We’re always open to new faces in Champagne, and this one caught our fancy. Jean-Paul Lancelot gives the appearance of being just a simple vigneron, a man of the earth, a French grower harkening back a couple of generations. That part is true. He is, however the proud owner of 4 hectares of the some of the greatest vines in Champagne. All four of his hectares are in Grand Cru villages Cramant, Avize, Oger and Chouilly.
All of his vines are old, and the Lancelot-Curtois Cuvée Traditionelle is comprised of his two oldest sites. One parcel in Oger, named “Les Monts Chenevaux,” was planted in 1953. The other in Grand Cru Chouilly, named “Les Monts Aigous,” was planted in 1957 and adjoins one of Moet’s principal parcels for Dom Perignon.
Thus this 100% Chardonnay cuvee comes from 60+ year old vines, rather a unique situation in this part of the wine world. This cuvée carried the reference “Vieilles Vignes.” Besides having some very serious dirt, Jean-Paul’s yields are very, very low for Champagne. Given the low yields and important vineyard sources, this Champagne is very attractively priced ($49.98). It costs as much as the mass marketed ‘bruts’ of a number of big name Champagne houses, but clearly the pedigree is much more impressive.
Stylistically this is a crowd pleaser. There’s a big nose of baked apples, brioche, and baking spices. Creamy and polished in the mouth, with a fine bead, this has a round, open texture and plenty of apple, pear, spice, and toast on the palate, delivering lots of forward fruit without an overt amount of sugar. Simply put, this is a round, juicy, imminently likeable Champagne pleases by flashing plenty of aristocratic, classy yet clearly very friendly fruit. A special and very tasty find.