Suenen Extra Brut C+C Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru N.V.

“From Suenen’s holdings Cramant and Chouilly, where the soils are deeper than in Oiry, the NV Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru C + C is based on the 2016 vintage and was disgorged in June 2019 with three grams per liters dosage. Unwinding in the glass with scents of sweet pastry, yellow apples, spices, white flowers and almonds, it’s medium-bodied, precise and racy, with tangy acids and an attractively fleshy core of fruit, concluding with a saline finish. Drink: 2020-2035. 93 points

Abandoning a career as a semi-professional basketball player, Aurélien Suenen returned to his family estate in 2008. Beginning with a range of non-vintage bottles, he began producing lieu-dit bottlings from his most characterful, optimally sited parcels with the 2013 vintage. Certified organic from 2020 onwards, his vins clairs are vinified in tanks, concrete eggs and used barrels from Damy, complemented by some purchased wood from Stockinger. Tirage takes place after nine to 10 months on the lees, and nothing is released onto the market until it has seen just as long as that on cork after disgorgement. Suenen’s progress has been thrilling to watch—I’ve been following him since my student days—and the wines reviewed here are the finest I’ve seen to date from this immensely promising talent. Readers will find much to admire.”

William Kelley, Wine Advocate (03/21)