Champagne Domaine Petit & Bajan Ambrosie Brut Grand Cru NV

Ten years into their marriage, Richard Petit and Véronique Bajan united his family’s holdings in Avize – prime Chardonnay lots in the Côte des Blancs passed down for generations – with Véronique’s family holdings in Verzenay, where Pinot Noir reigns supreme in the Grand Cru lands of Montagne de Reims. This was in 2008, and in the short time since, their reputation has grown tremendously. It was Richard’s longtime neighbor, the icon Anselme Selosse (who has run one of Champagne's foremost luxury houses, Jacques Selosse, since 1980), who served as their mentor as they transitioned from growers to grower-producers (a récoltant-manipulant). Just as Anselme taught them, they make Champagne from fully ripe grapes and are often the last to pick (alongside Jacques Selosse), producing full and hearty wines that excel with a great number of entrées. The “Ambrosie” cuvée checks in at 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Noir. The Chardonnay hails from the pure chalk soils of Avize, Oger, and Cramant (Grand Cru sites all), while the Pinot hails from the clay and chalk-tumbled soils of Verzenay. The entire holdings of Richard and Véronique amount to fewer than seven acres – making this an exceptionally small production and all the more rare to get ahold of. The wine is aged for three years on the lees, before an Extra Brut-level dosage of 3g/liter at disgorgement. The wine is gorgeously suave, supple, and richly abundant with aromas of alpine strawberries, red currants, and cherries, with spring flowers, fresh-cut grass, and buttered toast. In the mouth, expansive, ripe citrus notes of orange cream and lemon curd seamlessly interweave with flavors of golden apples, juicy cantaloupe, and Silverado strawberries. This is an ample and powerful offering that competes in weight and structure with many of the big boys of Champagne… at nowhere near those kinds of prices! We have a very small amount in-warehouse – and while it is enough to share, there isn’t nearly enough to satisfy!