‘Pur Mesnil’ 2018 94WA
Grand Cru Blanc des Blancs

Franck Bonville
Avize, Cotes des Blancs

94 pts Wine Advocate
One of my favorites, the 2018 Pur Mesnil Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs possesses a pure, fresh bouquet of white fruits, lemon oil, flowers, ripe orchard fruits and menthol. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and enrobing, it’s perfectly balanced with bright acids, a pinpoint mousse, and a long, mineral and ethereal finish. Fleshier and more precise than the Avize, it was disgorged with a dosage of 3.3 grams per liter.

This house in the commune of Avize (Cte des Blancs) produces bright, fresh and finely crafted Champagnes that truly impressed me. Olivier Bonville, who took over the family estate in 1996, has an exceptional ability to express the unique character of each commune and terroir, a testament to his meticulous work in the vineyard and the cellar. A strong advocate of aging Champagnes under cork for several years before release, Olivier ensures that the houses Champagnes are always marked by their finesse, purity and tension, displaying elegance and refinement.

100% Chardonnay
Mesnil parcels:

Les Zailleux, Le Tilleul, Les Hautes Mottes
5 years on the lees sur latte
2 g/L dosage

Our Tasting Note (2016): A fine and dense mousse. Pronounced nose, apple, sweet lemons, creme, almost like there is oak but there actually is none. Very elegant and crisp, Malo rounds the edges. Super long and complex finish. Outstanding.

Pur Mesnil hails from three parcels on the lower stretches of the grand cru of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, where Bonville owns 1.5 hectares of vines: Les Zailleux, Le Tilleul, and Les Hautes Mottes. In this hallowed cru, topsoil is nearly nonexistent, as the underlying chalk is found just centimeters below the surface, and wine it yields is chiseled, saline, and bristling with tension. The five years lees aging to which Bonville subjects this cuve lends a sense of creaminess which nicely offsets the terroirs tendency toward severity. Pur Mesnil is vinified entirely in stainless steel, and undergoes underwent full malolactic fermentation.