Pascal Agrapart Complantée

Tatler Champagne Guide 2024-2025

Grape Makeup:

Chardonnay; Pinot Noir; Meunier; Pinot Blanc; Arbane; Petit Meslier

Sweetness Level:

Extra Brut

Ageing on Lees:

Four years

Price:

$$$

Cellar:

Ten+ years

Category:

Celebration

What

An iconic grower-producer in the Côte des Blancs, founded in 1894, and a byword for an especially angular, austere style.

Where

Avize, Côte des Blancs; 10 ha of vines mainly in Côte des Blancs Grand Cru vineyards; mainly chardonnay.

Why

Complantée is one of the few cuvées at Agrapart that includes grapes other than Chardonnay (the only other is the entry-level seven crus). It fully embraces the diversity of champagne grapes, including six of the eight legally permitted varieties. Because it is harvested as a field blend, some of the naturally later-ripening varieties like the high-acid Petit Meslier and Arbane contribute their almost startlingly poignant acidity, while rounded body and richness come from the other varieties, which are all naturally earlier ripening.

What Else

This year we also tasted two iconic Blanc de Blancs from Agrapart’s range: the Terroirs NV, which comes from Grands Crus Avize, Oger, Cramant and Oiry—and the Minéral 2016, from two especially chalky sites in Avize and Cramant. Both are unexpectedly structured, displaying compaction and mineral austerity rather than the blazing acidity of past years.

Tasting Notes

This starts characteristically understated, with hints of lemongrass, chervil and verbena, gradually revealing an incisive sharpness within. The palate is superb, full-bodied but with an incredible acidic line at its core. The fruit spans citron to green apple, all embellished with a refined array of cedar box and pencil shavings, leaving a beautiful toastiness on the finish.

Try It With

Clean, delicately flavoured fish crudo

When To Drink

Apéritif

Perfect For

Your friend who never wears bright colours

Tatler Tip

I find Agrapart's wines always taste better after several hours stoppered in the wine fridge to let the flavours bloom

TL/DR

Esoteric and tense with high contrast

Supplier

Champagne Asia