2005 Jacquesson Dizy Corne Bautray

The 2005 Dizy-Corne Bautray, Chardonnay from vines planted in 1960, is wonderfully nuanced and complex. A warm, resonant bouquet laced with smoke, dried apricots, mint and white pepper. The style is rich, ample and resonant, with gorgeous textural depth and volume. I would prefer to drink the 2005 sooner rather than later, as the flavors are already quite forward, although the wine does seem to freshen up a touch with time in the glass. Wild flowers, mint, Poire William and sage add the final layers of nuance on the high-toned, expressive finish. Disgorged October 2014. Dosage was 1.5 grams/liter.

A really complex and fresh brioche and vanilla bouquet with refreshing lemon flavors opens the 2005 Dizy Corne Bautray Extra Brut. This wine is sourced from a steep, one-hectare, southwest-facing Premier Cru Chardonnay vineyard that was planted with 9,000 vines per hectare in 1960 on Campanian chalk, with a two- to three-meter thick, gravelly structured clay and silt layer. This is a rich, explosively fresh and very complex, highly mineral Premier Cru with a long and fascinatingly salty and grippy finish. With 11.3% alcohol and 7.2 grams per liter of total acidity, this is a very expressive Champagne and has great character. The 2005 was the first Corne Bautray that was disgorged with a minimum of dosage (1.5 grams per liter). The wine was been produced in 1995 for the first time, then again in 2000, 2002 and 2005, and we should be happy waiting for 2007, 2009, 2012, 2014 and "most likely" also in 2015. Mar 2016, www.robertparker.com