The colour is pale gold, with medium fine, short-lasting bubbles. On the nose cream, melon honeydew and pears. All very subtle. In the mouth not very tasty. A bit flat. The aftertaste is fresh, but short.
This Blanc de Noirs is made by Liébart-Régniet with 100% Petit Meunier grapes. All grapes come from a single parcel, 60% from the 2017 vintage and 40% from the 2018 harvest.
Maison Liébart-Régnier was established by Lucien Liébart and Georgette Régnier in 1960. The family owns 11 ha of vineyards in the heart of the Vallée de la Marne, all handed down by their predecessors. The vines are spread over 35 parcels on both banks of the Marne river.
Pinot Meunier is a dark-berried grape variety. The word Meunier is French for “miller” and refers to the “floury” appearance of the underside of the vines’ leaves.
Pinot Meunier tends to be planted in areas too cold for the two main grapes of Champagne: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. It is widely used as an insurance grape against poor vintages as it buds later, ripens earlier and is more accepting of cooler climates. On its own, Pinot Meunier does not age well. It is prone to fall out of balance if not supported by its Champagne stablemates. Consequently, it is less common for high proportions of Pinot Meunier to be used in vintage Champagne.
This Champagne is a Brut Nature/Zero (0–3 g/L), meaning that no sugar has been added before final bottling.
As a reminder, the official sweetness levels of Champagne are: Doux (50+ g/L), Demi-sec (33–50 g/L), Sec (17–35 g/L), Extra-Sec (12–20 g/L), Brut (0–12 g/L), Extra Brut (0–6 g/L).
For this bottle I paid 30.90 EUR at Les Caves du Forum in Reims.
Country: France
Region: Champagne
Grapes: Petit Meunier
Type: Sparkling
Vintage: 2017, 2018
Producer: Liébart-Régnier
Price range: Medium (15-30 US$)
Pascal’s Enjoyment Index: 3/5