2018 Henriot L'inattendue Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs

Though not a grower-producer, Champagne Henriot is one of the smaller houses among the so-called "Grande Marques." They produce roughly 5% of the annual quantity of Veuve Clicquot, for instance. Their Champagnes have always been reliably old-school, in the very best way. Though they are technically a Negociant-Manipulant, their vintage "L'inattendue" (meaning, "the unexpected") comes 100% from their own vineyards, all from the Grand Cru village of Chouilly. It spent over four years on the lees, and the dosage was 2 grams/liter, so firmly in the Extra Brut category.

This Blanc de Blancs is spectacular, and will give any top-flight grower's Blanc de Blancs Champagne a run for its money. Notes of Meyer Lemon, pear, vanilla, and a fresh, chalky mineral component not unlike wines from Le-Mesnil-sur-Oger, but with perhaps a bit more generosity and less austerity than wines from Mesnil, likely due to the more clay/chalk topsoil in Chouilly. This is a must-try Blanc de Blancs, and compared to other highly regarded Champagnes from Grand Cru villages in the Cotes de Blancs, it's a relative bargain.