Gratiot Cie #1 Brut Champagne

Aged for three years on the lees and finished with 9 grams of dosage. The Champagne pours a limpid rose gold in the glass. The nose opens with a broad aroma set of roasted nuts, apricot, nectarines, golden apple and pastry dough. The palate is just shy of moderate in weight with a soft mousse and a flavor set of golden apples, yellow plum, and laminated pastry like a croissant. With the presence of its acidity, this will last at least through 2030; try this with a Tagine-Style Lamb Stew, and feel free to substitute the lamb with eggplant.

Back in 2017 we were able to sit down over a coffee with Amélie Gratiot when she was in San Francisco for a new French producer's tasting. The family marks the beginning of their time in the wine industry with Marie-Désiré Gratiot, who in the late 1800s made white wine from a four acre plot in the Marne. He was awarded a diploma at the Concours Agricole de Paris in 1899, quite an honor for a grower of his size. His grandson, Daniel Gratiot, greatly expanded the family’s holdings from their small 4 acres before World War II to 89 acres in the decades to follow. Today Marie-Désiré’s great-great-grandson Rémy Gratiot is in charge of the winemaking at the domaine. Michael Kennel, D&M