Blend: 55% Pinot Noir, 10 Pinot Meunier & 35% Chardonnay.
Bottled in the spring after the harvest and aging in neutral oak for 6 months, it is then disgorged with no added sugar after 18 months and released shortly thereafter.
Although due to the regulations in Champagne, this is not technically a vintage bottling because it does not spend the required three years sur latte, this wine is never a blend of vintages. The year of harvest is revealed above as the last two digits in the item code.
This is a blend of Vincent Laval’s south-facing premier cru vineyards in Cumières, just west of Epernay. Quite vinous in texture with no sweetness on the palate, the nose combines citrus, minerals and just a hint of toast. Quite dry on the palate, a year or two in bottle helps this wine to fill out and reach it’s full potential of expression. Ripe fruit is laced with scratchy mineral texture and long term persistence. Like precious few Champagnes, this is a very serious wine that will reward, year after year, any cellaring that it is accorded.
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The NV Brut Nature Cumières (2017) makes me feel like I am in the cellar, tasting with Vincent Laval. A Champagne of tremendous purity and nuance, the NV captures all of the flavor intensity, drive and nuance that make the wines of Cumières so alluring. This release, based on 2017, sizzles with nervy energy. Time in the glass brings out layers of perfume and a whole range of red-toned fruits. In a word: terrific. Disgorged: February 21, 2020.
— Antonio Galloni