Champagne Marguet - Les Crayeres - Ambonnay Grand Cru 2020
The Champagne Marguet Les Crayères Ambonnay Grand Cru 2020 is an emblematic single-vineyard cuvée from the world of Benoît Marguet, a reference winemaker on the Montagne de Reims. Located in Ambonnay, one of the most prestigious villages classified as grand cru, the Crayères vineyard rests on deep chalky soils that give the wine remarkable uprightness and energy. The estate is managed biodynamically, with horse work, plant and mineral preparations, and constant attention to soil life. In this very artisanal context, each named vineyard is vinified as a distinct entity to deliver the purest possible expression of the terroir. Les Crayères stands out for its profile that is both dense and airy, where the natural ripeness of the grape combines with a very marked chalky tension. The 2020 vintage, generous yet perfectly balanced, offers the cru a deep and luminous substance, ideal for a great gastronomic champagne.
Champagne Marguet Les Crayères Ambonnay Grand Cru 2020 comes from vines located on ideally exposed slopes, where Pinot Noir reigns supreme, complemented by Chardonnay depending on the year. The grapes are hand-harvested at precise maturity, with deliberately low yields to concentrate the substance while preserving freshness and finesse. Vinification takes place in small containers, often barrels, with indigenous yeasts and very few interventions, seeking aromatic transparency rather than technical construction. Malolactic fermentation occurs naturally, bringing roundness and integration without ever dulling the terroir’s tension. After disgorgement, a long aging on lees in the bottle refines the bubbles, complexifies the bouquet, and gives the creamy texture characteristic of high-precision grower champagnes. The dosage is very low, in an extra brut style, to fully express the chalk of Ambonnay, its salinity, and its verticality.
On tasting, Les Crayères 2020 presents a pale golden robe with slightly silvery reflections, animated by fine and regular effervescence. The nose opens on a complex aromatic palette mixing white and yellow fruits, apple, pear, mirabelle plum, with notes of ripe citrus, white flowers, fine brioche, and a clear chalky minerality. On the palate, the attack is lively and slender, supported by a chiseled acidic framework that immediately highlights the energy of the grand cru. The mid-palate gains breadth, with a dense yet perfectly controlled substance, where ripe fruit blends with nuances of toasted bread, fresh hazelnut, and orange zest. The finish is long, salivating, marked by chalk, delicate salinity, and a return of citrus that leaves the palate perfectly clean. At the table, this cuvée wonderfully accompanies scallop carpaccio, roasted noble fish, lobster, Bresse poultry with morels, creamy risotto, or an aged Comté served at the right temperature.
Grape varieties: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay
