The Lieu-Dit "Les Courtisols" Grand Cru 2015 from Louis de Sacy is a single-vineyard champagne. It is born from one single parcel within the Grand Cru village of Verzy, in the Montagne de Reims.
In the glass, it reveals a luminous pale golden-yellow colour with deep yellow-green glints, carried by a fine, lively mousse that feeds a persistent collar of bubbles. This cuvée opens on notes of red fruit and spice, before easing into brioche, all underpinned by a wine-like palate (full-bodied and structured).
This is a bottle you can pour from the aperitif onwards, alongside Comté gougères for example, before bringing it to the table with guinea fowl and morels. Only 2,300 bottles were produced.
The Terroir
The Lieu-Dit "Les Courtisols" Grand Cru 2015 is a blend of:
- 25% Chardonnay
- 75% Pinot Noir
The Chardonnay and Pinot Noir come from the terroir of Verzy, a Grand Cru village on the Grande Montagne de Reims, where Louis de Sacy tends its vines.
Verzy's Grand Cru classification singles out the best-exposed grapes on this slope, those that reach the fullest ripeness. In the glass, this ripeness translates into dense fruit and striking freshness, two hallmarks of the Grande Montagne de Reims terroir.
On this terroir, Pinot Noir lends the wine structure and power, while Chardonnay brings tension and precision.
Winemaking
Jonathan Sacy, the winemaker at the helm of Maison Louis de Sacy, chose to age this Chardonnay and Pinot Noir blend entirely in stainless steel tanks, to preserve the expression of the fruit. Malolactic fermentation ran its full course, softening the acidity and lending a velvety texture on the palate. The wine was bottled in June 2016, marking the start of a cellar ageing that gradually refines its texture. The dosage, set at 1.2 g/L within the Extra Brut category, leaves ample room for a taut palate, where the fruit speaks without any sweet artifice. The result is a precise, finely etched wine, carried by bright citrus notes, the signature of Louis de Sacy's work on this single vineyard.
The 2015 Vintage
To be completed
In the Montagne de Reims, 2015 saw temperatures well above average from April to August, with a summer marked by one of the most pronounced droughts in twenty years. This heat allowed both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to reach full ripeness, concentrating the berries despite lower yields. September and October, cooler and drier, then allowed harvesting in dry conditions, preserving the grapes' acidity while retaining the richness built up over summer. This combination of summer warmth and harvest-time freshness gives this cuvée a rich, ripe character, carried by a saline tension that gives the whole its structure and recalls the singularity of the vintage.
