2015 Corbon, Champagne, Blanc de Blancs Avize Grand Cru Brut

For those unfamiliar with Agnès Corbon, she is the brilliant mind driving Champagne Corbon, a tiny, deeply under-the-radar, third-generation estate in Avize. Her father, Claude, first began bottling the family’s wines in 1971, and when Agnès took the reins in 2006, she elevated their already meticulous work by eliminating pesticides and shifting to organic-minded farming. Producing only 10,000 to 15,000 bottles a year—almost exclusively focused on their prized Avize Chardonnay—Agnès honors her father’s traditional methods of extended aging with zero fining or filtering, while thoughtfully experimenting to push quality even higher.

This wine is fermented in stainless steel vats and lined cement without malolactic conversion. The wine sees around 6 months of aging in stainless steel before spending 10 years in bottle on the lees. It leads with a generous, expressive nose of golden apple, Meyer lemon, and toasted brioche. On the palate, it’s rich, textural, and mouth-filling, but stays beautifully lifted by Corbon's signature pure, driving chalky minerality. A perfectly balanced, opulent Champagne with a lively, energetic finish. One of the best values to be found in vintage Grand Cru Champagne.