Grosperrin Petite Champagne N°71 Lot 642 48,1%

Not the same origin as this PC N°71, which was a Bertandeau (JLP Cognac d’Andre if you remember). This Lot 642 is a young bottling of Esteve estate, located in Archiac area, certified 33yo minimum and bottled at 48,1%. Let’s go!

Colour: Orange, gold lights. Medium irregular tears.

Nose: Full of hesperidean shades at first. Candied citrus notes spiced with cedarwood scents. Quite chalky, not exactly the funky side of PC. Precise herbal notes on parsley. Dry floral shades on violet blossom and potpourri.

Palate: High acidity profile. Oily texture. Full of quince jam aromas. Great tension between fruitiness and acidity. Typical Grosperrin ageing effect, with this profile sharpened by their Saintes cellars. Combined with this chalky Archiac PC, I’d say this is not the easiest expression of Esteve profile to approach.

Last Notes: Rounder with air. Beautiful raw red berry notes. Very delicate honeyed tones. Undeniably a noble PC DNA, reminding me a bit of Le Cognac d’Arlette Lot 70 (still to be reviewed), also from Archiac and sharing this same angular profile. Back on the palate, fresh nutty notes appear, along with a touch of menthol.

Very nice PC profile, but probably not delivered at its best here. What if it had seen a bit of wet cellar ageing and a few more years before bottling?

My very subjective note: 88/100

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