Lallement’s NV Brut Disg. 5/2013 – based on vintage 2009, with 20% 2008 – displays the mouthwateringly sweet-saline, raw scallop-like savor I associate with his (far from) “basic” cuvee, here deployed on a palate by turns...
Lallement’s NV Brut Disg. 5/2013 – based on vintage 2009, with 20% 2008 – displays the mouthwateringly sweet-saline, raw scallop-like savor I associate with his (far from) “basic” cuvee, here deployed on a palate by turns silken and creamy yet always lusciously juicy from pear and apple, lime and grapefruit. Typical, too, for Lallement Champagnes, piquancy of pips from the aforementioned fruits are prominent, yet deftly integrated, segueing into more obviously chalky and saliva-inducingly saline mineral traces in a superbly sustained finish. This outstanding value in Champagne will remain delightful for at least another 2-3 years. (And the preceding base wine – centered on 2008 and to my knowledge last disgorged sometime in mid-2011 – is at least as impressive.) - David Schildknecht