Elise Dechannes Champagne Absolue Terre 2018 750ml

Absolue Terre means absolute clay: the same 0.4-hectare Pinot Noir parcel as Absolue Grès, fermented in terracotta instead of sandstone, and the grower says the clay makes the wine rounder.

Nouvelles Sélections, the Japanese importer, lists Absolue Terre as a blanc de noirs from Pinot Noir grown in Les Riceys on 0.4 hectares of Kimmeridgian soil, from vines averaging 45 years of age. The must ferments in terracotta amphora, the wine then spends three years in bottle before release, and nothing is added at disgorgement; sulphur goes in only at harvest and at bottling, in tiny amounts. The sister cuvée Absolue Grès takes the same fruit through sandstone jars, which Dechannes credits with sharper freshness and a longer finish. Of the clay version she says, in the importer's translation, that the aromas open up more and the palate turns fuller and softer. The importer adds that the name means absolute clay, exclamation mark included.

For the 2018 harvest John Gilman, writing in View From the Cellar in mid-2022 (as quoted by WH Wine Co.), records that the vins clairs rested ten months in amphorae before being bottled for the second fermentation. Umemura, the merchant that carried the 2018 in Japan, lists it under AOC Champagne as a Brut Nature at 12 percent alcohol; Feral Art & Vin gives zero dosage for the same vintage.

Dechannes is the second generation of a Les Riceys family growing grapes since 1905 and the first to bottle under her own name, having left banking in 2008 for the family's five hectares. Organic farming began in 2015, with Ecocert certification in 2018, the year of this wine; biodynamics followed in 2019. She calls Les Riceys the southernmost village in Champagne, on the Chablis border, and says its thick Kimmeridgian soil gives her wines a saline, mineral edge.

In the glass

Gilman's 2022 note, as quoted by WH Wine Co., finds apple, white peach, brioche and chalky minerality with a trace of amphora and a top note of citrus blossom, then a deep, full-bodied palate with a fine core, mineral drive and a long, well-balanced finish in which the acidity sits buried in the fruit; he scored it 92. Pleasure Wine, which sold the 2018 in France, describes a pale gold colour, pear and apple with acacia and orange blossom, toasted bread and fresh butter, a creamy texture and a long, slightly saline finish.

When to open

Gilman gives the 2018 a window of 2022 to 2040 (as quoted by WH Wine Co.); Pleasure Wine says drink now or hold three to five years. Our suggestion: pour it at around 10 °C from a wide glass.

At the table

Pleasure Wine pairs the 2018 with seafood, shellfish, delicate fish dishes and sushi.

Quick facts

Provenance

Sourced from the Japanese importer.

Sources: Nouvelles Sélections (Japanese importer); Umemura; Pleasure Wine; Feral Art & Vin; View From the Cellar (J. Gilman) as quoted by WH Wine Co.; Komoji