Ageius, Ay Grand Cru Brut 2017

A Champagne built with a still-wine mindset: firm, cool, gently oxidative, carried by salinity. The nose is dark-fruited and refined at once, with red apple and soft apple peel, orange peel and grapefruit zest, alongside pale nougat, nuts and salted buttered toast. Underneath lie oyster shell, wet stone and a touch of smoke, brioche, a hint of herbs and wax.

The grapes come from the single vineyard La Fosse in Aÿ Grand Cru, a south-southeast-facing steep site with red clay topsoil over chalk, planted in 1985. Alexis Leconte runs the sixth-generation family estate in the Vallée de la Marne, based in Troissy-Bouquigny, farming around 10 hectares across roughly 40 parcels in Troissy, Dormans, Mareuil-le-Port, Vandières and Aÿ, using exclusively estate-grown grapes.

100% Pinot Noir, spontaneously fermented, aged and matured in 400-litre tonneaux without malolactic fermentation. Tirage in March 2018, followed by nearly five years on the lees under natural cork, disgorged in January 2023. Bottled as Extra Brut with a dosage of 2 grams, 12.0% ABV.

The entry is firm and structured: pronounced fruit with orange peel, red apple and a touch of kumquat, carried by robust phenolics gently softened by the long lees ageing. Saline, with iodine-tinged notes of seaweed and oysters, alongside bread crust, pale nougat and salted caramel, never tipping into sweetness. The fine mousse lends a cloud-like, creamy texture, and the finish lingers long and saline.

Oysters and sole in butter, Comté or aged Parmesan, as well as roast veal with mushrooms and a robust poultry terrine.

Alexis Leconte returned to Troissy in 2013 and gradually shifted the estate towards biodynamic principles: cover cropping, deep ploughing, with all work aligned to lunar and seasonal cycles. Each parcel is fermented separately, in used barrels, concrete, old foudres, sandstone amphorae and horizontal clay eggs.