Description
Champagne AR Lenoble, “Intense Mag 15”
I’ll give you the entire month—or year, even—to find me another Champagne producer that’s bottling something of this magnitude for less than $50. There’s just too much intrigue and nuanced complexities to ignore in this bottle, and what it delivers in your glass is nothing short of sensational. AR Lenoble’s “Intense Mag” series is the second release of a groundbreaking project that was quietly developing in their natural chalk cellars for the past decade.
We were fortunate enough to stumble across the first release in 2018 while visiting their estate in Damery, and it moved us so much, we struck up our first direct import deal with AR Lenoble. After selling through our small stash, we made it a priority to see them on our most recent trip to Paris, and that’s when we tasted their newest release. Now, l want to be very clear that the “Intense Mag 14” you all previously purchased was a very special bottle of wine, but today’s “Mag 15” has been supercharged to a whole new level. Perhaps it’s the marriage of Grand Cru Chouilly Chardonnay, Premier Cru Bisseuil Pinot Noir, and Damery Meunier; the masterful blend of wines that aged in magnums; the entire eight-plus year process to make this bottle a reality… Whatever it is, they’ve crafted a regal, exceedingly long-aged stunner for $45, and I cannot wait to enjoy my bottles over the next five-plus years. This is value Champagne nonpareil.
Lenoble is run by the brother-sister team of Anne and Antoine Malassagne, who have brought on new practices while preserving the traditions that preceded them. Not only do they operate with a small grower mentality, they have staunchly remained 100% family-owned and independent since day one. The Malassagnes have also made sustainable viticulture a priority by eschewing chemical fertilizers and eliminating other non-organic vineyard treatments. Additionally, reserve wines are fermented in a mixture of unique vessels and dosage levels are kept low to let the fruit and terroir character shine.
Clearly, they are the epitome of progressive thinking, with the prime example being today’s stellar release. “Mag 15” is a truncated version of ‘Magnum’ and ‘2015,’ which denotes two important features: 1) the base wine hails from the 2015 vintage and 2) a generous portion of reserve wine blended in with the base wine aged in magnums. I’ll explain further:
Being a trend-setting Champagne House, Antoine wanted to experiment with his reserve wine program in 2010. While still utilizing stainless steel, 225-liter barrels, and large foudres for his perpetual reserve blends, he decided to add a new aging vessel to the mix: magnums. So, he set about bottling a portion of still wine under magnum, sealed by natural cork, and stowed them deep in their 18th-century chalk cellar.
Several years later, he began uncorking these magnums and blending them into his base wine to create a brand new “Intense Mag” series. It’s an incredible undertaking that highlights AR Lenoble’s impeccable attention to detail, patience, and innovation. Today’s second-ever release breaks down as such: 55% base wine from the epic 2015 vintage blended together with 45% reserve wine, most of which came from the aforementioned magnums that aged between 2011-2015. The other small amount of reserve wine came from their cask-aged perpetual reserve program that Antoine first started in the mid-’90s.
He then bottled this final blend in preparation for secondary fermentation and allowed it to age over three years on lees. The champagne was finally disgorged in late 2019 and lightly topped off with three grams of sugar. The result of this eight-year commitment to craft today’s wine is extraordinary. The wine is simultaneously vivid, ripe, and focused, and is fully loaded with tensile ammunition that expands with each layer. After serving around 50-55 degrees and pouring in all-purpose stems you’ll find no lack of aromatics: peach blossoms, candied apple, yellow pear, pineapple core, buttered toast, white flowers, honeysuckle, preserved lemon, oyster shell, crushed rocks, chalk…it’s such a wonderfully open and expressive Champagne. Lenoble’s “Mag 15” focuses on tension and energy while providing supple textures that refuse to disappear after each sip. You’re really going to be stunned by this affordable gem. Cheers!
