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Champagne Suenen
“Suenen's progress has been thrilling to watch—I've been following him since my student days—and the wines reviewed here are the finest I've seen to date from this immensely promising talent. Readers will find much to admire.”
William Kelley, The Wine Advocate
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"Aurélien Suenen is one of the most exciting new growers to have arisen in Champagne in the last 15 years. In our view, it’s not going to be very long at all before Suenen is mentioned in the same breath as the region’s very finest growers. The terroirs are fascinating, the work in the vineyards and cellar exceptional and, most importantly, the wines are absolutely brilliant!"
Bibendum Wine Co. (Importer)
All wines below are available now at our special offer prices for the next 7 days only. To place your order simply click on the links below or return the attached form, by email, by fax on 03 9419 6970 or call us on 03 9419 6990.
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NV Oiry Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru
Extra Brut
750 ml Special Offer $149
Six Bottles Available Only
1500 ml Special Offer $329
One Magnum Available Only
2017 base with 50% reserve wine from 2014-2016. Together with Suenen’s single-vineyard offering (La Cocluette), these represent the only pure Oiry wines on the market. This is drawn from just 1.5 hectares split between five separate parcels. The vines are all planted in Oiry’s compact, white Campanian chalk soils. From Le Champ Braux planted in 1955 to La Cocluette planted in 1987 and 1999, the average age of the vines is now 45 years. These vineyards lie at the base of the slope where only a little topsoil sits above hard, chalky bedrock.
The combination of this chalk’s austere, mineral impact and Suenen’s low-yield/ripe fruit philosophy produces a scintillatingly tense, coiled and stony wine. “Tonic” is the word Suenen uses to refer to this wine’s unique personality. It’s a study in minerality—the wine is rocky, vibrant, saline and vibrantly fresh. At the same time, the outstanding 2017 vintage (combined with the superb viticulture) has delivered lovely ripe fruit that throws nectarine and even apricot blossom notes. Creamy depths (from the aging on lees) enfold the wine’s structural and mineral qualities and keep you coming back for more. In short, this is everything you would want from Grand Cru Côtes des Blancs, and represents a unique opportunity to taste Oiry's distinctive, rocky terroir.
The base wine was naturally fermented and aged for nine months in the same vessels—enamelled tank (65%) and six-year-old Burgundian oak barrels (35%). No fining, no filtration, no cold stabilisation. The wine was disgorged in November 2020 (magnums and jeroboams were disgorged in January 2021) after 26 months on lees, with three grams per litre.
“The forthcoming release of Suenen's NV Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Oiry (2017 base) was disgorged in June 2020 with three grams per liter dosage. Mingling aromas of citrus oil, crisp green apple, white flowers and blanched almonds, it's medium to full-bodied, pillowy and precise, with a pretty core of fruit and chalky grip on the finish.”
91 Points
William Kelley, The Wine Advocate
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NV C + C Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru
Extra Brut
Special Offer $175
Three Bottles Available Only
2017 base with 40% reserve wine from 2014-2016. The C + C Blanc de Blancs is blended from nine parcels across both north and south-facing hillsides in Cramant and Chouilly. Here the soils are deeper, with silty clay overlying the chalk. This, with a good dose of southern exposure, makes for a much more hedonistic wine. The blend is split between Cramant (70%) and Chouilly (30%). Although tempted to bottle each village separately, Suenen has found the two villages work even better as a blend: the textural finesse of Cramant marrying perfectly with the more layered personality of Chouilly.
The wine was aged on lees, for nine months in enamelled tank (65%) and in six-year-old Burgundian oak barrels (35%). It was then aged for 26 months in bottle with no fining, no filtration and no cold stabilisation. Disgorged in June 2020 with four grams per litre.
This is a layered yet tightly wound Champagne, with more seductive flesh than the Oiry. It’s a stunning expression of the northern Côtes des Blancs that evolves with every sip. If served cold, it is intensely mineral and chalky, but as it opens (or if it’s served at a more reasonable temperature) it unfurls to reveal wonderful layers of stone-fruited goodness that add flesh to the chalky spine. Drink it slowly in a Burgundy glass for maximum pleasure.
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2014 Oiry Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru
'La Cocluette'
Special Offer $285
Two Bottles Available Only
The most northerly of Suenen’s Oiry parcels, La Cocluette is also home to the Domaine’s oldest vines (planted in 1925), a site where the ancient roots bury deeply into the dense, Campanian chalk (the younger plantings from this site go into the Oiry Blanc de Blancs). Vines of this age are as rare as hen’s teeth in Champagne, and they gift tiny yields of concentrated berries. The land here is largely flat with a somewhat northerly exposure.
Here the base wine was naturally fermented and aged for 10 months in one 700-litre concrete egg and one 600-litre Stockinger (the same barrel is used each year). It was then aged sur lies for 60 months in bottle until disgorgement in July 2020, dosed with two grams per litre.
Put simply, this is a more intense and complex expression of this region’s naked-chalk terroir than the NV Oiry. It’s a superb, dense, tightly coiled and super-mineral Blanc de Blancs, with a long, rocky close.
“The 2014 Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Oiry La Cocluette is also very promising, delivering aromas of crisp orchard fruit, white flowers, fresh pastry and wet stones. Medium to full-bodied, precise and mineral, it's tightly wound and vibrant, with a racy spine of acidity and a long, intensely saline finish.”
94 Points
William Kelley, The Wine Advocate
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2014 Montigny-sur-Vesle 'La Grande Vigne'
Special Offer $239
One Bottle Available Only
When Aurélien Suenen took the keys at his family Domaine, it owned two hectares in the far north of the region in a village called Montigny-sur-Vesle, positioned northwest of Reims in a subzone that is sometimes called Massif de Saint-Thierry (but might equally be called Vallée de la Vesle). Early in the piece Aurélien sold off most of this land (which was removed from his base in Cramant), as he realised he could not maintain the quality in the vines, so far away, to the standards he was setting himself. That said, he kept hold of this tiny parcel in La Grande Vigne, which speaks volumes to his respect of these particular vines.
La Grande Vigne is a 0.21-hectare plot of ungrafted Pinot Meunier in a stunning terroir (ungrafted vines in Europe are obviously extremely rare, another feature that makes this wine so unique). The vines here are now 50 years old, planted in the deep, sandy Thanetian-era soils of the area. These soils are similar (yet deeper) to certain locations in Merfy—perhaps more like Prevost’s Les Beguines in Gueux (so interesting to compare!). The terrain is flat, with a slight north-western tilt. This fascinating and complex terroir elevates this unique, unfiltered Champagne to the top of the Meunier pile.
Raised in a single 500-litre demi-muid (Stockinger) for 10 months, the 2014 spent 60 months on lees until disgorgement, with one gram per litre, in July 2020.
“Disgorged in July 2020 with one gram per liter dosage, the 2014 Extra-Brut Montigny-sur-Vesle La Grande Vigne wafts from the glass with notes of smoky orchard fruit, clear honey, buttery pastry and white flowers. Medium to full-bodied, racy and tensile, it's taut and precise, with hidden depth of concentration and texture waiting in the wings to take a more prominent role after some time on cork.”
95+ Points
William Kelley, The Wine Advocate
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These wines are available now at our special offer prices for the next 7 days only. To place your order simply click on the links above or return the attached form, by email, by fax on 03 9419 6970 or call us on 03 9419 6990.
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