From a parcel planted in 1959 in lieu-dit La Fosse—and uniting more clay-rich soils from the bottom of the slope with stonier, limestone-dominated soils at the top—this bottle of Agrapart's 2012 Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Vénus was disgorged in May 2019 without dosage. Unwinding in the glass with notes of crisp white peach, Anjou pear, warm bread and spices, it's full-bodied, tensile and muscular, with chalky dry extract, racy acids and an ineffable sense of completeness, concluding with a long and saline finish. - William Kelley, Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2012 Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Vénus is ethereal, elusive and eccentric. It is also mesmerizingly beautiful. The expression of fruit is a bit richer and riper than in the other 2012s, with orchard fruit and tropical overtones that give the wine a sense of inner perfume and raciness. Soft curves and striking aromatics make for a stunning Champagne, an impression that is reinforced by the super-refined mousse. Persistent and racy, the Vénus is simply fabulous in 2012. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous

We've offered Agrapart before but it's a special pleasure to be offering their emblematic single vineyard 'Vénus' in a phenomenal vintage and at the lowest prices in the US. The cuvée is named for the horse that tills between the 60 year old vines in this site, yet the goddess of love is an apposite reference for this most amiable of Champagnes. 

Disgorged January 2019, this is a grand champagne and representative of this wonderful vintage. It is resonant with a touch of red fruit on top of the citrus and orchard fruits. Sapid and vinous yet the palate is more about driving minerality than overt fruit character. A champagne with real persistence and one to savor with impatience or to cellar if you can resist.

The wines from this domaine in the Cote des Blancs evince a fertile mind with a pioneering and flexible approach. There is no neat reduction or sweeping statement to be made here about single vintages, single vineyards or monovarietals. Across the range the wines are marked by balance and judicious restraint. Fermented in 600L old oak casks, they are not marked by oxidative notes or by overripeness and nor are they bottled at low atmosphere. Here there is no technique for the sake of technique but purposive and experimental work to reveal more of what Champagne is. 

 Cheers,

Spencer