Les Mottelettes, Blanc de Blancs, Bouzy, Grand Cru, 2016
A rare Bouzy Grand Cru Chardonnay that hails from some of the oldest vines in the estate. The 1961 plantings today act at the mother block for all the chardonnay massale selection the brothers carry out. Listed at Parisian institutions like Guy Savoy, Arpege, Le Cinq and Taillevent, it’s a rich yet pure expression of Chardonnay grown on intensely chalky soils with full south facing exposure to the sun. We love it most four to five years post disgorgement. Disgorged with zero dosage after four years sur lie, it was vinified in oak barrels, bottled after 11 months of elevage.
critic reviews
The 2016 Les Mottelettes Blanc de Blancs Bouzy Grand Cru Extra Brut is 100% Chardonnay. Disgorged in February 2021, it has 1 g/L dosage. Pale, youthful lemon-gold in color, it races out with vivacious scents of fresh grapefruit, lemon zest, tangerine peel, and jasmine, followed by suggestions of Marcona almonds, wet pebbles, and brine, plus a waft of warm croissant. The palate is the eye-popping real deal, sporting intense, tightly wound mineral and citrus fruit layers with a very fine, persistent mousse to support, lifted ever-so-slightly by seamless freshness, finishing with incredible length and minerally, fruity, savory sparked depth. It's shimmery and spectacular to drink right now, but be sure to keep a few bottles for a decade or two, when I imagine it's going to kick the complexity up a notch or two.