MILLÉSIME 2016 EXTRA BRUT

Modern, bold vintage cuvée, 70% Pinot Noir + 30% Chardonnay, Premiers & Grands Crus only. 8 months in tank, then ~8 years on lees. James Suckling 92, Drinks Business Master 2025 Gold.

Composition

Grapes & Origin

Pinot Noir, 70%, carried by four addresses.
Ludes on the Montagne de Reims, for the directness and the depth.
Mareuil-sur-Aÿ in the Vallée de la Marne, for the warmth of the south-facing slopes.
Avenay-Val-d'Or, for the tension of the Premiers Crus.
Hautvillers, the cradle of Champagne.

Chardonnay, 30%, carried by two addresses.
Hautvillers, for the freshness and the light.
Cuis on the Côte des Blancs, for the mineral line, the chalk straight in the glass.

Premiers & Grands Crus only. When a vintage asks for discipline, the address has to be right.

Fermentations & Ageing

Stainless steel first, eight months, clean and without oak. We wanted to read the profile of the vintage before drawing it into bottle.
+ Then the bottle. Around eight years on the lees, in the silence of our cellars and the cool of the chalk. The lees worked for us: they refined the acidity, they brought brioche, they opened the aromas.
+ And at least three months' rest after disgorgement, before the wine left the House. We let the dosage breathe.

Dosage

Dosage Extra Brut: 4 g/L, from a liquor and beet sugar.

Timeline of the bottle

Production timeline

The Vintage. A year that taught us watchfulness, from the rain-soaked spring to the dry days of summer, from the threat of mildew to the relief the sun brought in August. It is not the easiest vintage we have ever made. But it is one of those years that forces the grower to look, to listen, to walk the vines, and that rewards in the end with a ripeness no easy year could ever give.

Main harvest

The harvest came late, but it came well. In August the clouds finally opened, and the grapes, which had survived the rain, the drought and the worry, came in healthy, concentrated, ripe. Pinot Noir with that deep, dark fruit a dry summer alone can give. Chardonnay with the chalky minerality the Côte des Blancs writes into the glass every summer anew.

Reserve wines

Summary. After an intense year, the dynamics of ripening and the quality of the grapes offer oenologists and cellar managers the opportunity to end the vintage with a good impression and a fine substance.

Tasting

Tasting

A technical cuvée for sommeliers: modern, precise, clearly drawn. Pinot fruit in the foreground, Chardonnay minerality for the backbone, Extra Brut directness as the frame. The Gardet signature of the 2016 harvest.

Optimal serving temperature

8 to 10 °C (46 to 50 °F)

Colour

Delicate golden yellow with slightly silvery highlights, the mark of a cuvée that kept its youthful tension through about eight years on the lees

Nose

First nose discreet and elegant, gradually revealing a complex range of aromas. Primary: pear and redcurrant, the direct fruit of the Pinot Noir from Ludes and Mareuil. Secondary: pastry notes, lemon tart and frangipane, with a marked chalky minerality from the Côte des Blancs soils. Tertiary, from the long lees ageing: honey and roasted hazelnut.

Taste

On the palate, a fresh, acidic attack, where youth takes the lead. Then the mid-palate: pear, a crunchy note like a Granny Smith in autumn, and the trace of eight years on the lees. The wine stays taut and chalky, the salinity almost tactile. It finishes on citrus zest and an elegant, slight bitterness, and holds for a long time.

Fine cuisine pairings

Sommelier pairings: fish tartar of salmon, sea bream or tuna; scallops snacked or served raw as carpaccio; poultry with a chanterelle mushroom purée. The Pinot fruit answers the protein, the Chardonnay acidity cuts the richness.

Bottling & cellaring

Bottling data

Bottling date: June 2017.
Container types: bottles & magnums.
Initial closure: crown cap.

Shipping & cellaring

Final cork (after disgorgement): classic cork.
Post-shipment cellaring: ready to drink, can be kept in cellar conditions for up to 5 years.

Awards

La Sélection Bettane + Desseauve 2026 · 90 points
James Suckling 2025 · 92 points
Drinks Business · Champagne Master 2025 · Gold

Available formats

Click a format to see all price tiers · United Kingdom (based on your delivery address)

75cl · Bottle 750 ml · 6×/case €183 / case ▾

150cl · Magnum 1500 ml · 3×/case €179 / case ▾

Official product sheet

↓ Download official product sheet (PDF)