Description
Champagne Renaudin, Premier Cru “L’Espiegle”
A prodigious amount of Vintage Champagne has been consumed within SommSelect headquarters, but none have been more consistently delicious and profound than the globally worshipped 2008 releases. Right out of the gates, this vintage was immortalized across the board from vigneron to critic to purchaser: Dom Pérignon’s chef de cave christened it “a miracle year”; famed Champagne writer Tom Stevenson called it one of the greatest Champagne vintages of his lifetime; and renowned merchant Farr Vintners declared that it “could well prove to be the best champagne vintage since 1988.”
As a result, prices and demand have raced skyward for most labels, which is why I have no issue saying “L’Espiègle” provides a perfect snapshot/interpretation of 2008 for a reality-bending $68. With 100% Premier Cru Chardonnay, spontaneous fermentation in French barrels, and 11 years of lees aging before disgorgement, this truly shatters every price-to-quality convention we’ve been taught. Very small quantities exist, so either grab yours now or end up spending more on a different bottling of 2008.
Although passed through many hands and rebuilt, Champagne Renaudin still upholds the traditions of an ancient estate (Château de Conardins) that was first established in 1724, making it one of the oldest enterprises in all of Champagne. Today, they own just 12 hectares that are spread throughout villages in the Coteaux Sud d’Épernay and the Côte des Blancs. Most of their crop is sold off to the blue-chip houses, but a small portion does remain in-house for production—just 50,000 bottles. For comparison, Moët et Chandon produces tens of millions per year.
Renaudin’s micro-produced prestige bottling, “L’Espiegle,” is what’s on offer today. This 2008 comes from Chardonnay vines in the Premier Cru village of Pierry, which lies at the entrance of the Côte des Blancs near Grand Crus Cramant and Chouilly. In the cellar the gently pressed juice saw a slow, unassisted fermentation in older French oak barrels followed by roughly 10 months of maturation. During this time, malolactic was avoided, but they did employ a steady lees stirring regimen to lend more texture and richness. After transferring into bottle, the wine aged in the cellars of Renaudin for 11 years before disgorgement and a sensible six-gram dosage.
I’ll be frank: There are only a handful of respectable Champagne estates that age their wines for this long and charge this little—today’s 2008 breaks down to $5.20 per year. Far fewer taste this good: “L’Espiegle” spills into the glass with a deep straw yellow core and quickly effuses intoxicating aromas of creamy yellow apple, pear, ripe pineapple, nougat, lees, marzipan, salt-preserved lemon, toasted hazelnuts, acacia honey, baking spice, and crushed white stones. It’s rich and lively on the palate, with concentrated layers of supple yellow fruit, candied nuts, and lifted citrus that carry into a long, mineral-dominated finish. This is drinking in peak form right now and I expect your bottle will be drained faster than you’d like, so I strongly advise buying no less than two! Enjoy in flared tulips or all-purpose stems now and through 2025. Cheers!
