Champagne Drappier Grande Sendrée 2012
Impressively rich and savoury, Drappier’s flagship wine shows complex, mature notes of dried fruit, toast and wax, alongside vivid stone fruit and citrus flavours. The palate is graceful despite its underlying power, and finishes extremely long.
This is a single-vineyard wine, taking its name from a parcel of land covered in cinders (cendrée) after the fire which ravaged Urville in 1838. The soils are particularly light and chalky, and represent the pinnacle of Drappier’s vineyard holdings. Viticulture is close to organic, with horse drawn ploughing, cover crops and natural fertiliser used
Only juice from the first pressing - the cuvée - was used, and transferred to tank then settled by gravity. Alcoholic fermentation took two weeks at a low temperature, followed by complete, natural malolactic fermentation. A third of the wine was matured in oak barrels for nine months, and the blend then bottled without filtration, before at least six years on lees before disgorgement. Minimal sulphur was used during the production.
| RRP | £128.95 |
| Vintage | 2012 |
| Alcoholic strength | 12.0% |
| Country | France |
| Region | Champagne |
| Grapes | Pinot Noir 55%, Chardonnay 45% |
| Dry/Sweet value | 1 |
| Contains sulphites | Yes |
| Vegetarian | Yes |
| Vegan | Yes |
| Milk | No |
| Eggs | No |
| Organic | No |
| Biodynamic | No |
| Closure | Mushroom cork |
For one of Champagne’s most forward-thinking producers, Drappier has no shortage of historic roots. An eighth-generation family business, the house was founded in 1808, and occupies magnificent twelfth-century cellars built by Cistercian monks. Having spearheaded the revival of Pinot Noir in the region, in the 1930s, Drappier continued to innovate. Rosé in a clear bottle was introduced in 1968; extremely low levels of sulphur are used, and there is even a no-added-sulphur cuvée made; the liqueur d’expédition is matured for over fifteen years in oak and demi-johns; and Drappier is the only house to ferment every format, from half-bottles up to the gigantic 30-litre Melchisédech, in the bottle in which it is sold.
