2016 Lancelot-Royer, Champagne Grand Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs "Millésime"

About this gift

The level of craftsmanship and history you can get from Champagne in the sub-$100 range is simply astounding: Take Lancelot-Royer, for example: If ever a producer embodied “artisanal” production, it’s this one. With proprietor Michel Chauvet at the helm, Lancelot-Royer has dedicated itself to the manual labor of wine: from harvest to riddling to disgorgement to bottling, Chauvet literally has his hands on everything. His flagship “Cuvée des Chevaliers,” is in regular rotation in our offers, but it’s been many years since we got our hands on the rare vintage bottling. Sourced from Grand Cru vineyards in the Côtes des Blancs village of Cramant, this soaring 2016 challenges one’s perceptions as to what a blanc de blancs wine is capable of; if you’re thinking “light and lemony,” think again—this is a powerful, laser-focused expression of Chardonnay, and soil, that happens to be sparkling. Just, wow!

Not only is this wine 100% Chardonnay but its home village, Cramant, is nearly 100% planted to the variety. This is the heart of the Côte des Blancs sub-zone of Champagne, and one of its Grand Cru-designated vineyard areas.