Champagne JM Gandon - Les Pièces 2022 - Brut Nature
In Branscourt, in the Vesle Valley, Champagne JM Gandon is one of those young names already circulating insistently among lovers of confidential grower champagnes. Victor Gandon is gradually taking over the family history, that of an estate built by his father Jean-Marie and rooted in a discreet Champagne, less publicized than the great villages of the Côte des Blancs or the Montagne de Reims. This position on the margins of the most expected circuits precisely gives his wines a form of freshness, independence, and freedom. The soils have been worked since 2013, without herbicides or insecticides, with strong attention paid to the living balance of the vineyard. In the cellar, the approach goes in the same direction: spontaneous fermentations, aging on lees, no fining or filtration, in order to preserve the wine's texture and the truth of the vintage. Les Pièces 2022 appears as a founding, rare, and already highly sought-after cuvée because it reveals the first pages of an estate whose trajectory is attracting more and more attention. This very beautiful bottle has the particular interest of champagnes discovered at just the right moment, before they become completely unavailable.
This cuvée is built around Pinot Noir, notably from massal selections planted in the 1970s in the Branscourt area. The 2022 vintage, sunny, dry, and quick, produced ripe grapes with a broader body than in cold years, but the wine retains remarkable energy. Les Pièces does not seek to flatter with a demonstrative bubble or heavy dosage; on the contrary, it advances with a vinous, precise expression, almost stripped down in its way of letting the black fruit, lees, and soil speak. The spontaneous fermentation and aging in barrels of different sizes bring depth without imposing a dominant woody mark. The work without fining or filtration reinforces this sensation of a living champagne, both direct and structured, whose personality is revealed not only in the effervescence but in the texture. The rarity of the cuvée is due as much to its limited production as to its status as a manifesto wine, that of a winemaker beginning to impose a singular voice in contemporary Champagne. Les Pièces 2022 is thus more than a curiosity: it is a bottle of character, intended for lovers who like to follow estates at the moment their style asserts itself.
The color presents a deep, luminous gold, with a fine, discreet bubble, more integrated than spectacular. The nose evokes ripe apple, yellow pear, light cherry, fresh red fruits, and some nuances of mirabelle plum, before gaining depth with notes of blond bread, hazelnut, sweet spices, and wet stone. On the palate, the wine has a true presence, supported by a broad, vinous body, immediately tightened by a saline and dynamic finish. The Pinot Noir gives relief, fruit, and an almost tactile sensation, while the low dosage clearly reveals the wine's tension. The whole remains very lively, with an energy that prolongs the tasting and avoids any heaviness despite the vintage's maturity. This champagne will pair very well with roasted poultry, game terrine, Iberian ham, sweetbreads, seared bluefin tuna, aged Comté, or a pressed-rind cheese. Served around 10 to 12°C in a fairly large glass, it will gain depth with aeration and reveal the full singularity of this rare bottle.
Grape variety: Pinot Noir
