Léclapart family has been cultivating the vine for three generations in the small village of Trépail, north of Ambonnay, in the heart of the territory of Reims, the legendary Champagne “Montagne”. The winery is now run by David who, before continuing the work of his parents, was trained at the agrobiological school in Beaujeu and spent 2 years of training at Leclerc-Briant. In 1997, just beginning to work the family land, 2 hectares and 85 ares divided into 22 parcels, David converted them to biodynamic agriculture.
His analysis of the terroir on which his vineyards lie, exposed to the south east and all classified at Premier Cru, led him to see how the richness of flint, and the extremely cold temperatures, were potentially ideal factors to produce wines of excellent acidity and great aging potential. From these considerations arises the choice not to use wines of different vintages for their Champagne, but to produce exclusively wines from single vintage, and not to resort to chaptalisation (the addition of sugar to the must before fermentation in order to increase the alcoholic content of the wine). The aim of these choices is to deliver to the passionate drinker a product capable of photographing in a faithful and pure way the characteristics of each vintage produced.
The 2012 vintage, characterized by a reduced harvest of 60%, saw the light of day for the first (and so far only) time the cuvée Pas Dosé Premier Cru L’Aphrodisiaque, composed by 80% Chardonnay, and 20% Pinot Noir. As with all his Champagnes, also in this case David assembled the grapes upstream, added very little sulfur dioxide, did not filtered, did not cold stabilized or induced malolactic fermentation, leaving it to start spontaneously. After six years on the lees, tmy bottle was disgorged in 2018.
In the glass this chamapagne shows a color between the intense straw yellow and the golden, with a fine perlage. The nose, initially a little backward, after an adequate oxygenation, begins to emerge with notes of brioche, nectarine, custard and very ripe (almost slightly oxidized) apple, then come into play recalls to curry, sherry and orange peel, enriched with final echoes of iodine and toasted hazelnut. The mouthfeel is balsamic, with a chalky-mineral component, in which emerge sensations of citrus peel and vanilla, balanced by a good acidity that, in the long finish, alternates with an almost imperceptible, but very pleasant, sensation of sweetness.
Rating: 94/100
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