Clos Cazals is a legendary Champagne cuvée. It was one of the very first champagne clos to be vinified separately. It's a cuvée that combines the finesse of Oger's Chardonnay with the aromatic richness of grapes from a clos.
Clos Cazals is one of 21 officially recognized clos in Champagne. Champagnes made from vines planted within a "clos" are highly sought-after, as the "clos" offers the grapes exceptional ripening, thanks to the reverberation of the walls, which reflect the sun's heat.
Clos Cazals covers 3.7 hectares, but only the part planted in 1957 is used to make this cuvée.
Oger's terroir is particularly chalky, producing lively grapes and wines that often need a few years' ageing to soften their ardour and bring out their best.
Oger is classified as a Grand Cru, the highest level of the Champagne appellation. Only 17 villages are classified Grand Cru.
Clos Cazals 2012 was vinified largely in vats to preserve its freshness and liveliness, but a small portion of the wine (10%) was barrel-aged to give the cuvée as a whole an extra touch of complexity.
This is a champagne that has spent ten years in the house's cellars in Oger to round out its aromas and develop its complexity. This is a very low dosage cuvée, as the 2012 vintage was already a sunny year, having produced very ripe grapes.
Clos Cazals 2012 is pale gold in color, studded with fine bubbles.
The nose opens with notes of viennoiserie, then moves on to more aged notes evoking candied lemon and dried fruit.
On the palate, Le Clos Cazals 2012 opens with a clean, lively attack, then reveals a chiselled texture. On the mid-palate, the minerality of the Oger terroir clearly asserts itself. The citrus fruits discovered on the nose are repeated, along with a light milky touch.
The finish is long, invigorating and iodized, characteristic of great Blancs de Blancs.
