2018 Adrien Dhondt Champagne Extra Brut Coullemets Mesnil-Sur-Oger Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru (Pre-arrival)

“The 2018 Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Mesnil sur Oger Les Coullemets is brilliant, unfurling in the glass with scents of fresh peach, lemon oil, mandarin, freshly baked bread and almond paste. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and chiseled, it’s taut and racy, with a vibrant spine of acidity, chalky extract and a penetrating, mineral finish. In short, it tastes like quintessential Mesnil! This lieu-dit, characterized by stony, calcium-rich soils, is located at the bottom of the slope next to the famous Les Chétillons.
Adrien Dhondt’s small négociant project under his own name is the fruit of a desire to explore the terroirs of the southern end of Champagne’s Côte de Blancs. Picking small parcels in different sites every year, these first releases feature Avize, Le Mesnil sur Oger, and Oger. For more about Dhondt and his methods, readers are directed to my reviews of the Dhondt-Grellet wines from his family domaine in this report.”