Noel Bazin Blanc de Blancs 'L'Unanime' 1er Cru NV

Noel Bazin is a quality-focused grower-producer located in Champagne's sub-region of Montagne de Reims. More specifically, they're in the premier cru village of Villers-Marmery which is a bit of an outlier in that the holdings of the village are nearly entirely planted to Chardonnay, in a part of Champagne much more known for their Pinot Noir. Here, in the case of Noel Bazin, organic farming leads the way in producing fruit of quality and full ripeness. This bottling is a fantastic aperitif style, with a crisp bite of red apple fruit, a chalky back-palate and a lick of lemon peel freshness. The use of some older reserve wine (which sees oak) brings some added weight and back-end texture. It's a well-crafted wine that we're thrilled to get behind this season. – Ches Cook, Five Way Cellars.