2018 Crete Chamberlin Champagne Extra Brut Les Mazaux Chardonnay

Regular price $129.98

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The 2018 Crété Chamberlin Les Mazaux is a highly concentrated, nearly bone-dry Blanc de Blancs: ripe and creamy from the warm vintage, but sharpened by blocked malolactic fermentation and an extremely low dosage.

It is 100% Chardonnay from the single Premier Cru parcel Les Mazaux in Villeneuve-Renneville, on the Côte des Blancs. The approximately one-acre vineyard was planted in 2010 and naturally produces small clusters, giving surprising concentration despite the vines’ relative youth. Only about 2,000 bottles were produced.

Quince, ripe yellow apple and golden stone fruit
Lemon oil rather than sharp green citrus
Marzipan, nougat and toasted hazelnut
Brioche and subtle candle-wax notes
Fine chalk and flinty minerality
A broad, creamy middle balanced by incisive acidity
A long, dry and distinctly savory finish

The base wine was fermented in stainless steel without malolactic conversion, preserving acidity through the warm and generous 2018 vintage. Dosage is reported at just 1 g/L—technically capable of being labelled Brut Nature, although some bottles or merchant listings use Extra Brut.

Its defining contrast is between the delicate nose and unexpectedly powerful palate. The aromatics begin quietly with quince, nuts and confectionary notes, but the mouthfeel is expansive, ripe and textural. With no malolactic softening and almost no dosage, the wine finishes with considerable tension rather than warmth.

Shipping Policy

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Unless your delivery address is on the West Coast, we strongly discourage you from selecting “Ground Service” as your shipping method. During the winter and summer months, weather conditions (temperature) and longer delivery times can often result in the spoilage of your order. It doesn’t make sense to invest in fine wines and then take the chance of ruining them due environmental factors during transit (faster and safer delivery generally isn’t much more expensive). We don’t make an additional profit on accelerated delivery, but we frequently recommend faster shipping options to our customers outside the West Coast.
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During periods of extreme weather, we attempt to ship wines at the beginning of each week in order to get shipments to you before the weekend. This is because we have no control over the temperature conditions at our freight carriers’ warehouses. The result may be that your shipment doesn’t go out the day that you place an order.
We ship by Fedex or Fedex Ground. Our prices include packaging materials. Insurance may be available for an additional charge.
Vintage Wine Merchants, Inc. will arrange for shipment on behalf of the buyer, to an address specified by the buyer, provided that Vintage Wine Merchants, Inc. in its sole judgment believes that such shipment will not subject Vintage Wine Merchants, Inc. to the risk of any sort of legal action or other harm. If a buyer lives in a state where the direct shipment of wine by Vintage Wine Merchants, Inc. violates the law, we suggest that the buyer provide an alternative address in another state or have their wine shipped to a third-party storage facility in a direct shipping-friendly state.
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