Paul Launois Single Barrel #1702 Grand Cru Le Mesnil Sur Oger Champagne 2017

After generations of stewarding their vineyards and selling grapes to the village cooperative, the Launois family flipped the script and built a winery and cellar to produce grower Champagnes under the label Paul Launois. Julien Launois is the winemaker and generation behind the change, and he named the brand after his son Paul. Sarah, Julien's wife and Paul's mother, is the creative mind behind the branding, bringing the label to life through her art and graphic designs. In the couple's words, "Champagne Paul Launois is a love story, the love of a man and a woman, the love of wine and art, the love of a son and a family."

In 2013, Julien and Sarah purchased a winery and began renovations, which finished in 2015 just in time for the first harvest to arrive from their vineyards. 6.5 hectares of Chardonnay in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, one of the Grand Cru villages of the Côte des Blancs region, comprise the Launois family holdings. 97% of the vines planted in Côte des Blancs are Chardonnay, which one might believe is the reason for the region's name; however, it refers to the intensely chalky soils that run along the ridge and are visible from a distance. Le Mesnil-sur-Oger and the Launois vineyards lie at the heart of the area, benefiting from the chalk's water-retaining and reflective qualities. The soil is a "Goldilocks" consistency for grapes because it is absorbent enough to retain water for dry times yet porous enough to allow drainage and avoid waterlogging. The bright, white color reflects the warm summer sun onto the grapes, allowing for full ripeness and richness. Julien prides himself on employing low-intervention farming methods with no use of pesticides, native cover crops during winter, and hand plowing in the summer.

The Single Barrel project came to life in 2016 when Julien wanted to give lovers of the Champagnes of Le Mesnil Sur Oger a collaborative experience in crafting their very own barrel alongside him. For each vintage, Julien selects grapes from the best plots of his vineyards and ferments in French oak barrels from the local cooper. The barrels vary in toast level but are all coopered from oak staves matured for four-plus years (one year longer than traditional for Champagne.) The wines ferment sur lies, and buyers visit in April of the following year to taste the wines and select their barrel. In July, the wine is racked out of barrel and into bottle for the secondary fermentation and aging. The clients choose the dosage level and length of aging for their barrel at this time, which ranges from three to 10 years.

In 2017, Julien began with 10 barrels of five different toast levels, five of which underwent malolactic fermentation and five that did not. #1702 was the second barrel of the collection made up of 100% Chardonnay from the Haut d'Aillerand vineyard. The still wine aged 11 months in a single blond toast barrel was bottled in July 2018, then disgorged in November with a 3g/L dosage. A zip of acidity accentuates the white florals and clean citrus notes, upheld by the underlying rich flavors of custard and butter biscuits. Only 200 bottles were produced of this truly one-of-a-kind Champagne that exhibits slight smokiness and intense minerality on the palate.