2016 Agrapart & Fils, Champagne, Blanc de Blancs Avize Grand Cru, Exp.16 Brut Nature (Disgorged 07/2022)

Pascal Agrapart’s Experience 16 is a rigorous technical study in zero-input winemaking, utilizing unfermented grape must from the 2017 harvest to trigger the secondary fermentation in lieu of exogenous sugar or yeast. The estate’s stewardship of its Grand Cru vines in Avize focuses on manual soil tillage to drive deep root penetration into the local Cretaceous chalk. Sourced from the oldest vines in the Les Robarts and Les Bionnes parcels, the wine’s structural reality is anchored by the dense, clay-rich topsoils characteristic of these specific sites. The 2016 vintage conditions, defined by a dry and warm late summer, produced fruit with the physiological ripeness and taut acidity necessary to support the tension of this Brut Nature bottling. Aged for over four years under natural cork, the wine displays an architectural, fine-grained texture and a broad, saline mid-palate that emphasizes geological precision.