Description
Champagne Jean Vesselle, “Le Petit Clos” Grand Cru
Jean Vesselle has just shocked the Champagne world! In recent years, they’ve released the 2005, 2007, and 2008 vintages of their stunningly long-aged, three-barrel-production Grand Cru “Petit Clos.” At the time, everyone just assumed the 2006 hadn’t been produced—and then, out of nowhere, they quietly disgorged and unveiled it after 15 years of aging. We pounced instantly, of course, and our minuscule parcel has just arrived. Purchasing a bottle and checking the back label has become somewhat of a rite of passage before savoring each release, and today’s jaw-dropping ’06 stated “315 sur 900.” That’s right, just 900 bottles of Jean Vesselle’s rarest and most beloved cuvée were crafted for the entire world, about a quarter of that made it stateside, and I consumed number 315. Clearly, only a tiny portion of Champagne’s cognoscenti will ever get access to this wine, so buy up to four bottles now and read the rest of the story later.
If “Le Petit Clos” means nothing to you, allow me to explain why this is one of the world’s most exclusive Grand Cru bottlings. There are less than two dozen clos (a vineyard enclosed by stone walls) in Champagne, which makes them incredibly rare to begin with, but Vesselle’s “Le Petit Clos” in Grand Cru Bouzy makes a strong case for being the rarest. The entire parcel measures just .08 hectares so only a few barrels of this legendary tête de cuvée can ever be produced. Every treasured Pinot Noir cluster is hand-harvested in baskets, literally walked over to their cellar, and pressed into three Champenois oak barrels. Once it’s transferred into bottle, the wine generally matures in the cold dark for 10 years, but today’s 2006 shattered that with a grand total of 15! This is stunning stuff, and our stash will not survive the night.
Anyone who loves great Champagne, and Pinot Noir, recognizes Bouzy as ground zero for the region’s most profound expressions of the variety, with a star-bright constellation of producers that includes Pierre Paillard, Benoît Lahaye, Camille Savès, André Clouet, and Paul Bara. The Vesselle surname is attached to several different properties within Bouzy, which can get confusing, but Delphine and David Vesselle have distinguished themselves by producing some of the most unique bottlings of all. The family’s 15 hectares of vineyards are planted to 90% Pinot Noir and 10% Chardonnay, a ratio that mirrors Bouzy as a whole. Across the entire Vesselle lineup, Pinot Noir is the star, made vividly apparent by today’s rarefied, 100% Pinot Noir “Cuvée Le Petit Clos.”
For Delphine, “Le Petit Clos” is always only a few steps away, as it’s literally adjacent to their courtyard. After a manual harvest, the grapes are pressed into three barrels—new, once-used, and twice-used—from the forests of Champagne. The resulting wine went into bottle sans malolactic fermentation and then aged on lees in their cellar for 15 years. It was disgorged in late April of 2021 with a light dosage of five grams.
Every exceedingly limited release of Vesselle’s long-aged “Le Petit Clos” contains the sublime power, vinosity, and purity of Bouzy Pinot Noir, all while displays incredible energy with zero hints of fatigue and oxidation. I’ve now tasted their 2004-2008 vintages, and I can say, without hesitation, that tonight’s 2006 moved me more than any other. In fact, I immediately texted the importer after the second sip and exclaimed this is the best release yet. I’d be shocked if someone could pin this as a 15-year-old Champagne. There is so much verve here, and yet so much nuanced wisdom to each texture. You can expect Asian pear, red and yellow apple skin, baked plum, crushed white stone, redcurrant, button mushroom, lees, baking spice, and hints of tarragon throughout the graceful and expansive palate. It’d be hard to argue that this ’06 isn’t at its peak—it’s already that superb—but I also think that window will stay wide open for the next five years. That said, you can expect this to keep evolving without a descent until its 25th birthday. Serve it in large Champagne tulips, drink it over several hours, and prepare to soar past cloud nine. Cheers.
