The Pur Oger 2019 cuvée crafted by Franck Bonville is a Blanc de Blancs champagne. It is made exclusively from Chardonnay grown on the Grand Cru village of Oger.
This is a cuvée that opens on notes of citrus and white flowers, before giving way to more patisserie-like accents of almond and brioche. Its balanced structure and mineral tension draw out a palate that is taut and precise.
This is a bottle you can serve from the aperitif onwards, alongside Fine de Claire oysters for example, before bringing it to the table with a Sole meunière.
Le Terroir
The Pur Oger 2019 cuvée is a Blanc de Blancs, meaning it is made entirely from Chardonnay.
The Chardonnay comes from the terroir of Oger, a village classified Grand Cru on the Côte des Blancs, where Franck Bonville tends his vines.
This village sits on a chalk subsoil, which naturally drains the vines and lends the wine its tension and precision. The accompanying limestone feeds the plant with minerals, an imprint that later shows through in the wine's salinity.
On this terroir, Chardonnay brings the wine its linearity and mineral finesse.
La vinification
Olivier Bonville, the winemaker at the helm of Franck Bonville, chose to ferment this 2019 Chardonnay entirely in stainless steel tanks, to preserve the purity of the fruit without adding any oaky notes. Malolactic fermentation was carried out in full: it softens the natural acidity of the Chardonnay and brings a velvety texture to the palate. The wine was then bottled under cork to begin its second fermentation.
The dosage, set at 3.3 g/L, places this cuvée in the Extra Brut category: this minimal dosage gives full rein to the Chardonnay's tension and draws out a saline finish, with no sugar to soften it. At Franck Bonville, this rigour in dosage reflects a clear intent: to express Oger without artifice, in its purest, most linear form.
Le millésime 2019
On the Côte des Blancs, the year began with spring frosts that affected the buds, followed by a cool spring that delayed the Chardonnay's flowering. Summer then swung into a heatwave, with temperature peaks in July that sped up the ripening of the grapes on the Oger terroir. September brought sunshine, cool nights and a north wind that preserved the balance of the berries right up to harvest, keeping acidity (that sense of freshness on the palate) well preserved despite lower yields. This alternation of cold and heat gives this blend of two parcels from the Oger terroir a highly expressive profile, with a taut palate and ripe aromas.
