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Denis Chaput Noir de Jade Blanc de Noirs Extra Brut NV

(Carefully curated notes below are taken directly from the Producer’s website)

Winemaker’s Notes

“Jade” is the contraction of Xavier and Nicolas’ parents’ first names: Jaqueline and Denis; it’s also a precious stone.

Pale golden yellow colour with silvery grey highlights, this cuvée presents fine, very persistent bubbles. The nose is dominated by aromas of smoked limestone, iodine sea spray, blackcurrant, grapefruit, liquorice, blackberry, pomegranate and elderberries. On the palate, the attack is clean and fresh, with a soft, creamy effervescence. Fruity, full-bodied and crisp, the mid-palate is enhanced by a grapefruity acidity and a marly minerality that gives this champagne breadth and salinity. The finish is fresh, stony and juicy.

Location

Champagne, France//Côte des Bar

Varietal Composition

100% Pinot Noir

Dosage: 5 g/L

Accolades

92 Points

Denis Chaput’s “Noir de Jade” Blanc de Noirs Extra Brut is composed entirely from pinot noir, with the vast majority of the vines having been planted in 1990. The vins clairs are fermented and aged in stainless steel and do not go through malolactic fermentation. The current release is from the base year of 2018 and includes fifteen percent reserve wines from the 2015 vintage. It was disgorged in July of 2022 after three years aging sur latte and finished with a dosage of five grams per liter. The bouquet is deep, bright and complex, wafting from the glass in a lovely blend of white peach, apple, pâtissière, a complex base of limestone minerality and a topnote of dried flowers. On the palate the wine is deep, complex and full bodied, with a lovely spine of acidity, a lovely core of fruit, fine mineral drive, excellent focus and grip, elegant mousse and a long, complex and very well balanced finish. This is first class Aube pinot noir! 2023 – 2040

Food Pairing

Pairs beautifully with oysters, crab, smoked salmon, fried chicken, truffle fries, mushroom dishes, roast chicken, duck, and creamy cheeses like Brie or Comté. Its crisp acidity, fine mousse, and savory Pinot Noir character make it equally at home with elegant seafood or rich, salty comfort foods.

About the producer!

In the mid-twelfth century, a Templar base was established in Arrentières. In 1312, under pressure from the King of France (Philip IV, known as Philip the Fair), Pope Clement V dissolved the Order of the Knights Templar. As a result, an inventory of their property and possessions was drawn up. This states that the Templars owned vines in Arrentières which “produce 35 muids in a good year” (a muid is a large barrel).   Since that time, wine has always been produced… subject of course to the various conflicts and turmoil that inevitably occur in the course of history.

The first winegrower to bear the name Chaput moved to Arrentières in 1862. By 1878, he had his own wine press. The first Chaput champagne, “Cuvée des Rochottes”, was produced in the early 1930s. It is a tradition that continues today. The vineyards consist of 26 individual plots located just next door to the winery. The hillsides face South-East to West, with the steepness of the slopes ranging from 5 to 20%. The soil varies in its proportion of pebbles, its depth, and its richness in clay with each plot showcasing its own individual character producing correspondingly different wines.

Today, the Chaput brothers Nicolas and Xavier, along with their father Denis and mother Jacquline, have preserved the Templar legacy by renovating the last vestiges of a Templar commandery established there between the 12th and 14th centuries. To experience their Champagnes in their tasting cellar and tower is truly to walk through history.