Description
André Clouet, “Cuvée 1911” Grand Cru
Unveiling the newest disgorgement of Clouet’s golden Grand Cru has become an annual tradition around here, but with all things great, there’s a caveat: Demand has and always will surpass the tiny annual production. For those out of the loop: André Clouet is among our favorite Grower Champagne values and “1911” is their prestigious, exceedingly long-aged tête de cuvée.
Meticulously sourced from the estate’s top 10 lieux-dits in Grand Cru Bouzy, it’s an ever-evolving blend of a top-rated vintage and an older perpetual reserve. This release once again utilizes the phenomenal 2008 vintage as its impressive “base” while infusing even-older reserve wines, including legendary 2002! Between the elite raw material, captivating blend of mature vintages, and 12+ years of lees aging, this rare prestige cuvée is a siren call for luxury Champagne connoisseurs. Best of all, the price has hardly budged since selling the first bottle back in 2015. Up to six per person.
The Clouet family first found the spotlight after becoming the official printers for the Royal Court at Versailles in the mid-18th century (hence the beauty of their wine labels). Their estate in Bouzy, which current owner Jean-François Clouet still calls home, dates back even further! Beneath this historic site lies their labyrinthine chalk cellar, which still contains partial false walls that hid precious bottles during the Nazi invasion in World War II. With all this historic grandeur surrounding him, Jean-François draws from tradition and time-honored techniques while respectively embracing modern technology into the mix. What you’re getting in “Cuvée 1911” is a little piece of performance art in the form of a bottle. Jean-François is eccentric and a bit of a showman; there’s no specific formula behind 1911. Instead, but instead a fantastic base vintage that is fused with a periodic exploration of older reserve wines according to Jean-François’ whims.
Clouet farms only eight hectares of vines, most of them in Bouzy, a Grand Cru village famous for its exceptionally concentrated and vinous Pinot Noir. A slight dip in the Bouzy hillside protects it from harsh winds and earns it slightly warmer temperatures. Always coming in at 100% Grand Cru Pinot Noir, “1911” is sourced from 10 of their best parcels, or lieux-dits, in Bouzy that produce a wine of rich concentration and intense minerality. This is his newest disgorgement, with 50% consisting of a barrel-fermented 2008 base wine and the other half coming from an older perpetual reserve, much of which held vintages spanning from 2002 to 2007. After the wine was bottled in the Spring of 2009, it aged on its lees for 12 years. The bottle we sampled was disgorged in March of 2021 and was given a four-gram dosage.
Clouet’s “Cuvée 1911” chooses precision over opulence, overflowing with rich yet supremely finessed layers of ripe yellow fruit, crushed chalk minerality, and well-integrated secondary flavors. To allow the magnificent aromatics to really blossom, avoid serving in a narrow, traditional Champagne flute. Opt instead for a white wine stem, a more open, tulip-shaped Champagne stem, or a large Burgundy stem (I typically chose the latter). Whichever you choose, the wine surges with energy and freshness, releasing red and yellow apple, Rainier cherry, blanched almonds, hazelnut, plum skin, currants, white flowers, lees, brioche, citrus curd, oyster shell, and pulverized stone. Albeit a bit reticent at first, the palate broadens and expands as the wine opens up, and by your second glass, starts revealing Clouet’s signature luxuriousness. Its powerful, ample body is only matched by the magnitude of savory minerality that lingers on the finish. It is to be enjoyed now and over the next five years. Cheers!
