93pts Wine Advocate (previous disgorgement date)
From a south-facing parcel that was once the cemetery of the monks who planted the first vineyards in Celles-sur-Ource, the NV Extra-Brut Champ Viole is drawn from a perpetual reserve spanning the 2011-2018 vintages that’s been matured in tank. Delivering complex aromas of pear, sweet orchard fruit, white flowers, buttery pastry and nutmeg, it’s medium to full-bodied, fleshy and seamless, with a deep core of fruit, racy acids and a pillowy mousse. Drink Date: 2023 – 2040

Today, the Aube has plenty of rising stars (and likely some shooting stars too), but the softly spoken Aurlien Gerbais is one of the most promising and most confidence inspiring. This 18-hectare estate in Celles-sur-Ource was planted by Aurlien’s grandfather and father, and today amounts to some 50% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay and 25% Pinot Blanc, divided pretty equally between northerly and southerly expositions. Much of the Gerbais holdings, moreover, have never seen synthetic pesticides and fungicides, as it was planted after the family abandoned these products. Aurlien himself studied in Burgundy and worked with Olivier Lamy in Saint-Aubin in 2008, returning to the estate in 2011 and immediately establishing perpetual reserves with a view to reimagining the range around a series of lieu-dit bottlings. Hard work in the vineyards, which are farmed organically, is followed by picking, sorting (rare in Champagne, where separation of press fractions is often deemed an adequate response to imperfect sanitary conditions at harvest), and vinification in tank without sulfites. Today, a decade’s work is finally coming to fruition in the form of complex, refined, elegantly vinous Champagnes that are emerging as some of the region’s most compelling, taking this estate from the ranks of the region’s solid producers into the category of the exceptional. So, readers who haven’t tasted the Gerbais wines for a few years should make haste to acquaint themselves with all these developments!

Published:Aug 10, 2023

Current Stats:

• Varieties: Chardonnay(100%)
• Disgorgemnet Date: November 2024
• Dosage: 3g/L