, Champagne, France NV

FROM KERMIT LYNCH

THE WINE: 54% Pinot Noir, 26% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Meunier.

Fruit comes from three villages: Villers Allerand 1er Cru, Ecueil 1er Cru, and Bouzy Grand Cru

Vinified and aged for 10 months in 228L oak barrels or 3000L foudre

Dosage 1 gram/liter

THE PRODUCER:

It was in 2006 when we last introduced our clients to a new selection of ours from the Champagne region—not for lack of trying! Early in 2023 we finally found what we have been looking for in the small Champagne village of Écueil, on the Montagne de Reims, in the cellars of Nicolas Maillart. Nicolas owns and farms vineyards in Écueil, Villers-Allerand, and Bouzy, all just south of Reims. These are among the world’s greatest terroirs for growing Champagne grapes, and they have been brilliantly matched chez Maillart to Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir, and Petit Meslier in order to extract the best qualities of each grape for both his blended multi-vintage Champagnes and his single-vineyard-vintage bottlings. All of his Champagnes are fermented and aged in wood, minimally sulfured, and bottled unfiltered with very little dosage.

Nicolas has made wine at his family estate since 2003 and has had two decades to hone and perfect his house style. He controls, farms, and manages all of his vineyards himself, working all of his soils. His Champagnes are pure, elegant, terroir-transparent, stylish, and delicious! Tasting through his lineup of vins clairs is like tasting through a cellar of young wines in Burgundy, and he has figured out how to transform the magic he has in barrel into his resulting Champagnes that emerge years later. Nicolas Maillart is sure to be a household name in Champagne in the near future, and we know you will enjoy getting to know these as much as we have.