Chartogne-Taillet ‘Cuvée Sainte Anne’ Extra Brut NV

Chartogne-Taillet ‘Cuvée Sainte Anne’ Extra Brut NV
Chardonnay + Pinot Noir • Merfy, Massif de Saint-Thierry, Champagne, France

Citrus and green apple with a little lemon curd and an earthy, savory depth, chalky and precise, with a saline finish. The Taillet family has grown grapes in Merfy, just northwest of Reims, since at least the 1400s, and they still keep a handwritten register started by an ancestor born in 1700. Alexandre Chartogne took over in 2006. He’s a disciple of Anselme Selosse, and he farms about 27 acres of sandy clay over chalk with horses instead of tractors, with herbicides banned. Sainte Anne is his house blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, fermented with wild yeast and bottled unfiltered. Farmer Champagne, through and through. We keep this stashed at home.

Pair it with: gougères straight from the oven, coat still on, before dinner.